All You Need To Know About Growing Carrots

You want to know all about growing carrots at home?

Great! I answer various questions in this regard in the following chapters.

Time & Duration

When to grow carrots from seed?

You should start growing carrots from seed in early spring.

If it is still too cold to plant carrots directly outdoors, you may want to grow carrot seedlings indoors and transplant them outdoors later in the year once it gets warmer outside.

Do carrots grow year-round?

Growing carrots at home is possible for many months of the year.

In fact, you can grow them year-round as long as you make sure to protect your carrots from frost.

However, the best time for growing carrots is still between early spring and summer and you should therefore try to grow carrots during those months to get the best harvest and the fastest growth for your plants.

If you want to grow carrots in the off-season, you will just not get as good results and may also struggle with an extensive need for additional plant care.

Do carrots grow fast?

Carrots grow relatively fast. It will usually take you between one and two months to grow carrots from sowing to harvest.

This is much faster compared to melons, pumpkins and many other garden plants where you have to wait 4 to 6 months to grow them to harvest.

Hence, growing carrots can be great if you don’t want to wait that long and still want to enjoy all the nice things that come along with gardening.

How long does it take to grow carrots?

It will take you between 35 and 60 days to grow carrots from seed to harvest.

How long it will take you also greatly depends on the overall growing conditions you provide to your plants and also on your skill level when it comes to growing plants in general.

The better the conditions you provide to your plants and the more knowledge you have in growing carrots, the faster your plants will grow.

Do carrots grow back every year?

Carrots don’t grow back every year. Instead, they are usually grown as annuals and since carrot crops grow underground, you will have to harvest the whole plant and remove it from the soil once the time has come.

Consequently, your carrot plants will have no chance to grow back and you will rather have to grow new carrot plants every year.

How long do carrot plants live?

Carrot plants usually live from the time you sow the seeds until harvesting time.

Sure, you could also leave your carrot plants in the ground for longer and wait until they naturally decay in the ground.

Yet, there would not be any sense in doing this since you would just miss out on a delicious carrot harvest.

How long does it take until carrots flower?

Carrot plants flower in late spring between 6 and 8 weeks after you sow the seeds.

However, please note that this period can be shorter or longer depending on the lighting conditions you provide to your plants.

Hence, make sure to choose a good location for your carrot plants so that they get enough natural sunlight to grow well and to flower as early as possible.

Can you grow carrots in fall?

While you could grow carrots in fall, I recommend you just grow them in the main season between spring and summer to get the best results.

If you start growing carrots in fall, you would just not be able to provide as much natural sunlight as during the main season and this will translate into slower growth and lower yields most of the time.

Can you grow carrots in winter?

If you want to grow carrots in winter, you have to do so in a heated greenhouse or inside your home.

Otherwise, your plants will not survive the frost and will decay rather quickly without providing you any yields.

Hence, while it is possible to grow carrots in winter, you will have to deal with all the challenges that come along with growing carrots under suboptimal conditions and I therefore suggest you wait until next spring if you want to make your growing life much easier.

Location & Climate

Will carrots grow in shade?

You could also try to grow carrots in shady environments.

However, since carrots like the sun, you will still not get the same results compared to growing them in sunny spots in your garden or on your balcony.

Consequently, make sure to avoid growing carrots in full shade and provide your carrot plants with at least a minimal level of direct sunlight.

Will carrots grow in partial shade?

You will be perfectly fine by growing carrots in partial shade.

In fact, partial shade is perfect to grow carrots since your plants will get a healthy mix between sun and shade and will not be exposed to excessive sun exposure while still getting enough natural sunlight at the same time.

Do carrots grow best in full sun?

While you could grow carrots in full sun, I still recommend you rather choose a half-shady environment to grow carrots in to protect your plants from excessive radiation and heat.

Carrots don’t like the heat that much and you should therefore not expose them to those extreme conditions all day long.

Will carrots tolerate frost?

Carrots also don’t like frost and you should therefore make sure to protect your plants from the cold, especially when your plants are still young and are most sensitive to frost.

Hence, only transplant carrots outdoors when you don’t expect frost anymore.

