Begin planting carrots as soon as the soil can be worked in the fall. In many South Texas areas carrots can be grown all winter.  Sow 2  rows on each side of the  36" wide beds spaced 1" apart. This will give  you with 2, 12" wide rows to plant 2 rows of carrots each.  Carrot seed are very tiny and hard to hand sow evenly. I use an old used medicine bottle with a few hole drilled into the cap slightly larger than the seed.  I use a 8' long 1" by 1" wooden slat to make a shallow planting  groove in the soil. Hold the slat with the pointed corner edges of the slat up and down. Gently press the pointed edge of the slat into the soil about ¼" to ½" deep into the soil. (This procedure is best accomplished with an assistant.) Simply sprinkle the seed with the shaker bottle described above. Try to sprinkle the seed as evenly and thinly as possible between 2 boards laid on both sides of the row spaced 1" apart over the shallow planting groove describe above.  Since carrot seeds require 14-21 days to sprout, mix a few radish seeds with the carrot seeds.  Radishes will sprout quickly marking the location of your carrot rows. Cover the seeds lightly with vermiculite or sand. Cover the seeds very gently. Carefully water rows with a fine gentle mist. Sprinkle the row with water often to prevent crusting.  Thin carrot plants to 2 inches apart when tops are 4 inches high. Do not pull out the extra seedlings. Clip the extras with scissors at ground level. Pulling the extra seedling will disturb the roots of the keepers. Thin the carrots to 3"  apart as they continue to grow as some carrots grow very large. 

Planting

Overcrowding and rocky soils result in poor quality roots. If radishes were mixed with the carrots, pull and eat them as they mature, if there removal doesn't damage the carrot seedlings.  Then  cover the entire 36" wide bed  & the shallow trenches with 2" to 3" of leaves or straw. This will conserve moisture attract worms and reduce the growth of weeds in the beds. Any weeds that do germinate are easily removed be hand or light cultivation.  When it is time to water your plants simply apply a moderate amount of water into the trench between the row you formed earlier.  Do not apply water to quickly as you may wash out  soil holding the water. The water will slowly soak deeply onto the root zone.  Using this method your plants will always have adequate moisture to perform well.

Care during the growing season:
After the carrot seedlings have been thinned to 3" the final time, side dress the rows with ½ cup of 13-131-13 fertilizer between the rows in the trench per 10' of row. Keep carrots free of weeds especially when they are small. 

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