Carrot Fucino - Daucus carota

The Fucino half-long carrot is a classic half-long variety of carrot. Its root is cylindrical with a rounded tip. The skin and flesh are orange. Small and tasty, it is ideal raw in salads. Sow from March to July, to harvest from June to November.

The carrot is a biennial herbaceous plant, cultivated as an annual, belonging to the Apiaceae family. It is grown as a vegetable for its edible, fleshy, usually orange-colored taproots. It is a root rich in carotene. It can generally reach a height of 30 cm (12in). The Carrot is not very demanding in terms of soil type. However, the best roots will be harvested in a rich, light, and deep soil. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the soil well by deep digging in autumn, during which 2 to 3 kg of well-decomposed manure or compost will be incorporated. All stones will be removed during this operation. Before sowing, the soil will be well crumbled and fertilized with a basal fertilizer, then left as it is for about fifteen days. The sowing can then take place.

Harvest: during the season, harvest the carrots as needed. To extract the roots from the soil, use a forked spade, taking care not to damage the root. Injuries to the roots can trigger carrot rot during storage.
Yields can be estimated based on the type of cultivation and carrot. For early crops, plan for approximately 1 to 1.5 kg/m²; for mid-season crops of half-long varieties, around 3 kg/m²; and up to 5 kg for late crops of long carrots.

Storage: it can be done in the ground, on the cultivation site, but this ties up garden space. In winter, in this case, the roots will need to be protected from freezing with a good layer of dead leaves. Indoor storage is an excellent long-term solution. In a frost-free and well-ventilated place, cut the foliage at the collar level and place the roots next to each other on a bed of moist sand. Cover them with a 2 cm (1in) layer of sand and place the next row.

Gardener's tips:
Sowing radishes and carrots in the same row and at the same time naturally distances the carrot seeds. Once the radishes are harvested, it creates space for the carrots to grow. It's a win-win thinning process!
Sowing carrots near a row of leeks helps protect them mutually from carrot fly and leek moth.