Carrot Seeds
Growing suggestions for carrot seeds
Direct sow carrot seeds 1cm deep into weed-free soil with a fine tilth in drills 30cm apart, aiming for a seed spacing of 1cm. When the plants are 3cm tall, thin to final spacing. Cover early sowings with cloches to warm the soil.
Top tips: mix with some beetroot seed (which will germinate faster) to spot the rows for early weeding; cover with fleece or mesh to prevent carrot fly.
Growing calendar
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sow | ||||||||||||
| Transplant | ||||||||||||
| Harvest |
Crop facts
Carrots are of the species Daucus carota, which includes its wild relative, ‘wild carrot’ or Queen Anne’s Lace. Carrot plants were originally grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds – carrot seed has been found in Southern Germany and dated to 2-3000 BC. The root vegetable that we know as carrot today, was not bred until around the first century in Afghanistan. The original colour of carrots was purple and yellow, with the bright orange cultivars not becoming common until the seventeenth century.
Showing all 4 results
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Carrot – Nantes (Organic)
£1.60 – £3.80 Choose pack sizeCarrot – Nantes (Organic)
Fast maturing carrot perfect for early sowings. Originally from France but grown in this country for decades as a kitchen garden favourite, this is a classic carrot variety of the half-long type. Reaching up to 17cm in length and 3-4 cm in diameter, it is a sweet, bright orange, blunt, cylindrical root, round at the top and bottom. It has fine texture and delicate flavour with almost no core. It is ideal for early sowings but can delight you with a tasty crop throughout the year as well.
The perfect all-rounder, that does well as bunching carrot, juiced, sautéd, frozen, grated into a salad or just straight from the ground which is when we think they taste the best.
(Approximate seed count – 400)
£1.60 – £3.80 -
Carrot – Autumn king (Organic)
£1.60 – £4.00 Choose pack sizeCarrot – Autumn king (Organic)
An RHS award-winning maincrop variety ideal for storage over the winter months. How could we not include Autumn King in our catalogue?! This is one of our favourite varieties, and certainly lives up to its name. It is an RHS Award of Garden Merit winner and is a firm favourite amongst both home and market gardeners.
It produces conical roots up to 30cm long and with a deep organgey-red colour. It is sweet-tasting and delicious both raw and cooked.
Autumn King is a great carrot for storage over the winter. To store the roots place them in containers in single layers in moist (but not wet) sand making sure they do not touch each other. Keep them in a cool but frost free and dark place and check the roots periodically for mould or rotting.
(Approximate seed count – 400)£1.60 – £4.00 -
Carrot – Yellowstone (Organic)
£1.80 Add to basketCarrot – Yellowstone (Organic)
A yellow rooted variety which is fast growing and produces beautiful, long and cylindrical roots. Yellowstone carrots have a delicate, sweet flavour and they cook just as well as their orange siblings, adding that extra rainbow colour to any plate of food. And of course delicious raw with lots of crunch. They produce large foliage which is reflected in the often large root that is growing beneath the ground.
(Approximate seed count – 400)£1.80 -
Carrot – Lila Lu (Organic) ***NEW FOR 2024***
£1.80 Add to basketCarrot – Lila Lu (Organic) ***NEW FOR 2024***
Lila Lu is a purple carrot on the outside with a vibrant orange interior, sweet and crunchy. This is a modern European breed specifically developed for organic growing conditions. It has a crunchy texture and pleasantly sweet taste, the purple pigmentation is attributed to a higher levels of the potent antioxidant ‘anthocyanin’ alongside the usual beta carotene that orange carrots offer. Carrots have been bred since the 10th century in Asia, whilst we have come to know carrots in their orange standard, their ancestors were yellow and purple, we appear to have come full circle with this ‘new’ variety.
(Approximate seed count – 400)£1.80
Showing all 4 results