How to Plant Carrots in Containers
- 1). Mix 1 cup 5-10-10 slow-release fertilizer per 1 bushel of potting mix. Water the mix until it is as moist as a wrung-out sponge.
- 2). Fill 1-gallon containers with the moist potting mixture. Use containers that are at least 2 inches deeper than the length of the mature carrots, which is detailed on the seed packet.
- 3). Sow carrot seeds ¼ inch deep in the potting mixture. Sow two seeds per planting hole, spacing each planting hole 2 inches apart in the pot.
- 4). Set the container in an area that receives six to eight hours of sunlight a day. Keep the soil surface moist while waiting for germination, but avoid hard streams of water that may wash away the small carrot seeds.
- 5). Thin the carrots to the strongest three plants once seedlings germinate. Pluck out the weaker seedlings or those that are growing too close together. Carrots need 2 to 4 inches between plants so they can develop to full size.
- 6). Water the soil when the surface begins to feel dry. Water from the top until the excess moisture drains from the bottom. Containers often require daily watering.
- 7). Harvest carrots when the roots are the desired size---approximately 60 days after planting for many small carrot varieties. Check the seed packet for the best harvesting time for the variety of carrots you are growing.
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