Do you have to protect carrots from the sun?

You should protect carrot plants from excessive sun exposure by just planting them in a spot in your garden or on your balcony where your plants get a healthy mix between sun and shade so that they can grow in an optimal manner.

How much space do you need to grow carrots?

You should plan one square foot of space for each carrot plant so that your carrots don’t have to compete for nutrients and sunlight.

Of course, if you have a big garden and space is not a limiting factor for you, you could also give your plants more space to grow.

The more space your plans get, the better your carrot yields will be.

Will carrots grow indoors?

While it is possible to grow carrots indoors, there are still many challenges related to it.

First of all, you will not be able to provide as much natural sunlight to your plants.

Second, you may also attract pests into your home that may infest other plants.

Third, you will also have to clean your home more often. Fourth, your plants will also take away some living space from you.

Therefore, I suggest you grow carrots outdoors instead of indoors if you have the opportunity to do so since it will make your life just much easier.

Can you grow carrots without a garden or balcony?

You can also grow carrots if you don’t have a garden or a balcony. However, in such a case, you would have to grow carrots indoors, which is much more challenging as mentioned earlier before.

Hence, growing carrots indoors should only be a measure of last resort and you may therefore want to wait until you move to a place where you have a balcony or a garden to grow carrots.

Can you grow carrots in small flats?

Since carrot plants will stay relatively small, it will be possible to grow carrots in small flats.

In fact, carrots are much better suitable to grow indoors compared to most other plants since they will stay small in size.

However, if you stay in a really small apartment right now, you should still ask yourself if you are willing to spend some space for your growing project since every square foot may count in such a case to store your stuff.

Can you grow carrots in an aquarium?

You could also grow carrots in an aquarium. In fact, some people just use old aquariums and fill them with potting soil to get an alternative to classical flower pots.

However, you will still have an issue with excess water not being able to run off properly and the roots of your carrot plants and also your crops may start to rot sooner or later.

Hence, instead of using aquariums to grow carrots in, rather use conventional pots from the garden center to be on the safe side in this regard.

Can you grow carrots in a terrarium?

Similar to growing carrots in aquariums, you should also grow them in terrariums.

However, you will still have the issue that water will not be able to run off properly and waterlogging will become an issue in the long run.

Consequently, make sure to only grow carrots in aquariums if you take measures that excess water can run off properly so that the roots of your carrot plants don’t rot.

Can you grow carrots in a bucket?

You can also just grow carrots in buckets. In fact, buckets can be great alternatives to conventional gardening pots as long as you drill some small holes into the bottom of those buckets so that water can run off properly.

Can you grow carrots in bags?

While this may sound strange to you, you could also grow carrots in bags.

However, make sure to use fabric bags instead of plastic bags so that water can run off and you can also provide a more natural growing environment to your plants.

Bags made out of fabric are also much stabler and you will therefore also be able to fill them with lots of soil which will enable you to grow many carrots in each bag.

Can you grow carrots in hanging baskets?

You could also just grow carrots in hanging baskets.

While this will be possible, there is still no upside compared to just growing them in conventional flower pots and it would even be better to just grow them in your garden to provide your plants with as natural growing conditions as possible.

Can you grow carrots in rainy climatic zones?

Carrots don’t need full sunlight all day long to grow well. Hence, you will also be able to grow them in rainy climatic zones.

However, still make sure that you choose a sunny spot in your garden or on your balcony so that your plants can use all the precious and scarce sunlight they could get in those regions in an efficient manner.

Can you grow carrots in tropical climatic zones?

Carrots are not suitable for growing them in the tropics.

Instead, carrot plants rather grow best in cool to moderate climatic zones and this means that you will have a quite hard time growing them in the tropics.

Can you grow carrots in regions with permafrost?

You should not try to grow carrots at home if you live in a region with permafrost.

Your plants will just decay pretty soon and will provide you with no harvest at all.

Sure, you could try to grow carrots in heated greenhouses or indoors in those regions.

However, the reality of the situation is that both options imply serious downsides and I therefore suggest you just get your carrots from the store if you live in one of those extremely cold climatic zones since it will just be more economical and also better for our environment since you can save lots of money on electricity.

