Carrots are one of the most important vegetable gardeners love to grow in their gardens, but many times gardeners get frustrated when they encounter problems with growing carrots.
Carrot growth problems are completely normal. Fortunately, most problems can be prevented. In this blog post below, you will learn how to prevent or solve the most common carrot growing problems faced by many beginners.
With a little understanding, you may find that you are harvesting more carrots than you think!
HERE ARE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE PROBLEM WHEN PLANTING CARROTS:
NO GERMINATION
It is important to know that carrot seeds like to be planted directly in the garden. It is usually not advisable to transplant.
Understandably, it may look like a long wait for the carrot to germinate after 3weeks.
Luckily,unlike other crops, carrot seeds are exposed to various soil temperatures (40°F-85F). On the contrary, the key to carrot germination is seed depth and consistent moisture.
Related:How To Grow Carrots From Scraps And Seeds In 8 Easy Steps
PLANTED TOO DEEPLY
Carrot seeds are usually very small. You hardly want them to be below the surface of your soil. Many gardeners unknowingly plant carrot seeds too deep. Even shallow trenches may be too deep. You may want to sprinkle the seeds on the surface and use your fingers to gently scrape the soil.
This is enough to cover the seeds and to achieve the desired germination. The second critical step is that once the seeds are planted, the soil must be kept moist until germination. This is imperative.
Related: When To harvest Carrots? Now Explained
LACK OF PROPER SPACING
What if all my seeds germinate? Another common problem with growing carrots is that if too many seeds germinate and are too close, they will compete for nutrients to grow. It is difficult to achieve proper plant spacing when sowing because they are too small. Even long-term gardeners can be a little clumsy when planting seeds.
When this happens, we must accept the most tedious part of growing carrots, but this absolutely must be done. We must weed out the sprouts. This means removing excess shoots to ensure that each remaining carrot seedling has 1-2. So that the plants will not compete against each other.
In order to remove excess seedlings without affecting the fragile root system of the bean sprouts you plan to leave, use a pair of micro-tip pruning shears to cut off the bean sprouts until there is one to two inches of space between the bean sprouts. When you take the time to do this, you may have some of the biggest carrots you have ever harvested.
Related: learn how to store your carrots step by step
STUNTED GROWTH
Are you surprised that your carrots are too small at the time of harvest?
You may want to check your soil.
The first thing to do is to know that carrots are very picky about the soil. They grow downward, so the soil must be loose rather than compacted. It cannot be filled with rocks and hard clay. If your soil is completely unsuitable for carrot growth, because of the rocky soil, the best thing you can do is to grow your carrots in raised beds or large containers.
If you really compacted the clay, you can loosen the soil with a wide fork.
Related: How To Harvest Carrot and Carrot Seeds
HAIRY ROOTS
Root branches (or hairy roots) are when you see a large number of feeder roots diverging from carrots. This is really not a big problem, but it is a sign of too much nitrogen in the soil. Hairy carrot root carrot does not require extra nitrogen like many plants. This is why composting is ideal, because your carrots can fully absorb their needs.
SPLITTING ROOTS
This happens when the carrots split in half. In most cases, they develop this way because the young, growing roots hit a stone during the growth process, causing the carrot to split.
Usually, this happens at the beginning of the carrot growth process, so this is another reason to ensure that the first 6 to 8 inches are good, loose, and free of rocks.
GREEN SHOULDERS
Some people have problems with green shoulders on carrots during harvest. This just means that the carrot sees the sun at the top when it is growing. This is not as problematic or poisonous as potatoes. Cut it out and continue.
You can prevent it by taking a bit of soil and covering them as they grow, when you see them go through.
IN CONCLUSION
Carrots are relatively easy to grow, and once the soil conditions are right, you have planted in the sun and kept those newly emerged seedlings watered, you should have plenty of carrots to harvest.
