Carrots

[teamshepherd]

This seems silly as I am sure carrots are super easy to grow, but I always have a problem with them. I've been successful in making quite a nice sized garden over the past few years and each year it gets bigger and bigger.
However I have never had success with carrots. They always end up thin, short and scraggly. I space them out plenty, my other root veg such as beets and potatoes grow really well and in abundance.
I really have no idea why they wont grow.
I just want a nice big carrot for once, it doesn't even have to be supermarket big.... just bigger than my finger!

Could anyone show me the way for the upcoming year ?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I have always grown my carrots with things like lettuce and other such veg. I didn't worry about spreading until they were much more mature, pulling the small ones up as we wanted baby carrots.

I am wondering if you need to perhaps replace your existing seeds with a different variety better suited to your soul.

 

[winterybella]

I am gong to be keeping a close eye on this thread. Sadly, I can't offer an opinion or suggest right now how you can fix your problem. What I will say is that I have discouraged my husband from planting more carrots until we can get it right. All the carrots I have had from my garden have not been fully developed in my opinion. Like teamshepherd I am hoping to find some answers.

 

[teamshepherd]

I have always grown my carrots with things like lettuce and other such veg. I didn't worry about spreading until they were much more mature, pulling the small ones up as we wanted baby carrots.

I am wondering if you need to perhaps replace your existing seeds with a different variety better suited to your soul.

We have tried several different kinds of carrots. The soil is slightly sandy as I think sand has been mixed into it to make the ground higher at some point in the past. I am not really good with soil types . I would have thought it would have been a decent environment for them to grow and not struggle through the hard ground.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

We have tried several different kinds of carrots. The soil is slightly sandy as I think sand has been mixed into it to make the ground higher at some point in the past. I am not really good with soil types . I would have thought it would have been a decent environment for them to grow and not struggle through the hard ground.

Carrots need fertile but sandy light soil. But they're 2 types of carrots long rooted ones and, you've guessed it, short rooted ones. I'm wondering if to date you have only tried short rooted ones and if the soil is too sandy. I used to grow mine in ordinary soil alongside our beans and peas. sometimes they would split into 2 forms or wiggle around but that was due to stones and the likes in the ground (and sometimes too much compost) which sandy usually prevents. The biggest issue could well be that the ground is not being prepared correctly. Of you want carrots to be 6inches long then you need to ensure that the soil has been dig down at least 8 -12 inches deep and not been walked on, or compacted down.

Failing all of that, you may need to check the pH of your soil. Carrots need a neutral pH and both sandy and compost can dramatically alter the pH. The only way to test the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of your soil is with one of the very cheap pH soil test kits which compromise of a capsule you shake with a set amount of your spill and water and see what colour you get on the chart. The test will explain the results but you want neutral which is pH 7.

 

[teamshepherd]

Hmm it might be the pH content then. I cant remember the names of them all but only two one was Nantes and the other was carrot Flyaway. There have been others too but I can't remember names, my mom bought them. The ground should have been ok as it usually has a cultivator go over it and then I do it manually too (at least a foot deep) so it is not in big chunks at all but nice and loose.
Thank you for your help hopefully this year is better!