Vegetables · biennial grown as an annual

Carrot from seed

Daucus carota · also searched as heirloom carrot, hybrid carrot, thinning carrots

Germination temperature: 65 to 85°F (18 to 29°C)
Minimum soil temperature: 40°F (4°C)
Sowing depth: ¼ in (6 mm)
Days to germinate: 7 to 21 days
Light: Cover the seed; darkness helps
Before sowing: Nothing needed
Sow outdoors: 4 to 0 weeks before the last frost
Spacing: 2 to 3 in (5 to 8 cm)

Your dates from your last frost Seed not coming up?

Sowing

Sow direct, shallow and thin, in loose stone-free soil. Carrots are slow to come up and need the surface kept moist for 2 to 3 weeks; lay a board or damp cloth over the row and check daily.

Care and transplanting

Thin early. Water evenly to prevent splitting and keep weeds down while the seedlings are tiny.

Problems

Patchy emergence is a dried-out surface. Forked or hairy roots come from stones, fresh manure or crowding. Green shoulders need soil hilled up.

Saving seed

Carrots flower in their second year; replant roots and collect seed in summer. They cross with wild carrot (Queen Anne's lace).