We’re sure you must have come across the benefits of this yummy vegetable from your parents, especially while growing up. They weren’t making it up, it’s all true!

Carrots are the wholesome and healthy power vegetables that help improve your eyesight and immunity, lower cholesterol levels, and even help reduce the risk of cancer.

With so many health benefits, what is better than to have unlimited access to these delicious and highly nutritious vegetables in your backyard? In this article, we’ll tell you how to grow carrots at home in just a few simple steps. But first, let’s look at some things that you should know before you go gather your gardening tools.

Growing Carrots in India: Points to Remember

• Life Cycle - Biennial

• Height - Stem (60cm - 100cm); Root (10cm - 25cm)

• Flowering Season - Around spring in the second year of growing

• Sowing Season - August to October; for brightly coloured carrots, plant right after the last rain of the monsoon season. Find out more about vegetables to grow in August.

• Sunlight - Partial sunlight; 3-4 hours of sunlight in a day

• Water - Moderate Water; let the top 1cm of the layer of soil dry up before watering the plant again.

• Germination Temperature - 20 - 30 °C

• Soil Type & Prep - Sandy, well-drained loamy soil; clear the soil of trash, rocks, and large pieces of tree bark. Finer pieces of plant material get mixed into the soil for enrichment.

Growing Carrots from Seeds: What You Need to Know

Don’t start yet! First, decide whether to get Open Pollinated Seeds (OPS) or Heirloom Seeds. Heirloom seeds are those that have been carefully selected by farming families for their best qualities and have been passed down through generations, a few seeds at a time. Whereas, Open Pollinated Seeds are those that have fertilized the natural way, with the help of bees, moths, birds, wind or rain. It is important to know that OP Seeds can be Heirloom as well since the process of fertilization takes place with the help of natural factors. We, at AllThatGrows, ensure that you get the best quality Open Pollinated Seeds and Heirloom seeds for your in-house garden. And if you haven’t bought the main ingredient yet, buy carrot seeds here before you proceed further.

How to Grow Carrots at Home

• Carrots should be planted around 1cm deep in the soil. This ensures that the plant starts germinating in about 2-3 weeks.

• If you are planting the crop in multiple rows, make sure that each plant is at least 15cm apart from each other so that they have enough room to grow.

• Thin the spacing to 8cm apart once the leaves start to appear.

• You can also harvest and enjoy baby carrots if you don’t thin the plants.

• It is also possible to grow carrots in a pot inside your home but make sure that they do get their daily dose of sunlight for at least 3-4 hours.

• However, it is advisable that the carrots planted in a pot should be moved to the garden once they are 1-2 weeks old.

Usually, carrots require minimal attention at the growing stage. However, there are a few things that you should keep an eye on while growing carrots at home, for instance, maintain the optimum pH level of the soil at 6 and feed your carrot plants some mulch or organic nutrients such as age-old plant materials (twigs, flowers, stems, etc.), Seaweed extract and Organic Neem to ensure that they grow nicely and in sufficient quantities for farm to table consumption. Also, make sure that you water your plants regularly in order to maintain their oxygen levels so that the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum fungus does not grow a white mould cover on your carrot roots.

How to Harvest Carrots

Carrots take about 2-3 months to grow fully. You’ll know when to harvest your crop when the diameter of the roots reaches 1.3cm. But make sure that you have a storage plan in case you are planning to save them for later.

• To harvest the vegetable, dig out the area of soil around the roots, grip the carrot firmly and pull out.
• Do not pull out the carrot holding just the foliage. You will end up with just the leaves if you don’t pull the vegetable along with its leaves.
• Once you are done harvesting all of your crops, collect the carrots in a basket or container and wash them thoroughly before consuming or storing them.

After harvesting the crop, it’s up to you how you want to consume this tasty treat. We Indians love to make all sorts of dishes with this one vegetable as the key ingredient. From desserts like Gajar ka Halwa, Cakes and Muffins to pickles, soups, and health drinks like the yummy Kanji. You can even bake them with some seasoning or just enjoy them raw.