How To Grow Carrots In Containers - The Definitive Guide

rows and rows of endless carrots that's the dream right there can't be any other way to grow this delicious traditional root staple except that there is and once you try container carrots for the first time you might just find out it's your favorite way to grow them [Music] container carrots are not as tricky as you think they don't really differ that much from regular planting which makes sense a carrot is a carrot is a carrot no matter how it's grown the crop still has a defined set of conditions and requirements for its success let's touch on those requirements now before we dive in and create copious amounts of container carrots like any root crop carrot needs center around spacing depth and soil type throw in light levels and nutrients with some moisture on the side and we've got these guys covered spacing for carrots is generally suggested to be one to four inches between each plant that's a pretty big range especially if your pod is only 100 square inches of area or less even for the big varieties i've found two inches to be quite fine but even at that spacing you can see why carrots are always thinned but i've got a special way that i thin carrots later on in the life cycle so don't really too much about spacing when you're first planting depth is super easy in a garden as carrots will just grow down as far as they need in a potter container there's obvious limitations so 12 inches high is the recommended minimum for soil though this is where containers have a massive advantage and drainage too unlike your garden where even if you amend heavily 95 percent of the rest of the soil is already in place containers however are a hundred percent new fresh potting soil so you can very easily cater to all of a carrot soil needs to get that perfect mix and that would be a soil that's loose ph neutral drains well slightly sandy rich but balance in nutrients and free of debris or clumping that last one is key and often overlooked because those soil impediments can cause carrot forking and disappointing results make your own soil on the cheap using this tutorial here or simply buy your favorite economical blend at your local nursery or home improvement store for light either in the garden or in a container carrots always need full sun six to eight hours is best if you want those leaves to capture enough energy to produce the epic tap roots that we're after like we mentioned carrots do like nutrients they're moderate feeders no doubt and enjoy a rich soil but it has to be balanced excessive nitrogen is welcomed by many of our backyard crops carrots are not one of them too much of that famous macronutrient will give you huge lush tops but poor roots that are often misshapen and hairy and finally we get to look at moisture with containers especially these fabric grow bags here drainage is rarely a problem because of this though your carrots can dry out faster than their garden counterparts so weekly waterings may be necessary carrots need constant moisture without being swamped so if you can stick to a schedule that suits your climate in the season that you're growing in container carrots are ideal so with that let's grab some containers grow some epic carrots seed to harvest so you can see just how easy it is to grill the most amazing crop of carrots in a container you'll need just three things you'll need the container of course usually a minimum of 5 gallons and at least 12 inches deep fabric plastic metal or wood they all work next you're going to need that organic potting soil you can make your own if you've gone down that rabbit hole of self-sufficiency or simply buy one designed for containers and potted plants and finally you'll need the carrot seeds carrot varieties are split up into four groups imperative chanting danvers and nantes they're all great and they can all be grown in containers certainly no limitations here i do prefer to grow the nantes type as i find them to be sweeter and generally more tasty carrot seeds tend to take a long time to germinate even when they're in their ideal range of 65 to 85 degrees fahrenheit at the upper levels of temperature the soil can dry out quickly and as a shallow stone crop that's planted less than a half inch deep you run the risk of the seeds germinating but then drying out before being able to send out that taproot i recommend adding a thin layer of straw mulch or grass clippings to prevent this let's go through and plant up a couple pots so i can show you the whole process start to finish fill up your pots or containers the whole way nearly to the top sprinkle in your carrot seeds liberally right on the surface don't worry about spacing we'll get to that later cover with a skim coat of that same potting mix and an equal layer of mulch water the containers liberally [Music] and that's it your carrots are planted the early takeaway here is carrots need to be planted near the surface the ideal temperature range is quite mild to warm and a thin mulch prevents the soil from drying out too much before those carrots get a chance to get established right on there's nothing left for us to do but wait 7 to 21 days in fact that's how long we've got until we start to see the carrots pop up once your carrots have sprouted and hopefully your germination rates were high we can move on to the next step side note however if you've experienced poor germination results even if you feel your conditions are more than ideal look to the seeds carrot seeds have a notoriously short shelf life so when in doubt always buy the freshest seeds remember carrot seeds are cheap sow lots of them and we can thin them later which coincidentally is our next task okay our carrots are growing and things look great time to thin or maybe not let me explain traditionally once your carrots are about two inches high they're thin to an inch apart then when they've doubled in height they're trimmed again to double that width so four inches high and two inches apart this works perfectly well for garden carrots and their container counterparts but hold on let's get to that thinning trick that i talked about earlier i like to let my carrots grow a little bit usually to around six to seven inches high and then what i do is harvest to thin let me show you what that means what i do is i harvest the biggest carrots first and in the process of enjoying delicious baby carrots i'll also thin the crop as a result it's literally a win-win so instead of pulling up hundreds of little baby carrot seedlings and tossing them away this way i get to enjoy the carrot crop for longer and far more of it whichever way you do it just note that thinning is a part of carrot life and there's no avoiding it all plants need space and carrots are no different under normal conditions garden or pot carrot is a minimum of a 10 wheat crop with a big enough pot and a quality soil quite likely you can get away without supplemental fertilizing if you do feed however you only need to do it once or twice usually after each thinning just use a dilute organic liquid feed such as a seaweed or kelp extract low dose and top water it in easy stuff if you've used my method to thin you'll be enjoying fresh carrots after about six weeks and you'll get to enjoy that harvest for about a month maybe more depending on the variety and the time of year now if you're growing and thinning traditionally the carrots can be picked for a final harvest at any time really once the carrot roots turn their final color they're totally edible and so are their leaves for a full mature harvest however you may have to wait up to two months or more but don't leave it too long as the crop will eventually turn woody and lose its sweetness if the top to your carrots are poking out of the soil and are nearing an inch in diameter the crop isn't getting any bigger it's time to pull them up container carrots are a unique crop in that just by sowing them in these independent living silos we've tackled the trickiest parts of their growth habits perfect drainage and an even more perfect soil consistency often make growing carrots and containers even easier than growing in the garden quite honestly after a few seasons of growing carrots this way it's fast becoming my preferred way to do it hopefully you'll give container carrots a try and see the results for yourself [Music] hey thanks so much for watching guys i appreciate the support more than you know and if you're getting value from these videos please like and share them to spread the word and help your fellow gardener to grow better

Channel: The Ripe Tomato Farms

Views: 130,185

Keywords: container gardening, how to grow carrots, growing carrots, how to grow container carrots, how to grow carrots in containers, how to grow carrots in pots, the ripe tomato farms, organic carrots, carrots in containers, growing organic carrots, carrots, how to grow carrots from seed, carrot, carrots from seed, carrot seeds, container garden, growing carrots in containers, grow your own carrots, best soil for growing carrots, best soil to grow carrots, carrots in pots

Id: 4xrXRBcKF3Q

Length: 10min 54sec (654 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 15 2021