Do carrots grow on vines?

Carrots don’t grow on vines. Instead, while the plant material grows above the soil surface, the actual carrot crop grows in the soil.

If you haven’t seen a carrot plant before, you could also have a look at one of the videos in this article to get a better impression of what carrot plants really look like.

Do carrots grow underground?

Yes, carrots grow underground. However, this doesn’t mean that the whole plant grows underground.

While most of the plant material grows above the ground since your plants need sunlight to grow well, you will harvest the carrot crop underneath the soil surface.

What is the best orientation for growing carrots?

Growing carrots in east or west orientation is usually best since they get a healthy mix between sun and shade instead of growing them in south direction with full sun all day long.

You should also never grow carrots in north orientation since your plants would just not get any sunlight at all.

Can you grow carrots with indirect sunlight?

It is also possible to grow carrots with indirect sunlight. You can do so by growing carrots indoors, in your sunroom or using a greenhouse.

However, you should still not expect to get as great results compared to growing carrots outdoors since you will just not be able to provide the same natural growing conditions to your plants.

Where do carrots grow best?

Carrots grow best in a half-shady spot in your garden where they get enough soil and sunlight while still being protected from excessive sun exposure and heat at the same time.

Where to grow carrots in pots?

You should choose a nice half-shady spot on your porch or on your balcony for your pots so that your carrot plants get a healthy mix between sunlight and shade so that they can grow in a decent manner.

Where to grow carrots indoors?

If you want to grow carrots indoors, you should choose a spot where your carrot plants get sufficient sunlight.

Otherwise, your carrot plants will just not grow well and may also suffer from many problems with pests and diseases.

Can you grow carrots in water?

Growing carrots in pure water is impossible.

While you could add lots of fertilizer to the water so that carrot plants get enough nutrients, you will still not get decent results since no crops will develop.

Hence, you should never grow carrots in pure water.

Instead, make sure to use potting soil from the store or soil from your own garden to provide good soil conditions to your plants.

Can you grow carrots with LED lights?

If you grow carrots indoors, you may also get the idea of using additional lighting to speed up the growth of your plants.

However, this is usually a pretty bad idea since you will rather confuse your carrot plants and it will also cost you lots of energy and money in the long run.

Thus, instead of using LEDs or other forms of artificial lighting, make sure to choose a sunny spot for your plants so that additional lighting will not be necessary.

Can you grow carrots in dark rooms?

You should not try to grow carrots in dark rooms since they will just not get enough natural sunlight and will therefore not grow that well.

In turn, also your yields may be quite disappointing and you should therefore choose a spot inside your home where your plants get better lighting conditions instead.

Soil Requirements

Can you reuse soil for growing carrots the next year?

You can reuse potting soil multiple times.

However, before using the soil for your next carrot growing season, make sure to add some fertilizer to it or to mix it with new soil from the store to provide enough nutrients to your plants.

Do carrots grow well in waterlogged soil?

Carrots don’t grow well in waterlogged soil and this means that you should make sure that excess water will be able to run off properly.

You can do so by using loose soil and by also making sure that you use pots that have enough holes so that water can run off in a decent manner and no water puddles form underground.

Do carrots grow best in acidic, neutral or alkaline soil?

Carrots grow well in acidic or neutral soil with an optimal pH between 6.2 and 7.

However, you should still not worry too much about this technical stuff. In fact, you will be perfectly fine with growing carrots in potting soil from the store.

Will carrots grow in sandy soil?

While it is possible to grow carrots in sandy soil, I still recommend you just use normal potting soil from the garden center since carrots usually grow better in those moderate and well-balanced soil mixes.

Will carrots grow in clay soil?

Clay soil is not the best option when it comes to growing carrots since it is often quite dense and not loose enough.

In turn, water will often not be able to run off properly and also carrot crops will have a hard time developing underground.

Consequently, make sure to use looser soil to avoid those issues.

Will carrots grow in compost?

Compost is a great choice when it comes to growing carrots since it contains lots of nutrients and is also loose enough so that carrot crops can be produced underground in a proper manner.

