#31. Guide to Growing Carrots
Most of us are introduced to the many benefits of the wonderful carrot vegetable quite early in life. These hardy biennial plants are filled with the goodness of vitamin A, dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamins B6 and C, thiamin and niacin. Carrots
Carrots are generally referred to as short-root and long-root varieties. The short round variety can be grown in containers. The long root needs open garden space. Keep carrots plants away from dill plants. Carrots as a vegetable are available perennially in stores. However, local produce are at their best in summer and fall. Carrots come in a wide variety of colors, not just the typical orange we may know. There are white, yellow, red and purple varieties as well.
The growing process
Soil preparation: carrots need deep soil to give them the room they need to grow. Putting carrots in hard soil is as good as putting them in concrete. Old beds that are deep are ideal when filled with compost to produce best results. Manure if used should not be fresh rather it should be well rotted. pH value of the soil should be 5.5 to 7.0. Soil should be well draining and loamy or sandy in texture.
Climate: carrots as a garden vegetable tend to grow in most climates. However, the plants are more productive in cool garden growing zones. The plants prefer full sun, but will still grow well enough in partial shade.
Planting: in spring time, prepare the soil and sow the seeds directly into the soil at approximately quarter inch deep. Make furrows of ten inches apart and sow the seeds; cover with starting mix and water the soil, but not excessively. Seeds generally take three weeks to germinate. Carrot seeds need to be watered lightly everyday till the seedlings start to show. Thinning the carrot beds at two inches and six inches in height will be required. With the first thinning, the plants should be one inch apart and the second thinning should put them at two inches apart. Successive plantings every three weeks will extend your harvest of fresh, juicy carrots for a longer time.
Maintenance
Caring for carrot plants is relatively easy. The plants need to be well watered and should not dry out. Plants also need to be kept weed free and soil moisture levels monitored regularly.
Harvesting
The discarded seedlings from the thinning out exercises can be eaten – they are the baby carrots sold in grocery stores. Harvesting of the carrots should begin in June and July, and the late-sown ones by October. Harvesting in the evening will prevent the arrival of the carrot fly.
#32. How to Grow Courgettes
Botanically the courgette is classified as an immature fruit. However, to most people it is a vegetable