[Ockers]

Hi
Although I have had an allotment for three years now I never seem to get carrots right. I have moved to a larger plot and have been left with loads of substantial size tubs that I was thinking of using for growing carrots. In order to get it right this time could someone offer advice as to what to grow them in please. I've been told allsorts from sifted soil to sand.

Many thanks

[Yorkie]

The professional show growers use pure sand but that's really a little unnecessary for a standard grower.

You need to avoid manure and stony / lumpy soil as that will make the carrots fork.  Compost or soil will be OK.

Decent drainage is key.  You could add a little general purpose fertiliser, but possibly also a phosphate based one would be good as they are a root crop (someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong).

[arugula]

Carrots are very successful grown in pots, they don't even have to be that large. Planting pots successionally is quite a useful trick too.

[Totty]

Growing carrots in tubs allows you to be totally in control of the growing medium so if you want some really nice ones, making a little effort when filling the tubs will make a huge difference. If your growing maincrop or standard sized carrots get  your tub and fill it with a mixture of sieved potting compost and sharp sand at the rate of about 3 to 1. Add a little calcified seaweed, and dont sow too thickly and you are more or less assured of a decent crop. So long as you keep the slugs off......keep the root fly away...........keep adequatley watered, not wet, not dry............

[Salmo]

You could add a little general purpose fertiliser, but possibly also a phosphate based one would be good as they are a root crop (someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong).

High potash and no nitrogen.

[Yorkie]

You could add a little general purpose fertiliser, but possibly also a phosphate based one would be good as they are a root crop (someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong).

High potash and no nitrogen.

I was taught that potash was for flowers / fruit, nitrogen was for leaves, and phosphorus was for roots.

Why do carrots prefer potash?