236 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



desirable, as the cost of thinning in such a case is con- 

 siderable. It is best for the experienced grower to have 

 all the conditions just right and then sow the seed so that 

 little, if any, thinning will be necessary. However, the 

 beginner will very likely find it safest to sow a large amount 

 of seed, perhaps three pounds per acre, and thin out so 

 that the plants will stand three inches apart in the rows. 

 The richer the soil the more room the roots require in the 

 row; if small roots are wanted they may be left an inch 

 apart in the row. 



The carrot requires lots of potash for its best develop- 

 ment. Vorhees says that a yield of fifteen tons per acre 

 will remove 153 pounds of potash, 48 pounds of nitrogen, 

 and 27 pounds of phosphoric acid. Never apply fresh 

 manure to the land for carrots as this will cause a large 

 number of small roots to form instead of one large root as 

 desired. 



Gathering. One of the greatest outlays in raising 

 carrots is in gathering and topping the crop. The topping 

 may be done by hand, after being plowed out; but hand 

 labor is very costly. Some growers go over the rows 

 and cut the tops off with a sharp hand hoe. If the tops 

 of the roots are cut off a little no harm is done, as it does 

 not increase the liability to rot, as in the case with beets. 

 The roots are, perhaps most easily dug by plowing close 

 to each row and then pulling them out by hand. For 

 this purpose a subsoil plow is best, but any good plow 

 will answer the purpose fairly well. If a short-rooted 

 variety is grown, and the land is mellow, the plow may often 

 be run so as to turn the roots out on top of the furrow slice. 



Storing. Carrots are easily kept over winter in cellars, 

 providing they are in a temperature near the freezing 

 point and are not too ripe when dug. If the seed has been 



