Carrot Royal Chantenay Seed (Daucus - carota)

heriloomChantenay carrots have thick, fat roots. This 5"-6" long heirloom variety has sweet flavor and a crisp texture. A great 'all around carrot', it has the excellent qualities of flavor, shallow soil growth, and long storage ability. It grows well in dense soils and can be grown in containers as well as in the ground. This packet plants six 10-foot rows or three successive plantings of two 10-foot rows. Although carrots 'prefer cool soils to begin life and warm soils to finish it', you can grow both a spring and fall crop. Carrots will germinate in soils as cool as 45 degrees, and in the fall they can still be dug from the garden and eaten until the ground freezes.

When to plant outside:
RECOMMENDED. First sowing should be 2-4 weeks before average last frost. Successive plantings can be sown every 3-4 weeks until 60 days before the first fall frost. In warm climates with lows above 25 degrees, they can be grown all winter.

When to start inside: Not recommended.

Special Germination Instructions: Soak seeds in water for 12 hours before sowing. (Press them dry between paper towels afterwards to reduce clumping.) Plant 4 seeds per inch. When inch tall, thin to 1 plant per every 3 inches. A favorite gardening tip is to alternate carrot seeds and radish seeds. The radishes will mature first. As they are pulled, the carrots then have more growing room and water going towards their roots from the spaces in between.