How To Grow Carrots In Pots | Growing Carrots In Containers

In this article, you learn how to grow carrots in containers. Growing carrots plants in containers or pots are pretty simple. You can receive a proper harvest of this crispy and delicious vegetable even you don’t own a backyard or garden!

Planting Season

Carrots are a cold climate vegetable and can be grown in USDA Zones 4 to 11. You can be planting seeds two to three weeks before the frost end time and continue arranging this during the growing period eight weeks before the listed average prime frost date. If you reside in a warm climate USDA Zones 9b to 11, wait till the temperature cools down and grow carrots after the summertime in autumn (fall) and wintertime.

Choosing a Container

The ideal container size for carrot is 6 – 15 inches deep. The container size may change according to the type of carrot, which to wish to grow. For growing carrots in pots or containers that are at the minimum twelve inches deep and as broad as feasible can provide maximum carrot varieties. You can use planter bags, tubs, pots, and window cases to plant this root crop.

Carrot Varieties for Containers

However, you can grow any carrot variety in containers or pots. But short types of carrot are more reliable. There are four traditional varieties of carrot:

Danvers: 

Extra acute in taste. These are 6 to 7 inches long but thicker at the top than the Imperator varieties.

Imperator: 

These are sweetest carrots, slim and 8 to 12 inches long. To grow this variety, you’ll require a more than 12 inches deep container.

Chantenay: 

Its size has grown up to 5 inches broad at the top and slender, cone-shaped, also tolerate poor soils.

Nantes: 

These are crispy and Sweet, 6 to 7 inches long like Danvers, and more round than tapered. Nantes great for containers.

How to Grow Carrots in Containers

Once you’ve decided the carrot variety, you’re growing, choose the desired containers, and fill them up with right mix potting soil. Sow seeds half-inch below after sprout thin carrot seedlings (when they’re two inches high) to about 2 to 3 inches apart. Instead of removing the baby plants, thinning cut them using gardener scissors so as not to disorder the roots of other plants.

Fundamentals for Growing Carrots in Containers

Location

Arrange a sunny location; however, you can keep your carrot plants in partial sun in late summer or hot climates. In colder areas growing carrots in less shining position results in late growth.

Soil

Carrots favor light, well-drained, and aerated soil that doesn’t stop the root growth. You can purchase a quality potting soil for your pots, or you can make your own. Make sure your soil is more sandy than clayey and not own stones; your carrots will be curved and crooked. The soil should stay lightly acidic to slightly alkaline, and the Ideal pH range is 6 to  6.8. But they can be grown in the pH range from 5.5 to 7.5.

Make your potting mix by combining one part well-rotted manure or compost, 1 part perlite, and 1 part soil. If you desire to prepare a soilless mix, combine one part coco peat or peat moss, one part well-rotted manure or compost, and 1 part perlite, sand, or vermiculite. You can further append time-based fertilizer that is less in nitrogen at the time of processing the soil.

Watering

One of the primary things to memorize when studying how to grow carrots in pots is to keep sufficient water level always. Water commonly and regularly to prevent the soil lightly moist. Inspect the soil mist level with your thumb to understand if the medium is drying before watering and never let the soil to dry out entirely. When your carrot roots become mature, decrease the regularity of watering as too much moisture at the growing stage starts to grow crack in carrots.

Temperature

The required temperature for growing carrots is among 42 to 90 F is best. But the perfect temperature for seed germination is between 55 to 75 F. Carrot seeds typically germinate in the time-frame of 1 to 3 weeks, and It may slow in low temperatures.

Most excellent tasting carrot roots are grown when the temperature reaches approximately 60 to 72 F throughout the growing season. As you’re growing carrots in containers, you can try to improve the climate a bit by transferring the containers to shelter if the weather is hot and sunnier or if the environment is cold.

Thinning and Spacing

Manage the location of each carrot 2 to 3 inches far and thin out the seedlings when they reach two inches tall.

Carrot Care :

Fertilizer

Carrots are roots crop and don't favor the rich nitrogen soil.

To support root growth, apply a low in nitrogen fertilizer, but rich in potassium and phosphorous. In this case, the direction of NPK 5-10-10. In the beginning time, it is an excellent approach to combine aged manure or time-based fertilizer to the soil. Moreover, throughout the midseason, scrape some side-dress and topsoil with aged manure or compost.

Feed your carrot plants with liquid fertilizer, in case if you’ve not combined any compose to the soil. Provide the liquid fertilizer to the carrot according to the product’s directions.

You can too make your natural liquid fertilizer from manure or compost. 

Pests and Diseases

Diseases, pests, and weeds prevent the maturity of carrots in the garden. But, in pots or containers, don’t worry regarding them. Flea beetles and aphids can disorder the growth of foliage, but you can control them undoubtedly.

Harvesting

The carrot crop harvesting period may change, from 55 to 90 days. It depends on the variety of carrot, growing conditions and environment. Many types of carrot are willing to harvest in 60 to 80 days, But baby carrots can be harvest too earlier. Before pulling, check that your carrots have attained the aspired size or not. For this, you can pull two or three carrots to check the size.