Carrot Daucus carota "Amsterdam 2" (Organic Way seeds, 2 g)

• Type: root vegetable, seeds
• Botanical name: Daucus carota "Amsterdam 2"
• Producer: Organic Way (Agrofirma Sėklos, Lithuania)
• Group: early, Amsterdam type; organic line
• Root: cylindrical, 15–17 cm
• Sowing: IV–V and X (pre-winter)
• Germination: 2–3 weeks
• Maturity: ~80 days from emergence, harvest VII–IX
• Spacing: 20 × 5 cm, 2–3 cm deep
• Seeds: ~800–1000 per 1 g
• Light: full sun
• Soil: loose, humus-rich loam or sandy loam, no fresh manure
• Size: packet 2 g

Planting. Sow carrots outdoors from late April to May, or before winter in October, 1.5–2 cm deep in rows 20–25 cm apart. Seeds are slow to germinate – 2–3 weeks; you can soak them for a day before sowing. Dig the bed deeply, 25–30 cm, without fresh manure, which makes roots fork.

Watering and feeding. Keep the soil moist until emergence, then water generously once a week so the soil is wet to root depth. Irregular watering causes splitting. A month after emergence you can give a potassium feed or wood ash.

Care. Thin twice: at 1–2 leaves to 2–3 cm, three weeks later to 4–6 cm. Hoe and weed between rows. Fleece and onions in the next row help against carrot fly.

Gardener's tip. In an organic garden, prepare the bed in autumn with well-rotted compost instead of mineral fertiliser and mulch between rows with grass clippings – it keeps moisture in and deters carrot fly.