When to Harvest Carrots

My favorite Seattle gardener wondered when she will know when her carrots are ready.   When do you know that root veggies are ready?  I did a bit of research and here is the deal.

1.  You really don’t know until you pull out a trial carrot.  BUT, there are some signs that are indicative of grown carrots.  More on that in a minute.

2.  Carrots will not go bad underground if you don’t harvest them right away.  One site even noted that a light frost is thought to make carrots even sweeter.  So, if your carrots were ready last week, or a month ago, they are still good to eat. 

Indicators of Carrot Ripeness

Go find your seed packet.  You need to find out the average length and diameter of the carrot varietal you planted.  When the carrots are ready or near ready to harvest, you will see a bit of the carrot poking up from the ground.  I haven’t seen it personally, but I imagine it would be similar to what the radishes looked like.  You can then measure the diameter of the carrot top.  Compare that measurement to what the seed packet says the diameter should be.

It is likely that the carrot length will be appropriate if the diameter is appropriate.  But, when in doubt, just pull one of them up and see.

Harvesting Carrot Seeds

In May, I wrote a post about carrots and focused a bit on the lore and scientific evidence about using carrot seeds as a birth control.  Whether you believe it or not, if you are trying to get preggers, I would be careful to not ingest a bunch of carrot seeds—just in case!

However, why buy carrot seeds if you can keep your own? Stay tuned for more about harvesting carrot seeds.

Starting Your Fall Garden

August is the time to start planting your fall garden.  Carrots are perfect cool weather plants.  Several varietals are great for all areas of the west: Purple Haze, Yellowstone, and White Satin.  Sunset Magazine has a great article about what to plant in your garden in August. Check it out here.