When to Harvest Carrots: Things You Must Know to Get Started
When winter knocks at the door the very first thing that comes into our mind is the wide variety of seasonal vegetables. Fresh, green vegetables are the staple items for the season. Wait, Why only green? The winter season gifts us various colourful vegetables, ranging from the delicious radish with a pink tinge to the orange-coloured fresh carrots. The refreshing smell of coriander leaves and the attractive look of ripe tomatoes charm us all. Think about a hot bowl of vegetable soup on a chilly winter evening! It is comfortable like nothing.
Among the wide variety of vegetables, the carrot is one of the most beneficial ones as we all know. Let’s know more about the benefits and usage of carrots. Then we will proceed with when to harvest carrots and how to grow them properly to get the maximum benefits out of them.
The Benefits and Usage of the Carrots
The benefits of carrots have no end. It is enriched with a rich variety of vitamins, minerals, and other essential ingredients. Though diabetic patients are recommended not to have it much, carrots, in general, have a wide range of benefits. The beta carotene in it enhances the power of eyesight and also reduces the risks of eye problems. The carrots have anti-oxidant features that help to prevent multiple diseases including cancer. Useful components like potassium help to keep the heart safe and make you feel energetic, vibrant, and active. Enriched with fiber, it adds the required nutrition to your body.
Considering the wide range of benefits, nutritionists often recommend having carrots regularly. You can add it to your diet meal and speed up your weight loss journey. However, several healthy and tasty recipes are available. You can try them at home to enjoy the benefits of carrots while satisfying your taste buds. The recipes include:
- Carrot Cupcakes
- Veggie Soup with chopped Carrots
- Honey-Roasted carrots
- Carrot cake Smoothie
- Roasted Veggie Salad
- Parmesan Herb Carrot Fries
So, these are some of the popular dishes that you can try with fresh carrots at home. To get the fresh carrots, good growth of the plant and proper harvesting of the carrots are much-needed. You must pick up the carrots when it is the right time. Otherwise, all of your efforts of growing them will go in vain. The taste of it will become bitter and it won’t provide the much-required benefits. However, to know about the right time of harvesting the carrots, you first must get a detailed idea about how to grow fresh carrots properly.
How to Grow Carrots
Let’s know how to grow tasty carrots easily. Sow the seeds first and nurture them properly. The best time to sow the seeds is in the springtime as the carrots grow in winter. The cool atmosphere is appropriate for the growth of it. It is easy to grow carrots in your garden.
You can plant it in bulk or if you are busy enough to maintain the large firm, plant in small amounts. Plant it either in a container or in raised soil bed in your garden. It does not matter where you are sowing the seeds. Just make sure that the soil around it is loose and thin enough. This helps the carrots to grow properly. It is important to nurture the soil in the seedling stage to get a successful outcome in near future.
When to Harvest Carrots: the Best Time to Pick It Up
If everything goes well, carrots usually become ready for harvesting within 60-80 days after sowing the seeds. Anyways, it depends on the variety of carrots. The baby carrots take 50-60 days to grow properly, while for the matured carrots, the countdown completes after 75 days. The tops of the carrots show up from the ground when it is the right time to pick them up. The peeping tops are likely to be 3/4 or 1 inch in diameter. Well, exceptions can be there. The color is also another sign to know when to harvest carrots. When it is the right time, the color becomes vibrant and glowing.
There are so many varieties available for the carrots. And the harvesting time also varies as per the variety of the carrots. You can know when to harvest carrots by determining the type of your seeds. However, if you are wondering when to harvest carrots the above-mentioned signs are generally the best signs for you to know the right time. So, when you will find these signs, prepare yourself to pick the carrots from the ground. Even if you do not see the mentioned signs, you can harvest them after the growing days pass by.
Anyways, you do not need to harvest all of the carrots at a time. You can Pick up the necessary amount and leave the rest under the ground. It is natural preservation for them.
How to Harvest the Carrots
Now, as we have discussed when to harvest the carrots, let’s know how to harvest them. It is highly important to know the proper harvesting process. Otherwise, poor harvesting may ruin the crop. Firstly, loosen the soil around the plants with a spade. Then, gently pick up the roots of the carrot without breaking the greens. Remember not to pick them up when the soil around the plants is tight. If you grab and pull the greens from the tight soil, you may end up with only foliage and without the carrots in your hand.
How to store them
After harvesting the crop, it is necessary to store them properly. You can store them in a freeze. But before keeping them inside the freezer, trim the greens off. It will help the carrots to stay fresh for a long period.
So, here are all of the details that you need to know while harvesting carrots. Most importantly, you should know when to harvest carrots. This article guides you in this matter. Go through it and know the details.