You could also mix compost from your garden with potting soil from the store to create a healthy soil mix for your carrot plants.

Plant Care

Do carrots need a lot of water?

Since carrot plants will stay rather small, you will also not have to water your plants that much. Of course, this also depends on the climatic conditions outdoors.

In rainy periods of the year, there will be no need to water your plants at all if you grow carrots in your garden since your plants can just use rainwater.

However, in hot and dry periods, you may have to water your plants on a daily basis to avoid that they dry up.

Do you have to water carrots on a regular basis?

You could also use a watering schedule so that you don’t forget to water your plants on a regular basis.

However, make sure to adjust this schedule according to the climatic conditions outdoors and see it as a flexible tool rather than a rigid rulebook.

Should you use filtered or unfiltered water to water carrots?

Carrots usually grow better if you water them with unfiltered instead of filtered water.

You will also not have to take any efforts by using unfiltered water and I therefore highly recommend you just go with unfiltered water instead of putting in lots of work to get enough filtered water which may not even translate into higher yields.

Should you use rainwater to water carrots?

You will also be perfectly fine by watering your carrot plants with rainwater.

You can just collect rainwater and store it so that you have enough water for your plants during dry periods of the year.

When to stake carrots?

There is no need to stake carrot plants. Instead, just let them grow and let nature do its work and you will get the best results, even though some “experts” may claim something different.

What to tie carrots with?

There is no need to stake or tie carrot plants. Instead, if you provide good growing conditions, your plants will become resistant enough to deal with wind and other adverse conditions outdoors without any intervention from your side.

What to do when carrots turn yellow?

If the leaves of your carrot plants turn yellow, this usually means that there is something wrong with your watering schedule.

In such a case, make sure to adjust your watering behavior and see if you see any progress in this regard.

If not, you could also try to use some additional fertilizer to provide more nutrients to your plants and the color of your carrot plants should turn back to a deep green.

How to protect carrots against wind?

There is no need to protect carrot plants against wind.

You can just let them grow and you will be surprised how resistant your plants will be.

How to protect carrots against heavy rain?

There is no need to protect your carrot plants from heavy rain.

Just leave them outdoors and let them grow in line with natural processes and you will get pretty decent results if you follow all the advice in this article.

How to protect carrots against hail?

If you grow carrots in pots, you can protect them from hail by just moving your pots to a safe place on your porch or inside your home.

If you grow carrots in your garden, you may use some foliage cover to protect your plants to a certain extent when you expect hail in your region.

Should you pinch out carrots?

There is no need to pinch carrots. In fact, you would do more harm than good by removing any plant material from your carrots since it would just slow down the overall growth of your plants.

Where to pinch carrots?

As mentioned before, you should not pinch out carrot plants at all.

However, if you still want to do so for your own reasons, I recommend you do it outdoors instead of indoors to avoid a mess inside your home and also to avoid bringing pests inside your home.

Can you grow carrots without fertilizer?

Yes, it is definitely possible to grow carrots without using additional fertilizer.

However, this also greatly depends on the soil quality. If you use high-quality soil, it will often be enough to grow carrots in a decent manner.

However, if you only use low-quality soil with low amounts of nutrients, you may have to add some fertilizer sooner or later to support the growth of your plants.

Should you cover your carrots to protect them against frost?

Covering plants is almost never a good thing since you will alter the lighting conditions and confuse your plants.

Hence, while covering your plants to protect them from frost may work, I rather recommend you wait with growing carrots until you don’t expect frost anymore so that there will be no need to cover your plants at all.

How to get rid of moss when growing carrots?

If you see moss on the soil, this is usually a sign that the soil is too moist and that you should water your plants less often.

Hence, just adjust your watering schedule and you will be able to get rid of moss in a simple but yet effective manner.

Pests & Diseases

Can you grow carrots without using pesticides?

The better the conditions you provide to your carrot plants, the less likely it is that you have to rely on pesticides.

In fact, weak plants are a real target for pests and you should therefore do anything to make sure that your plants feel comfortable.

In turn, you may be able to grow carrots entirely without the use of any pesticides.

