Container Gardening Vegetables: Carrots

Are you thinking of creating a container garden for carrots? Aside from their use in the kitchen, carrots are also considered to be healthy. Did you know that before they were used for cooking, ancient Greek physicians used them and prescribed them as a medicinal tonic?

Carrots also come with a notable history. They were heralded as the crops that saved the colonists at Jamestown, Virginia from starvation during the winter of 1609. In the early settlements, carrots were easy to grow. And since there were no refrigerators or coolers at that time, they were one of the most important crops because they could be stored in cool, underground root cellars.

Today, we value carrots for their vitamin A content. This vitamin is essential for healthy eyes and the formation of good and healthy bones and teeth. The presence of vitamin A is really a fact that is apparent in the physical appearance of the vegetable. Carotene gives the carrot its orange color and this substance converts to vitamin A once ingested. And if you are on a diet, reach for a carrot when you crave for a snack:

25 thin carrot sticks will only add a little over 20 calories.

Carrots are good for us. It may please you to know that growing carrots is fairly easy. There are 3 types of carrot varieties: long-rooted (the longest to mature, but not sweet-tasting compared to other varieties), medium-rooted (usually the best for harvesting a successful crop), and short-rooted ones (the best ones for container gardening. These are the earliest to be sown and the quickest ones to mature. Usually produces sweet tasting carrots).

Carrots are a sunshine vegetable but should be watered well, as they dislike dry spells. They should be planted in fertile, well-draining soil, but should never be planted in soil which had been prepared with manure or compost as this will spoil their taste.

This vegetable grows well with other vegetable plants and herbs, onions and leeks in particular (as these help to repel the carrot fly, a pest that destroys the carrot’s foliage). Other good companion plants for the carrot are tomatoes, chives, radishes, sage, rosemary, and lettuce. (Tip: If you have a bigger garden, plant radishes next to carrots as it germinates and grows quicker. Plus, it would also loosen the ground for the carrots to grow.)

Speaking of germination, carrots germinate in 2 to 3 weeks, and depending on the variety, will take about 2 to 4 months to mature. Your soil should be free of stones (to help facilitate easier carrot growth), manure and compost. The seeds need barely half an inch of soil above them to germinate – which means, do not plant to deeply.

Keep your carrots well watered at all times; while they are still in the germination stage, keep the ground damp. And when it’s time to harvest, don’t just pull. Loosen the ground with a small hand-rake and pull gently.

Having a carrot party would be a blast with your mini carrot garden. Cultivate one now and see the effect it would have on your cooking life.