Guy Barter answers carrot questions.
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| 12:00 UK time, Friday, 23 April 2010
This month's gardening expert, Guy Barter of the , gives his answers to a couple of the many questions we've had about carrots below.
If you've got a question about the Dig In veg for one of our experts, send it to us using the question form.
Norma asks: Last year I grew my carrots in tubs, because I have very stony soil, but they were very small. I used ordinary garden compost and fed them occasionally, and they did get plenty of water. Please can you give me some good tips to grow better carrots in containers. What feed should I give them, and should the compost be specially rich?
Answer: It can help to ise a vigorous variety of carrot for pots to ensure healthy growth, for example, Adelaide. Aim to use pots at least 50cm deep and wide and sow seeds thinly. When your shoots have appeared thin out seedlings so that there is at least 5cm between
plants. Carrots don't need a lot of feed, so once a fortnight using any good general purpose liquid fertiliser should be plenty. They must never be soggy or allowed to dry out.
Adele asks: I would be very grateful for some tips on successful carrot growing as I have never been able to grow them properly.
Answer: If you're growing carrots in a vegetable bed, prepare your soil, removing all stones, and breaking up heavy soil. Adding organic matter is traditionally avoided, as carrots don't need very rich soil. Good F1 hybrid varieties such as Ingot, Jeanette, Nairobi or Nelson sown from April until June tend to be more resilient where conditions are not perfect.
The sowing part is critical. I loosen the soil with a fork to a depth of about 25cm, rake until the surface is very fine, and then press a broom handle into the soil to make a very shallow (15mm) groove with a firm base onto which I sprinkle the seeds to one every fingerwidth and cover with compost so that there is no packed soil over the seeds.
Seedlings should emerge in 14-21 days and they should be thinned to 5-8cm apart (rows at 25-30cm apart) as soon as you can. Cover them with fleece or insect proof mesh to exclude carrot fly from the time of sowing until October. Carrots need little fertiliser or watering once they are established so adding 50g per square metre of general purpose fertiliser before sowing and giving plants a really good soak every two weeks in droughts is plenty.
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