·         Best sown straight in the ground and then thinned in stages to obtain the correct distance apart. Never plant in cold or weedy soil as carrots are difficult to weed once established.

·         Carrots are cool-weather vegetables, so start sowing from about two weeks before the last expected frost in your area.

·         Make successive plantings every three weeks but avoid the hottest part of the summer.

·         Sow in drills about 2cm deep and 15cm apart. With this spacing the foliage of adjacent plants will make a dense canopy when the plants are mature.

·         Sow the seeds sparingly and cover with about 0.5cm of soil. Seeds must be kept moist to germinate.

·         When sowing seeds, try to space them 1cm apart. The tiny seeds make spacing difficult, but it will be easier to thin without disturbing the plants you plan to leave, if there is a little space between them. Seeds can be mixed with sand to make sowing a little easier.

·         You can try mixing radish seeds with the carrot seeds. The carrot seeds are slow to germinate, and the radishes, which germinate and grow very quickly, will mark the row until the carrots come up and provide another crop.

·         A second crop of carrots can be planted in late summer or early autumn in most areas. If a hard frost threatens, protect your autumn crop with a heavy mulch.