TYPICAL SPACING5 cm
VEGETABLE · ANNUAL
Carrot Growing Guide
Plan carrots for direct sowing, final spacing, succession sowing and realistic harvest timing.
PLANT PROFILE
Track in My Garden →Carrot
Broad planning defaults are available in the connected calculators; variety instructions and local conditions take priority.
BROAD MATURITY75 days
LIFECYCLEAnnual
Give carrot the right place before you calculate dates.
Carrots are easiest to plan as a direct-sown crop. The main decisions are bed preparation, final plant spacing and whether you want one large harvest or repeated smaller sowings across the season.
Use loose, workable soil without fresh clods or obstacles where roots need to develop. The crop does not require the richest bed in the garden, but consistent moisture during germination is important because the seed is small and slow to emerge.
Plan the start around the way this plant actually grows.
Sow directly where the crop will grow rather than planning around transplanting. Small repeat sowings are often more useful than one very large sowing because they spread harvests and reduce the chance that every root reaches maturity at once.
Keep the seedbed surface from drying out while seedlings are emerging, then thin or space plants so roots have room to develop. Watering should aim for consistency rather than repeated shallow wetting of only the surface.
Use maturity as a window, then check the real plant.
Use the labelled maturity range as a point to begin checking root size. Baby roots can be harvested earlier, while storage-sized carrots may stay longer if soil and weather remain suitable.
Calculate the planting positions for your bed, then build a succession schedule if you want harvests spread over several weeks.
How should I use the numbers on this page?
Spacing: 5 cm is the current broad planning default. Do not tighten spacing simply to increase the plant count.
Maturity: 75 days is a broad planning estimate. Weather and cultivar can materially change the real timing.
Local conditions: Frost pockets, wind exposure, soil drainage and container size can make two gardens in the same town behave differently.