Carrots are one of the most difficult vegetables to grow because they need spongy, stone-free, well-drained soil and all of these characteristics are very difficult to achieve, especially for beginners. But what if we put all of these conditions in a jar? Today we are going to find out with these 8 tips for grow carrots in a pot.
Container and container gardens are not just for those who don’t have a garden, for example if the soil in your garden is not ideal you can try planting carrots in a large pot or container or you You can have a vegetable garden and an urban garden, the things you’re not good at in the garden, you can plant them somewhere else and vice versa.
Contents
Choose carrot varieties
There are many varieties of carrots, some grow more and some less, whenever you have the opportunity, you can buy carrot seeds that do not grow much because they are ideal for growing in containers. The advantages of small carrots are that we will save land and we can harvest them earlier. An example is the variety Parisian which are rounded carrots. If that’s not possible, then traditional varieties work too, only they won’t grow as much.
Other varieties that can be grown in pots:
- Babette: They are very sweet and delicious little carrots that can be eaten fresh or stewed.
- Chantenay red heart carrot: Carrot used for salads and juices.
- Cosmic Purple Carrot: This variety is drought tolerant and is burgundy on the outside and orange on the inside.
- little finger carrot: They can be harvested after 55 days and are ideal for children.
- Heart of beef : It is a carrot that is large and can weigh 450 grams.
CHANTENAY carrot c.red 2
- Variety of carrot with conical root and slightly rounded tip
- It is sown all year round, with a recommendation from February to May.
- Grow direct, broadcast, or in rows, thin plants to 10cm intervals
- Harvest from 3-4 months
What is the suitable substrate?
The secret to the success of any substrate for cultivation in the urban garden is not a mixture of magic fertilizers, but knowing how to choose the components of the substrate that you are going to use for planting. Carrots prefer loose, hump-free soil where their roots can descend straight down without a problem.
The mixture that we are going to make for carrots will be useful for other crops, so it is always practical to make more of it than we will need. We will choose as a base 2/3 of potting soil, coconut fiber or garden soil, 1/3 of compost or earthworm humus because the soil will need nutrients. We can also add a handful of bone meal as it provides phosphorus and is good for root formation.
Another option for making a good substrate is:
Containers to grow
Once we have chosen the substrate and the varieties we want to grow, it is time to select the ideal containers for the urban garden. The key is that they are deep enough for the roots to grow.
You can use pretty containers available at plant stores, or you can opt for the inexpensive option of other containers that you can reuse for planting. Your imagination is what will give you the viable options for getting the ideal recycled containers.
Well I’ll give you a hint, I usually use hard plastic baskets or tubs, to which I make the necessary holes for the water to come out with a drill at its base. I don’t recommend using metal containers because the heat can kill the plants.
sprinkle the carrots
Irrigation of carrots should be continuous, depending on weather conditions, it is necessary to establish an irrigation schedule so that they do not have lack of water or excess. The soil around the carrot should never dry out too much as it can taste bitter.
It’s really not that complicated, to check if it needs watering or not we can put a finger in the substrate about 3 cm deep and if it is dry we can water, if it still retains moisture, we will water the next day. Remember they must have good drainage or they will rot soon.
Another important tip is not to pour the water on the leaves to avoid possible diseases caused by wet leaves such as fungus.
Carrots too close together, what to do?
When sowing carrot seeds, many joints are usually spread out, so when the time comes, we need to thin them out. It consists in eliminating certain carrots very close to each other so that the others can grow without problems of space.
If the thinning is not done, the carrots will be very thin and not good to eat. It is possible to do a graft to get the most out of the plants, but it is not recommended because it can happen that they come out deformed.
To have more success when transplanting carrots, we must compact the soil immediately after transplanting and water them.
carrot hill
Hilling consists of covering the carrots with earth or straw to prevent them from coming into contact with the sun as this can prevent them, as in the case of potatoes, from turning green and therefore toxic.
The straw option has more advantages since it will also retain soil moisture better, only we must bear in mind that the straw is added when the plants are about 10 cm high, if we add it before d have germination problems.
How to pay for carrots?
The cultivation of carrots is long since they can only be harvested after 70 to 100 days. Being a pot culture, the nutrients are filtered and come out with the water, which is why it is recommended to pay. Nitrogen is not well suited to carrots since they will generate lots of branches but no roots, it is better to use a little organic fertilizer like compost tea or earthworm humus.
You can also use fertilizers with the following arrangement of (NPK) (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium): 0-10-10 or 5-15-15 diluted.
It is recommended to fertilize when the plants are between 7 and 8 cm tall and in the case of carrots, less nitrogen will result in taller plants.
Harvest time
The big question is when will I know the carrots are ready to harvest? Normally they are harvested 3 months after being planted, but it all depends on the variety, so we can look at the seed packet to see when they recommend harvesting. Don’t forget to note the date in your garden diary or upload a photo on instagram of when you planted them, it will be very useful to have this information.
We can also see if the head of the carrot has come out of the ground and depending on the width it is a more developed carrot or not. The larger ones can be harvested and the less developed ones can continue to grow.
What do you think ? Was this article helpful to you? Yes Do you have doubts Where do you want leave a comment you can enter the forum and if it works for you you can still support the channel with a donation or help me spread it, by sharing it on social networks. If you want to follow me, here are some of the social networks I use Facebook , instagram , pinterest Is subscribe to my youtube channel
HERE I LEAVE YOU A POSTER IN CASE YOU WANT TO SAVE IT ON PINTEREST