Should you use natural or chemical pesticides for carrot plants?

If pest infestations are too severe, you may have no choice other than to use pesticides to make your plants survive.

In such a case, make sure to rely on natural instead of chemical substances to protect our environment and also to make your carrot growing project as organic as possible.

What are the most common carrot pests?

Wireworms, flea beetles and carrot flies are just some of the annoying creatures you may have to deal with when growing carrots.

Hence, make sure that you are prepared and get some information on how to deal with these issues.

How to protect carrots against pests?

Many people don’t know that there are simple but yet effective measures to get rid of most garden pests.

You should also make sure to check out how to get rid of carrot pests and diseases and also my pest prevention articles to get detailed information on how to get rid of pests in a proper manner.

Growing Difficulty

Are carrots good plants to grow for children?

Growing carrots with kids can be great since it will not take you long to grow carrots from seed to harvest and growing carrots is also rather easy compared to growing other garden vegetables.

Are carrots good plants for a school project?

Growing carrots can also be a great school project since school kids can learn quite a lot about how our food is produced and chances are that they will also value their food much more if they see how much effort it takes to produce it.

Carrots are also great plants to grow in school since they stay relatively small and deliver quick results.

Is growing carrots difficult?

Growing carrots is fairly easy. In fact, even beginners can grow carrots from seed to harvest in a decent manner and you should therefore not be afraid to make any mistakes.

You will be perfectly fine as long as you follow all the advice in this article and will also learn quite a lot from your first carrot growing project.

Harvest

What color do ripe carrots have?

Most carrot varieties produce orange crops.

However, there are also varieties that turn yellow or even purple once they are ready to harvest and you should therefore harvest your carrots once they have reached the desired color and also have a satisfying diameter.

Can you save seeds from carrots?

Saving carrot seeds is pretty simple.

You just have to wait between one and two months after sowing carrot seeds and you will see flowers developing on your plants.

Once this happens, you can just remove those flowers and save those tiny seeds inside.

Can carrots get overripe?

Carrots can get overripe and may even rot if you don’t harvest them in time.

Hence, make sure that you don’t miss the perfect harvesting time to avoid losing any nutrients or flavor.

What parts of a carrot plant can you eat?

You can basically eat the whole carrot plant.

Not only can you eat carrot crops that grow underneath the soil surface, but you can also eat the plant material and make nice salads or pesto out of it.

Additional Questions

Is growing carrots expensive?

Growing carrots is not expensive at all. If you have a garden, you just need to get some carrot seeds and you will be good to go.

If you don’t have a garden, you may need to invest some money in buying pots and soil.

However, this will also not cost a fortune and almost everyone will be able to afford growing carrots at home from a financial perspective.

Is growing carrots fun?

Growing carrots and other plants at home can be quite a lot of fun and can also be really interesting.

In fact, I really love growing plants at home since I love seeing the progress my plants make every day and sitting next to my plants also gives me a feeling of peace and an opportunity to relax.

Do carrots grow on trees?

Carrots don’t grow on trees. Instead, they grow on plants you may have seen many times before.

If you haven’t seen carrot plants before, you may want to check out one of the videos in this article to get a better impression of what carrot plants look like.

Do carrots grow from flowers?

Carrots don’t grow from flowers. Instead, they grow underground.

However, this doesn’t mean that carrots will not flower.

Carrot plants do flower and you will be able to save seeds from them.

Yet, carrot crops will not develop from those flowers and flowering will therefore be not a prerequisite to get carrot crops.

How many carrot plants should you grow per pot?

If you grow carrots in big pots, you can grow a handful of carrot plants per pot.

If you grow them in small pots, you should only grow one carrot plant per pot.

The more space you provide to your plants, the better they will grow on average and you should therefore make sure to limit the number of carrot plants per pot to a healthy level.

Which animals feed on carrots?

Rabbits, rats and other rodents are well-known to feed on carrot plants.

Consequently, make sure to install a fence around your carrot plants in your garden to protect your plants against those hungry intruders.

Will your pets eat your carrots?

If you keep rabbits as pets, you can be sure that your carrot plants will be gone sooner or later.

