Carrot Romance - Daucus carota

The Romance carrot is a variety that grows quickly (80 days from sowing to harvest). It is delicious and ideal for forced cultivation, but it can also be sown later in the season. The carrots can grow up to 20 cm (8in) long. Sow them in a sheltered place from February to April, and then in open ground until July. Harvest from May to November.

The carrot is a biennial herbaceous plant, cultivated as an annual, from the Apiaceae family. It is grown for its edible, fleshy, usually orange-coloured taproots. Carrots are rich in carotene and can generally reach a height of 30 cm (12in). Carrots are not very demanding when it comes to soil type. However, the best roots will be harvested from a rich, light, and deep soil. Therefore, it is recommended to prepare the soil by deep digging in autumn, burying 2 to 3 kg of well-rotted manure or compost. All stones should be removed during this operation. Before sowing, the soil should be well crumbled and fertilized with a base fertilizer, then left as it is for about fifteen days. The sowing can then take place.

Harvest: During the season, harvest the carrots as you need them. To extract the roots from the ground, use a garden fork, taking care not to damage the root. Injuries to the roots can cause rotting during storage.
Yields can be estimated based on the type of cultivation and carrot. As an indication, plan for between 1 and 1.5 kg/m² for early cultivation, about 3 kg/m² for seasonal cultivation of a half-long variety, and up to 5 kg for late cultivation of long carrots.

Storage: Carrots can be stored in the ground, on the cultivation site, but this takes up gardening space. In winter, in this case, the roots will need to be protected from frost 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 base 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 on top.

Gardener's tips: 
Sowing radishes and carrots on the same row and at the same time naturally distances the carrot seeds. Once the radishes are harvested, there will be space for the carrots to grow. It's a win-win thinning technique! 
Sowing carrots near a row of leeks helps protect them both from carrot fly and leek moth.