Plowing the land in preparation for carrots

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Today I started the first step towards preparing the ground for my carrot seeds, plowing. Actually, I am going to dig down a bit more to be sure to give the carrots an easier time growing into the soil. The hard soil in Arizona is only good for native Sonoran plants if you don't prepare it, so I am going to prepare this planting bed.

The first step, of course, is to break up the ground. Carrots definitely won't grow into the native clay soil, so it has to be removed. And be sure to choose an area that gets adequate irrigation - the best sign is if you see roots from other plants that are growing in there, such as these roots from the Phoenix roebellini. Go ahead and cut the roots, they will grow back elsewhere. I like to amend the soil with fertilizer and moisture crystals. Or you can also just use Miracle Grow Moisture Control®, which has that stuff already in. Actually, I usually do both. Some sand mixed in with the soil will make it easier for the carrots to grow, too. My garden always has a bit of a slant to it, which allows water to drain off, which is very important for cycads, but in this area, I will use that slant to create an area that will trap water, to create a little bit of a swale.

I ordered the seeds online so it's something to look forward to. Last year I bought carrots seeds at a grocery store and just scattered them around all over the garden, looking to see where they grew best and this area was it. They were minis and never really got that big, but they only had a couple of inches of soil to grow into, anyway. This year I'm going to plant full-size carrots - and give them room to grow. And, yes, the ferny effect of the carrot leaves give a nice tropical look to the garden, which is important to me. The harvest should last until spring.

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