Carrot Seeds - Cosmic Purple

Minimum Seeds per Packet: 150

Packet Weight: 1g

Planting Season: Spring or Fall

Sowing Method: Direct Seed

Seed Depth: 1/4"

Direct Seed Spacing: 1/2"

Soil Temperature: 45-85 ℉

Days to Sprout: 7-21

Mature Spacing: 1-3"

Sun Requirement: Full Sun

Frost Tolerance: Frost Tolerant

Days to Harvest: 80

When to Seed Carrots

Carrots are a fairly frost tolerant cool weather crop that can be planted for spring or fall harvest. They can even be overwintered for an early spring crop. They can be directly seeded in the spring two to four weeks before your last frost date, and again in late summer or early fall when temperatures begin to cool back down. Hot weather will cause poor germination and poor quality roots, so for most gardeners, it’s a good idea not to grow this crop in the summer. 

Where to Plant Carrots

Plant your carrots in a location with full sun, and loose, well-draining soil. Amending your beds with some well-aged compost is a good idea, but avoid anything too high in nitrogen. If you have very heavy clay soils, fear not! There are stump-rooted varieties that will perform better under those conditions. 

Growing Carrots

Plant carrots in a shallow trench about ¼ inch deep and ½ inch apart, in rows 12 inches apart. Lightly cover your seeds with soil but take care not to pat the soil down. Carrots are very sensitive to soil compaction. Water extremely well after planting to ensure good germination. Carrots do tend to be slow to germinate and can take ten days or more to sprout. As your carrots start germinating, thin them to their mature planting distance of one to three inches apart. Keep your carrots well-watered throughout their growing season and keep the area well weeded, as carrots do not like competition. Mulching can help keep the soil consistently moist as well as combat weeds. 

Harvesting Carrots

Harvest when the carrots reach ¾ to one and ½ inch in diameter and the shoulders start to push out of the soil, usually two to three months after planting. Loosen the soil around the roots with a garden fork before pulling them to avoid breakage.

Carrots (Daucus carota) are an insect-pollinated biennial. To save pure seed, your carrots will need to be separated from other carrot varieties as well as Queen Anne’s Lace (which is the same species as carrots) by at least 800 feet to avoid cross pollination. Carrots flower in their second season after overwintering. If you are growing in a location that does not usually experience frosts below 15 degrees F, you can overwinter carrots in the field under row cover. If you regularly get temperatures of 15 degrees or lower, you should pull your carrots and store them. To overwinter carrots in storage, brush the dirt off them but don’t wash with water, then cut back the tops to just above the crown, being sure not to remove the growth tip. Store the roots packed in clean sand or wood shavings in a cool location.

Once the soil becomes workable in spring, replant your carrots 6 to 18 inches apart with the crown just above the soil line. Once the flower stalks emerge, it’s a good idea to stake them, since they get quite tall and can fall over. Harvest seed heads as soon as they turn brown and bring them indoors to dry for another two weeks before separating the seeds from their pods by rubbing the heads with your fingers over a container. Store the seeds in an airtight container in a cool and dark location.