QUESTION: How do you know when carrots are ready to harvest? When should I harvest them? What about the carrot greens?
ANSWER: Carrots are ready to be harvested between 40 to 55 days after the seeds have been planted. The tops are ready for harvest when they reach 4-6 inches, as well. If you are only harvesting the tops, they should be cut when they reach a desirable height of 4-6 inches, but the person performing this action should try to keep around an inch or so of the leaves above the crown.
When a carrot is ready to be harvested, it is crowned; this is when the bright orange top of the root is visible above the soil surface.
As is common with most carrot root vegetables, they thrive best in loose soil. Thus, when checking for readiness, it should be easy to pull the carrot out. Carrots are usually sowed in batches, so one can gauge whether the rest of the batch is ready based on a singular carrot that appears to be crowning.
Since you have usually planted all your carrots at the same time, you can often pull out one of them that looks ready because it is crowning, and then you’ll get a better idea if the rest of them are also ready to come out. Carrots, like many root vegetables, do best in loose soil. So it should not be difficult to pull one out when you are checking.
As the root of a plant, it can be consumed at any stage. With carrots specifically, it is prudent to wait until the root portion is sufficiently large. While all root vegetables can technically be harvested at an immature stage, doing so is not prudent because they will yield more should you grant them time to grow.
When to harvest homegrown carrots varies depending on personal choice: whether to pick them as tender, sweeter young roots, or larger, more robust bulbs. There are several methods for harvesting these vegetables.
Some carrot roots will need to be pulled from the ground and bunched while the stems and leaves remain attached. These should only be harvested when the bulbs are around two inches in diameter. For those that are topped or have had the greens removed, they should be harvested when the bulbs reach three inches in diameter.
The actual timeframe for harvesting any specific carrot root partly depends on the variety that you are growing, as well as the growing conditions. Plants with less-than-ideal growing conditions will take longer to mature. Additionally, if you are harvesting the greens, this will also slow the production of the bulbs, making the final harvest take longer.
Leading up to maturation from seed can take anywhere between 28 to 75 days. Larger varieties will take longer to reach full size. However, if you prefer a milder, sweeter taste, you can harvest them when they are smaller.
Carrots are collected during the spring and autumn seasons. Autumn carrots need to be harvested prior to the soil freezing, but tend to be sweeter when exposed to light frosts. If the carrot crop is left in the soil during cold temperatures, the roots are likely to crack or rot.
Carrots can be stored for a long period of time, so it is best to harvest the entire crop by late fall. In temperate regions, carrot harvests can be stored in the ground longer if mulch is piled around the plants to protect the roots from freezing. It is easy to see why carrots are such popular home garden veggies.