Hence, in such a case, make sure to separate your plants from your pets to avoid any issues in this regard.

Are carrots toxic for pets?

Carrot plants are not toxic for most pets. However, some of your pets will still try to feed on your plants and you should therefore take some protective measures so that your plants can grow properly without being eaten by your little friends.

Why carrots grow small?

Carrots can grow small for multiple reasons. If you want to get decent carrot yields, you should make sure that your carrot plants have enough space and also get sufficient sunlight.

Moreover, also make sure to water them regularly and that you provide soil that is rich in nutrients to your carrot plants.

By doing all of those things, you can assure to get better yields in future growing years.

What to grow with carrots?

There are many good companion plants that you can grow with carrots. In fact, I listed all the plants you should and shouldn’t grow with carrots in my carrot companion plant article.

Can you grow carrots from carrots?

It is not possible to grow carrots from carrots since carrots will just rot in the soil and will never produce any yields.

Hence, instead of growing carrots from carrots, make sure to use carrot seeds for growing purposes.

Can you grow carrots from carrot slices?

It is also not possible to grow carrots from carrot slices since there are just no seeds inside carrot crops.

Instead, you will have to rely on seeds from the garden center or save your own seeds for future carrot growing projects.

Can you grow carrots without seeds?

You could also not grow carrots from seed but get carrot seedlings from your local garden center.

However, I still recommend you grow carrots from seed instead of using seedlings so that you get the full growing experience.

Do you have to pollinate carrots by hand?

There is no need to pollinate carrot plants by hand.

In fact, carrots will be produced without any intervention from your side and you therefore don’t have to worry about this topic at all in this regard.

How to grow big carrots?

If you want to grow really big carrots, you have to optimize the growing conditions for your plants.

This means choosing the right location, provide an optimal level of nutrients and space and so on.

Your success in growing carrots will depend on many different factors and the more you learn about growing carrots, the better your results tend to be.

Can you grow carrots commercially?

Growing carrots for a living is almost impossible since carrots are quite cheap and you would have to produce and sell enormous numbers of them to make your business profitable.

Moreover, also few big companies share the carrot market and keep prices artificially low and you would also need to invest lots of money on farmland and equipment.

Consequently, you should rather grow carrots as a hobby instead of doing it for a living.

Can you grow carrots from fresh seeds?

Growing carrots from fresh seeds is perfectly doable.

You just need to place those fresh seeds into the soil and you will see carrots plants reaching the soil surface after just a few weeks.

Can you grow carrots from dried seeds?

It is also possible to grow carrots from dried seeds.

You can either save seeds from your own carrot growing projects and use them in the future or get some dried seeds from your local garden center or from an internet vendor.

Can you grow carrots from rotten fruits?

Growing carrots from rotten fruits is not possible.

Instead, you should get rid of rotten carrot fruits and dispose of them in the garbage or on your compost.

Can you grow carrots from cuttings?

Growing carrots from cuttings is possible in theory.

Yet, it requires a high skill level in practice and it is much easier to grow carrots from seed compared to growing them from cuttings, especially in case you are still a beginner in growing carrots.

Should you use a carrot growing kit for growing carrots?

You could also use a carrot growing kit for growing carrots.

However, in my opinion, this is just a waste of time and you should rather get some carrot seeds and some additional equipment instead which you can also use for many growing projects in the future.

Do carrots grow in the wild?

There are some carrot varieties that also grow in the wild.

However, those carrots often don’t produce big fruits and are often richer in plant material instead.

Should you talk to your carrot plants?

You can also try to talk to your carrot plants.

However, in my opinion, this is just a waste of time and you should rather spend your time on other more important things instead that can really make a positive impact on the growth of your plants.

Should you plant carrots at half moon or full moon?

It doesn’t matter whether you grow your carrots at half moon, full moon or new moon.

Just do what’s best for your schedule and you will be perfectly fine in this regard.

I hope you have found the answer to the question you had about growing carrots.

If you want to learn even more about growing carrots, also make sure to check out my carrot grower’s guide where I show you how to grow carrots from seed to harvest in a step-by-step approach.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot

Own research and experience

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.