Carrot Seeds - Paris Market

These plump round bite-sized carrots look great and add a welcome novelty factor to the plate or lunchbox. An especially useful variety, suited to small space growing, such as balconies and window boxes, as well as in heavier clay soils where other carrots would struggle. Sweet and tender, this French heirloom is many growers choice for good reason.

• Pack size: 300 seeds
• Time to germination: 14-21 days
• When to sow under cloches: March
• When to sow outside: April - July
• Spacing: 10cm +
• Soil preference: Well-drained
• Light preference: Full sun
• When to harvest: June - October

How to grow Paris Market Carrots from seed

It is not necessary to prepare the soil prior to sowing but we do recommend watering first. Sow carrot seeds directly and thinly by mixing with sharp sand into a trench roughly 1.5cms deep. Early sowings may benefit from some protection, and thin seedlings gradually to around 10cm.

Spread your sowing over six weeks or so for a long and bountiful harvest without the glut.

Once growing, carrots are a great low maintenance crop. Water when needed to stop them splitting or going woody, and pull weeds if you like, leaving them as mulch on the soil surface.

Harvest as you like beginning at 9 weeks, in the evening when carrot fly isn’t active. Water after harvest and discard tops far from your remaining crop.

What to feed your carrot plants

Carrots enjoy a slightly acidic humus-rich and free-draining soil. Skip the manure and opt for a handful of fish blood and bone, plenty of organic matter (which also helps retain moisture and provide humus), and some volcanic rock dust and kelp powder to give them a rich, balanced and diverse diet for strong organic growth released over the whole season.

Keeping pests away

Carrot fly is most destructive in May to October and as such, there is little getting around this pest. Cover your crops with a mesh to physically exclude the carrot fly, although this isn’t always practicable. When harvesting or thinning seedlings, do so in the evening when carrot fly is not around and remove the attractant tops far from your crops. Predators have evolved to spot vast swathes (rows) of their favourite monoculture, so sow smaller numbers of carrots in different locations, interplanted with garlic, onions or marigolds to disguise the scent. This also makes crop rotation (which should be done yearly) a much easier job.

Grow Sow Greener is a regenerative gardening company advocating back to the roots tried and tested methods. We don’t advocate the use of or sell any extremely profitable pesticides, herbicides or inorganic fertilizers. They are detrimental to the health of your entire garden ecosystem from microbe to mammal. When ordering Paris Market Carrots from Grow Sow Greener we would rather we reccomend sowing marigold seeds which will deter nematode attack and attract beneficial insects to your plot.