Pick a Spot
Carrots need sufficient sunlight, so place your pots in areas that receive the amount of sunshine recommended on your seed packet. You can even put your pots on wheels and move them around the house as necessary.
Providing adequate sunlight may be the main challenge to growing carrots inside. Once you’ve got that handled, you’re on your way!
Pick a Plant and a Pot
The first thing to do is pick out the varieties of carrot you wish to grow. Almost every type will grow in pots, so select your favorite(s) and buy some seeds.
- Select pots deep enough to accommodate your carrot.
- You’ll need pots from eight to 12 inches deep, at a minimum.
- Baby carrots and the Nantes variety will do well in smaller pots.
- Rolling plant stands are a good idea for large, heavy pots.
Pick a Planting Medium
Time to fill those pots and feed your carrots. An organic potting or seed-starting mix can be purchased at most garden shops, or you can use soil from your own garden; a mix of these two is good, also.
Pick a Method
Your seed packet details one way to plant your carrots, but there’s an easier way to get them started. Simply fill your pot with soil, dampen the surface, and sprinkle a few seeds over the top. Don’t worry about spacing or depth; there’s no wind indoors to blow them around!
Thin your starts twice: when the seedlings have fully germinated and again when they are about three inches tall. You want to end up with carrots about one inch apart.
The second thinning is when you want to start regularly feeding your plants, as well. A liquid fertilizer for houseplants or vegetables will work fine.
Pick Your Carrots
When your carrots reach their full color, you can harvest them. To do this, pull them straight out of the soil; don’t dig around them, as this can damage the roots of other carrots.
You can harvest your carrots when they’re small, and they’re delicious! However, harvesting early means you’ve put in time and effort for a small reward.
If you want to be able to harvest carrots all year long, plant several indoor pots, about two to three weeks apart. This way, you’ll have carrots ripening in succession, and you’ll never lack for these delicious vegetables in your kitchen.
