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Carrots are best grown in sandy, well prepared soil which has been previously manured at least 6 months before you decide to sow your seeds (don't worry if you have not manuared your patch before you sow, just make sure you add some good organic compost and fertilizer). However if your soil is heavy clay, stony and doesn't drain well, then you should only plant main crop short rooted varieties of carrots. Carrots take between 12 and 16 weeks to mature to full size but you can use the thinnings or pull them earlier and use a baby carrots. To grow carrots successfully, and in fact any root vegetables it is really important that you prepare the soil well by digging it over and removing any stones that might get in the way. Also if the soil is 'clayey' then it would be a good idea to add some sand, organic compost and maybe some perlite to help lighten the soil and also for drainage etc. The soil needs to be crumbly and in no way compacted. One week before sowing your seeds, rake in a good organic fertilizer. Carrot seeds are tiny and it is a good idea to sow them as thinly as possible. This reduces the amount of thinning necessary and potential risk from pests such as the carrot fly. If you are having trouble sowing and think that you are, maybe sowing too thickly then try adding some sand to the seeds before sprinkling them into ground. Sow the carrot seeds about 1/2 " deep and about 4" - 6" apart depending on the variety you are growing then cover them over lightly. Once the seeds have germinated which may take a good week or so, depending on when you sowed them wait till they are large enough before thinning out. I always wait till they are big enough to use the thinnings. Stayed tuned for an update on the growing root vegetables as the season goes on!! Thank you for watching and please subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you don't miss out on more useful videos on 'Growing Your Own' For further information please go to my blog http:gardenofyvonne.wordpress.com