Carrot Donation Tracker

Quick Links: How & Where to Grow | Temperature | How to Care For | Harvest Signs | Harvesting | Pests | Companions | Flavor | Preservation | Recipes | Michigan Tips | Fun Facts

🌱 How & Where to Grow Carrots:

• Plant seeds ¼ inch deep when soil reaches 40°F.
• Space seeds ½-1 inch apart in rows 12-18 inches apart.
• Keep soil moist until germination (14-21 days) – patience is key with slow-germinating carrots!
• Sunlight: Full sun (6-8 hours) preferred, tolerates partial shade.
• Soil Type: Carrots need deep, loose, well-drained sandy loam with pH 6.0-6.8.
• Soil Amendment: Work soil deeply (12+ inches) and remove all rocks/clumps to prevent forked roots

Pro tip: Mix carrot seeds with sand for easier sowing, or use seed tape for perfect spacing!

🌡️ Temperature Guidance:

Spring: 40°F minimum. Fall: Plant 10-12 weeks before frost.

• Optimal growing: 60-70°F for sweetest roots.
• Germination: Very slow at 40°F (up to 3 weeks), faster at 60-70°F (7-10 days).
• Carrots become sweeter after exposure to light frosts.
• Can tolerate temperatures down to 20°F with mulch protection.

Michigan’s cool springs mean using row covers can speed germination significantly!

💧 How to Care for:

• Consistent Moisture: Critical during germination – never let soil crust over.
• Watering: Provide 1 inch weekly with deep, infrequent watering for straight roots.
• Mulch: Apply after seedlings emerge to retain moisture and prevent green shoulders.
• Fertilizer: Avoid high nitrogen – use balanced 5-10-10 at planting.
• Thinning: Essential! Thin to 2-3 inches apart when tops are 2 inches tall.

📏 Harvest Signs:

60-75 days maturity. Check shoulder width. Fall carrots sweetest after frost.

• Baby carrots can be harvested at finger-width size.
• Shoulders will be ½-¾ inch wide at maturity for most varieties.
• Bright orange color develops fully at maturity.
• Gently brush soil to check size without disturbing roots.

Don’t wait too long – oversized carrots become woody and lose sweetness!

🧺 Harvesting:

Loosen soil if needed. Pull straight up with twist. Remove tops immediately.

• Always water deeply the day before harvesting for easier pulling.
• Use a digging fork alongside rows in heavy clay soil.
• Twist and pull gently – forcing can break roots.
• Cut tops to ½ inch immediately to prevent moisture loss.
• Don’t wash until ready to use for longest storage.

🪲 Michigan Pests:

Carrot rust fly, wireworms (serious), cutworms, aster yellows.

• Carrot rust fly larvae tunnel through roots – use row covers all season.
• Wireworms are especially problematic in new gardens – rotate crops annually.
• Cutworms sever young seedlings at soil level – use collar barriers.
• Aster yellows causes hairy, bitter roots – control leafhoppers that spread it.

🫱🏽‍🫲🏼 Companions:

Excellent with tomatoes, lettuce, onions. Radishes mark rows.

• Tomatoes may improve carrot flavor while carrots loosen soil for tomato roots.
• Onions and leeks repel carrot fly.
• Radishes germinate quickly, marking slow carrot rows.
• Lettuce provides living mulch between rows.
• Avoid dill and other umbellifers which can cross-pollinate.

🍴 Flavor:

Sweet, crisp. Fall carrots develop more sugars.

• Baby carrots are tender with mild flavor.
• Summer carrots can be less sweet due to heat stress.
• Fall/winter carrots convert starches to sugars for cold protection.
• Different colors offer unique flavors – purple are slightly spicy, yellow are mild.
• Home-grown carrots have incomparable sweetness compared to store-bought.

🫙 Preservation:

Root cellar in sand (4-6 months), freeze blanched, dehydrate, pressure can.

• Root cellar storage – layer unwashed carrots in damp sand at 32-40°F.
• Refrigerator – store in perforated bags for 4-6 weeks.
• Freezing – blanch sliced carrots 2 minutes, whole baby carrots 5 minutes.
• Pressure canning only – never water bath can.
• Dehydrate slices for soups or grind for carrot powder.
• Leave in ground with heavy mulch for fresh winter harvest.

🧑🏽‍🍳 Recipes:

Glazed carrots, carrot cake, carrot ginger soup, pickled carrots.

• Roast whole carrots with honey and harissa for a showstopper side.
• Make carrot top chimichurri – don’t waste those nutritious greens!
• Quick-pickle with daikon for Vietnamese banh mi.
• Carrot butter is a unique spread – simmer with spices until jammy.
• Fresh carrot juice needs 2 pounds for one cup – so sweet!

✋🏼 Michigan Tips:

• Use row covers early.
• Mulch fall crops for winter harvest.
• Michigan’s heavy clay needs serious amending – add sand and compost.
• Plant shorter varieties like ‘Paris Market’ if you have shallow or rocky soil.
• Time fall planting for late July to harvest sweet carrots through December.
• Consider raised beds for better drainage and deeper loose soil.

❄️ Overwintering:

• Carrots can survive Michigan winters right in the ground with protection.
• Apply 12-18 inches of straw mulch after ground begins to freeze.
• Cover with row cover or old carpet for extra insulation.
• Mark rows clearly before snow cover.
• Harvest on mild days when soil thaws.
• Overwintered carrots are incredibly sweet – worth the effort!

🧠 Fun Facts:

• Originally purple!
• Baby carrots are cut full-size carrots.
• Carrots were first cultivated in Afghanistan around 900 AD.
• Orange carrots were developed by Dutch farmers in the 16th-17th centuries to honor William of Orange.
• Wild carrots (Queen Anne’s Lace) are the ancestors of modern carrots.
• Carrots are 88% water but packed with beta-carotene.
• The myth that carrots improve night vision came from WWII British propaganda.
• Michigan produces over 1,000 acres of processing carrots annually!