Plant of the Day: Carrots
Photo of Carrots (Daucus Carota)

Photo by Mark Kane


Carrots!


Among the crops for fall, carrots have a special spot. Even in Zone 5, full-grown roots can survive the winter in eating condition if they’re insulated with a deep mulch of straw, or (even simpler) bales of straw. Another way is to cover the roots with six or more inches of dry, stiff leaves that will not settle and mat together and then cover the leaves with a light tarp to keep them dry and fend off winter winds. Some winters, here in Iowa, the ground doesn’t freeze under insulation, so you can dig up a few carrots anytime you like through the winter.


Carrots are nutritious. They have lots of fiber, starch, sugar and Vitamin A. Some varieties can develop strong, bitter flavors in hot weather and dry soil. Regular watering helps keep them sweet. The shapes vary like the kinfolk in an extended family, from a narrow cylinder 10 inches long, to stumpy like the variety ‘Oxheart,’ which can be a mere 4 inches long and yet weigh a pound. Since most varieties need more than two months to mature, they can suffer from pests. A good remedy is to plant carrots close together in a square and cover them from the start with row-cover fabric to bar the pests.


By Mark Kane - the Groundskeeper, YourGardenShow.com

Copyright © 2012 YourGardenShow.com

Want to read more about this plant and other varieties? Click here for the Carrots (Daucus carota) Plant Page!

Plant Photo Tagging - How it Works

Video by Tom Finerty, founder YourGardenShow.com

Plant Photo Tagging allows you to turn any garden photo into a rich tapestry of what you have planted. It’s fun, informative, and helpful to others visiting your garden. As you photo tag, you can easily add plant names from our database and/or make notes about anything you’d like. To get started, sign-in and go to your Garden.


Click on any image in your garden's slideshow Carousel to get to full-view mode. Click on the “Tag” icon just below your photo and you are ready to tag! Simply click and drag your mouse over a plant or area you’d like to highlight or tag. A pop-up box will appear and ask for either a plant name or a note - add one or both, then click “tag” and you’ve just tagged your garden!


Write and tell us your suggestion for a "How it Works" video:
how-it-works@yourgardenshow.com


For more info contact: help@yourgardenshow.com

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Plant of the Day archive

Siberian squill

Snowdrop

Douglas fir

Norway spruce

Common Lilac 'Marie Frances'

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Manchurian lilac 'Miss Kim'

Red mulberry

White spruce

Striped squill

Scotch pine

Frazier fir

Colorado Spruce

Hardy Pecan

Asparagus

Beet

Brussels Sprouts

Globe Artichoke 'Imperial Star'

American Hazelnut

Black Alder

Seven-son flower

European larch

Maidenhair tree

Butterfly weed

Creeping Zinnia

Garlic 'Spanish Roja'

Garlic 'Georgia Fire'

Garlic 'Persian Star'

Garlic 'Asian Tempest'

Aster 'Monch'

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Corn

Pumpkin

Gourd

Sargent crabapple, Sargent

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Dwarf pear

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Potato

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American elderberry

Russian arbor-vitae

Resurrection lily

Sweet Potato

Sedum

Blackberry

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Mache

Japanese falsecypress

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Japanese Anemone

Carrots

Hot Peppers

Cilantro

Okra

Peppers 'Cal Wonder Orange'

'Cherry Pink' Tomatoes