I plant carrots in mid January this year, in my high tunnels. I covered the ground with row cover and kept them moist. They came up really nice. Here is a picture from April 6th. They are about knee high now and are getting ready to pull. I usually plant the shorter season carrots, Napoli, Nelson, Yaya, Mokum. I have had good luck with theses. I also planted another planting in early February. They are doing well too. To plant carrots in the fall, I plant mine in late July 25-August 5th. I did plant a late planting in September, but they overwintered and took off in January/Feb. I would recommend the earlier planting date. I overwinter carrots in my high tunnels all winter. I try to have carrots from September to June. You could be successful with low tunnels. Winter carrots are the sweetest treats ever! I would plant Napoli for these winter carrots. Jay

No it won't grow another carrot. If its still alive, if you do this what you will get is a carrot flower. Carrots are a biennial plant so it takes 2 years to get seeds from it.. In the first year the Carrot grows the root. (which you eat). To get seed you save the carrot by storing it your house in a cool place in some sand or leave it in the ground. Next spring it will sprout leaves again, but this time the Carrot will flower and make seeds if pollinated. This is my understanding. :-)

ristau, Violet "covered" it her way :), but for me all I do is sow the seed thickly in wide raised rows and thin out the excess. The heat doesn't appear to deter germination but keeping the moisture even is important since carrots are very slow to germinate. The other headache is keeping the row weed free while the slow-to-start carrots are taking hold. kkcusce, remember now that late August for me (Va Z-7) might be a different timing for your location? Aug 20th is my target date for all my fall crops (collards, kale, carrots, kholrabi, turnip seeds + broccoli & cabbage transplants), except for spinach seed whick I plant late Sept for an early spring harvest. Rule of thumb is planting about 7-8 weeks before first expected average frost date for your area.

I wouldn't blame growing conditions on the previous posters' experiences. This year I grew four orange varieties as well as a rainbow blend. Same bed, same soil, same amount of water, sun exposure, planted at the same time, etc. The orange varieties taste great. The colored carrots (rainbow blend) taste pretty bad, especially the white ones which are inedible and leave a horrible aftertaste. Rodney