Tips for Growing Carrots

Companion Plants to Carrots: Beans, Chives, Coriander/Dill, Cucumber, Marigold, Lettuce, Marjoram, Onions, Peas, Radish, Rosemary, Sage, Tomatoes

Antagonistic Plants to Carrots:

"Start sowing this cool-weather crop 3 weeks before the last expected frost; plant again every 2 to 3 weeks after that. Most cultivars take 70 to 80 days to mature, so sow your last planting 2 to 3 months before the first expected fall frost. In Zone 8 and warmer, plant carrots in fall or winter.

Put a pinch of about six seeds to the inch. They will take 1 to 3 weeks to sprout (they germinate more slowly in cold soil than in warm), so mix in a few quick-growing radish seeds to mark the rows. Cover with ¼ to ½ inch of screened compost, potting mix, or sand—a little more in warm, dry areas—to make it easier for the delicate seedlings to emerge. Water gently to avoid washing seeds away; keep the soil continuously moist for best germination.

Thin to 1 inch apart when the tops are 2 inches high, and be thorough, because crowded carrots will produce crooked roots. Thin again 2 weeks later to 3 to 4 inches apart." -- Carrots: A Growing Guide - Rodale's Organic Life

Optimal soil temperature: 7-30°C (45-85°F). Seeds take as long as 14-21 days to germinate. Because carrot seeds are tiny, they need to be sown shallowly. The trick is to keep the top-most layer of soil damp during the long germination period.

Increase Your Yields - If your carrots seem to grow in small patches rather than full rows, it's most likely because the soil has developed a crust which prevent the delicate seedlings from emerging. A simple way to solve this problem is to plant radishes with your carrots. The radishes only take around three weeks to grow and will sprout much sooner than the carrots, breaking the soil's crust for them. Make sure to harvest the radishes promptly though, or they may begin to crowd the carrots.

Crop Rotation - Carrots are susceptible to scab, as are many root plants, which is caused by the depletion of nutrients in the soil. Do not plant carrots in the same soil as potatoes were in during the previous two years, to allow for the soil to replenish itself.

Cover carrot crowns, which push up through the soil as they mature, with mulch or soil to prevent them from becoming green and bitter.
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"There are two sources of Vitamin A: plant based (Carotenoids) and animal based (Retinol). It’s important to know the difference when watching your Vit. A intake, as overdosing on Retinol can have serious consequences to your health.

While Carotenoids are essential for eye health, immune function, and other areas of our health, overconsumption on a regular basis can lead to jaundice, nausea, loss of appetite, irritability, and vomiting. It is recommended that people take in 5000 IU of Vit. A from plant and animal sources daily.

Cooked Carrots have 26,572 IU in each cup." -- The Prepper Project: "What To Grow To Avoid Starvation and Malnutrition"
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April 19, 2014
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I'm really excited about the dwarf blueberry bush I bought for $25. That's it in the above top left picture. I hope it works out well. It's supposed to grow one to two feet high in a compact spherical mound. In the container on the above right I planted a row of cucumbers close to railing (I'm going to try and grow them upwards) and I also planted two rows of carrots in the same container. 
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May 24, 2014
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Well, like I said the other day, I was going to be pulling up the radishes but wasn't going to hold my breath. Good thing I didn't! This was just pathetic.
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Left: Radishes Planted with Carrots (and Cucumbers along the edge) -- Right: Radishes Alone (Climbing Beans along the edge)

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I had two full containers of radishes, one where I was using the radishes to break the soil for the carrots - and they destroyed my poor little carrots. I certainly won't be trying that "little trick" again. In fact, this whole harvesting of the radishes fiasco is so embarrassing that I hardly want to post the results, but I will because I want to show my mistakes as well as my successes.
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June 19, 2014
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Left: Carrots & Cucumbers - Right: Radishes & Climbing Beans

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September 10, 2014
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Well, I pulled up the carrots finally... didn't I tell you I took out the regular sized carrots mid-season and transplated them with baby carrots? No, well if you don't believe me, just have a look!
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I knew they weren't going to work out - I'd pulled one or two of them up over the past couple of months to see how they were growing... and I seen they weren't growing well. I'm pretty sure it's the same problem that caused The Great Radish Famine of 2014: I didn't leave nearly enough spacing between the plants, which caused them to choke out the growth. Next year I will follow the spacing directions on the packages to a "T" for all of my plants. I've read elsewhere that this is one of the biggest problems with us sky-gardeners working with a limited space - you have the desire to cram as many plants into a pot as you possibly can, and in doing so you actually produce far less than you could have. Live and learn.
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The carrots tasted fairly good though. I picked a cucumber and a few of the peppers, then added them to a salad for dinner.
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April 22, 2015 (Carrots were planted on February 26, 2015)
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The carrots have come up well - and early. I left much more space between them this year, so hopefully they grow larger than they did last year. The two tomato plants seem to have survived the one night of exposure to the frost in the beginning of the month - it looks like they'll make it. 
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Carrots (Left) and Tomatoes (Right)

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