馃 Carrot 路 February
Whether February works depends on which corner of the country you鈥檙e standing in. Here鈥檚 the per-city read, sowing, transplanting and harvesting, plus the spacing, the timing and the family-of-four maths.
Days to harvest
70-90 days
Spacing
8 cm
Cities sowing in February
4
Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra
Family of 4
Sow a 1-2m row every 4-6 weeks; a family of 4 needs approximately 3-4 kg per week when in season
February in summer is one of twelve windows the Australian year offers, and whether you can plant carrot this month depends on which corner of the country you're standing in. Below is the per-city read: where carrot is being sown from seed, where it's going in as seedlings, and where it's already being harvested.
Sowing carrot from seed in February: Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra. No major Australian city is transplanting carrot seedlings in February. Nowhere in Australia is in the active carrot harvest in February.
Across Australia's climate zones, carrot keeps to tropical, april-july (cool season); subtropical, march-august; temperate, february-may, august-november; cool, august-march (spring through autumn); arid, march-august. February sits inside that window for the temperate zone. The longer version, including the climate-zone-by-zone breakdown, lives on the Carrot growing guide.
Carrots demand more soil preparation than almost any other vegetable, but in a well-built raised bed, much of this work is already done for you. The key requirements are deep (30cm+), loose, stone-free, well-drained soil with no fresh manure (which causes forking and hairy roots). If your raised bed mix is heavy in compost, add some coarse propagating sand to improve drainage and texture.
If you're planting carrot this February, the bed prep is the same as any other month: a 30 cm-deep raised bed worked through with compost, spacing of 8 cm between plants, and full sun to partial shade. The crop takes 70-90 days, which means a February planting will be ready around April. Use the raised bed calculator to size the bed and the companion planting guide to fill it out.
For a household of four, Sow a 1-2m row every 4-6 weeks; a family of 4 needs approximately 3-4 kg per week when in season Expected yield is 1-3 roots per plant; expect 2-4 kg per square metre.
The February carrot read changes city by city. The list above is the high-level signal; for the exact dates and bed-by-bed planting plan, the Plant Planner carrot module reads your postcode and your bed dimensions and does the rest of the maths.
Whether February works for carrot depends on your climate zone. The planting windows are: tropical, april-july (cool season); subtropical, march-august; temperate, february-may, august-november; cool, august-march (spring through autumn); arid, march-august. In February specifically, the broad rules suggest it's a planting month in the temperate zone.
Carrot takes 70-90 days. A February planting will be ready around April. Carrots can be left in the ground until needed, which acts as storage. Loosen soil alongside the row with a fork before pulling to avoid snapping tops. Harvest before the ground heats in summer (carrots become woody). Baby carrots can be harvested at 50-60 days for sweeter, more tender eating.
Sow a 1-2m row every 4-6 weeks; a family of 4 needs approximately 3-4 kg per week when in season Yield expectation: 1-3 roots per plant; expect 2-4 kg per square metre.
Full sun to partial shade. Consistent, uneven watering causes forking and cracking. Soil pH 6.0-6.8. Spacing 8 cm between plants, 25 cm between rows.
The planner reads your postcode and your bed, picks the right window, and emails the reminders the weekend before each task.
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