How To Grow Carrots In Containers?

Who can resist the delicious crunch of sweet homegrown carrots? Different from many people’s thought that carrots need to grow in long rows in the garden, they are perfect for containers. Due to its natural shape which is long but narrow, you can easily fit many in a container.

There are just three major elements to growing great containers of carrots and they will be revealed in this brief instruction below:

Choose A Container

First off, pick a container that’s no less than 10” deep and you also need to drill some holes across the base because carrots need good drainage.

Check which plastic that your container is made from. If it’s a 5 and labeled PP (means polypropylene), it’s safe enough for your carrots. Avoid any plastic that numbers 3, 6 or 7, including polystyrene because they can link really harmful chemicals into the soil, which will transfer into your veggies.

Try to drill as many holes as possible but still ensure the space between them is even.

Fill The Container With Compost

In this case, I don’t prefer using homemade compost because there are too many seeds from food waste. Instead, I highly recommend getting from a nearby store.

There will be many types of compost to choosing from different prices. Choose one that suits the most to your budget, just ensure it’s finely smooth without rocks or debris because they will affect carrots’ look when they grow.

Another good way to grow carrots is to use 50% sift compost and 50% sand, which gives extremely light soil but then requires more fertilizers, at least once a week.

Leave about 3-inch gap at the top since you’ll fill this in later on after sowing the seeds.

Sow Carrot Seeds Into The Container

You should sow them on a clockwise position. Start from the outsides and remember to leave a gap of 1-2 inches in between each seed.

The earliest time to sow these seeds is 3-5 weeks before your last frost date and ensures at least 6-8 hours of direct sun exposure each day.

Scatter the rest of the soil into the container and don’t forget to leave a 1-inch gap at the top. Finally, give these seedlings a really good soaking because when the weather starts warming up throughout the spring, the top layer will start drying out between 2-3 inches.

Conclusion

That’s it! Easy, right?

The rest of this process is rather easy – just remember to water deeply the container once a week and keep your eyes on its moisture level.

Due to the weather, they will start germinating between 2-4 weeks afterward. From the 8^th week, you will see a fast-growing speed of the carrots. After 70-80 days, they will be completely mature and start blooming. You can save some seeds from these for the next crop.