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How to grow a long carrot
You should always "dig in" any giant vegetable plot deep with lots of organic matter, take extra care over feeding, watering and pest control and, if showing, harvest at the very last moment for freshness. Fill a 6in-wide 4 foot long drainpipe with clean fine sand. (Always be optimistic). Make a hole in the sand with a long pole and fill it with good peaty potting compost. Sow three seeds in the compost and thin to the best one when they have germinated. Water from the top for the first two months and thereafter from the bottom to encourage the roots to seek out moisture. At harvest time wash out as much sand as possible using a hosepipe before very gently pulling up the carrot. If you pull too hard you may damage the long tapering root. ' I have tried the drainpipe method with some success, reaching over 2 feet with one variety. It's important you buy one of the "long" varieties, and that the seeds are fresh. The "Jumbo" variety is the one which hold the World Record for longest so I would start there! Other good long ones are Japanese Imperial long (claim to grow up to 24 inches!) Also Gold Pak, Autumn King or Red Giant.
Thompson & Morgan
have a tremendous variety of carrot seeds for you to try,
click on the link or banner to buy some.
Any seeds bought via this link makes a small a contribution to the upkeep of the World Carrot Museum.
Carrot plants thrive in deep, loose, well-drained soil. Avoid stony, cloddy or rubble-laden soils as they increase the incidence of root defects. Because raised-beds usually have loose soil and receive little compaction from foot traffic, they are an ideal location to grow carrots. Carrots grown on heavy soils may produce considerable leaf growth and forked roots. Carrot plants do not grow well in strongly acid soils; therefore, a pH range of 6.0 to 6.8 should be maintained for best results.
Soil temperature can be critical for successful carrots. At temperatures below 5 ºC they will struggle to germinate. Slightly higher temperatures and they could take up to 35 days to start. If you wait until the soil is 10 ºC germination will occur within ten days. Basically if the soil is chilly to touch do not plant. Curiously even within a variety a carrot's colour and shape can vary according to the type of soil and commencement temperature. Lower temperatures give yellower carrots and reduced size and shape. Just beware about fertiliser, if you prepare using good fresh manure, make sure it is well rotted, six months old.
How one member of the National Vegetable Society grows his long carrots for showing.
(This article originally appeared in the Members Bulletin, the journal of the National Vegetable Society)
I grow my carrots in barrels filled with sand digging them out and refilling every second year. Around the first week of March I prepare five stations in each barrel filling each one with a growing mixture of 1 part peat, 1 part sand and 2 parts soil all riddled TWICE through a 14 inch (1 cm) riddle, to which I add 2 oz of Seagold and 1 oz of chlorophos per bushel.
The barrels are then left to settle for a week before sowing at least six seeds per station (I use Medwyn Williams' long carrot seed) on or around 14th March. Once the seed has germinated and the young seedlings are growing well they are thinned down to three. A week or so later they are thinned to two and finally to one - this way you should avoid any blanks.
There is not so much to do once this stage is reached, except to water when required and to give the odd shake of chlorophos. I do not feed carrots at all during the growing season. I find that this produces large, bulky, rough carrots that may look impressive but which lack the quality that should always be preferred, and will (or should) always win, over mere size.
When lifting for the show I find it best to scrape the sand and growing mixture away from the shoulders of the carrots gently, you can then match them in the barrels. This way you tend to pull less to match your set and can exhibit at more shows. To remove the carrots from the barrels give them a good soak an hour or so beforehand then grip the leaves and apply firm, but steady, force! I find, sometimes, that if you can climb onto the top of the barrel and pull straight up that this is easier.
Once you have pulled enough, the roots need to be washed. A good spray from the garden hose is usually all that is required but if you have to use a sponge always remember to clean around rather than up and down the root.
Then trim the leaves to the length specified in the schedule and wrap .the roots in clean paper (never use newspaper) and then in black plastic bin bags. Lay them flat in a box and you are all set for the show. For the beginner as a showman, carrots are a very good vegetable to start with and I hope that I have encouraged some new, and perhaps even some experienced, exhibitors to have a go at long carrots.
Read about how the World Record Holder did it here.
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