Growing Carrots

Don't feed carrots, this will only encourage the greenery at the expense of the carrot growth. If your soil is sandy it needs improvement with well-rotted compost or other humus material. The reason is that carrots like water and sandy soil does not hold water. Early carrots do better on sandy soil compared to maincrop varieties. The reason is that they have to tolerate less of the dry weather.

Thinning out the seedlings will release the scent of carrots, and attract the attentions of carrot fly. To avoid this, perform this activity in the evening when the carrot fly is not about. Ensure that any soil disturbed by the thinning process is firmed back down with your hand - carrot fly lay their eggs in loose soil around the carrot seedlings.

Harvesting Carrots
When the foliage begins to wilt and shrivel up, the carrots have reached maturity. Use a fork to get the roots up, driving it in a few inches to one side of the row, using it as lever to loosen the roots' grip on the soil. The carrots can then be removed by hand. If the weather is particularly dry, water the previous evening to avoid damage to the carrots.

Right - Yellowstone
Yellow and tasty

Carrots harvested before maturity will be tender and more tasty than those left in the ground longer - pull a few up and experiment to see what suits you.