How Long Does It Take to Grow Carrots?
Carrots are delicious, packed with vitamins, and a favorite of gardeners everywhere, but you may wonder how long they take to grow.On average, carrots take anywhere from 60 to 75 days to grow, depending on the variety. It's best to grow them in early spring. There are different cultivars, including danvers, nantes and Imperators. They come in a variety of sizes including long and fat, long and thin, short, fat and pinkie sized. Carrots are most often orange, but there are yellow and red varieties. The longer, fat varieties are the ones most favored by home gardeners. The longer varieties need to grow in healthy, rich soil. Listed below are a few types of carrots and their growing times.
Small, Round Carrots
Orbits are tiny carrots that, at optimum harvesting size, are about the size of a half dollar piece. They take about 58 days from planting to harvesting. Thumbelina carrots are great if you need to plant in rocky soil, or are container growing. They grow to maturity in about 60 days from planting.
Baby Carrots
Baby spikes grow to about 4 inches in length. They tend to be very tender and have a vivid orange internal color. They grow in about 52 days from planting to harvest. Little fingers are orange, sweet and crisp. They grow to about 5" in length in 65 days. Short n Sweets are 4 inches in length at harvest, with broad shoulders and tapered tips. They're favored for their intense, sweet flavor and are perfect for growing in less than ideal soils.
Danvers
Danvers half-longs are almost picture perfect, with bunches that have identically flat bases and taper sharply at the ends. They have a 75-day growth cycle. They tend to be very sweet and tender.
Nantes
Ingots are extremely sweet carrots with a dark orange color. They're a hybrid that takes about 70 days to grow to a length of about 8 inches. Scarlet nantes are like the gold standard for carrots. They're sweet and crispy, bright orange colored, and grow to maturity in about 70 days.
Imperator
Orlando golds have a higher nutritional value than even the average nutritious carrot, with 30% more carotene. It's a hybrid carrot that takes about 78 days to grow.
These guidelines will help you know when to pick you carrots, although you may still await their arrival in your kitchen impatiently!
