Easy Ways to Grow Carrots for Beginners

Carrots or Daucus  Carrota  are one of the favorite vegetables of the Indonesian people which are rich in vitamin A. There are various ways to process them into a delicious meal. Initially, these vegetables came from East Asia and were probably brought by traders who entered Indonesia.

Furthermore, carrots are cultivated in Indonesia with the largest cultivation centers in Java, North Sumatra, Bengkulu, Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara, Makassar, Ambon, Papua, Bali, East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, to West Sumatra. Nowadays, you can easily get carrot seeds at the nearest farm shop.

Well, for those of you who want to plant carrots for the first time, you must know in advance some of the conditions that will support optimal carrot growth, namely:

• The ideal soil height for growing carrots is at 1000-1500 meters above sea level
• Cold and humid air temperature
• Fertile and loose soil
• Soil pH ranges from 6-7

Also read: Selection of suitable fertilizer for Longan

Steps to Plant Carrots

After finding the right location according to the conditions above, the next step is to start planting carrots by following these steps:

1. Selection of Superior Seeds

Carrot seed selection is one of the important things. Carrot seeds will determine the superior tubers that carrot plants can produce. Carrot seeds are easy to get by buying at the nearest farm shops or online.

Selection of carrot seeds should use seeds in the form of packages that have been registered or already have a brand. This is because quality can be easily identified and the quality is guaranteed. The quantity of seeds is also more secure than seeds obtained in the form of unbranded retail packaging.

Carrot seeds must also be fertile. Fertile is the condition of seeds that can be reproduced. In general, plant activists provide sterile seeds that cannot be re-cultivated. As a result, both farmers and people who cultivate it must always buy seeds. So, be careful and always maintain local seeds. These tips can also be applied when planting tomatoes and kale.

2. Seeding

Carrot seeding steps can be done in the following way:

• Have selected the best seeds
• Rub between the seeds using the palm of the hand so that the carrot seeds don't stick together
• Soak the seeds in cold water for 1 night so that the carrot sprouts come out faster
• Drain the seeds that have sprouted
• Carrot seeds are ready to be transplanted

Also read: Tips and Benefits of Caring for Mango Using NPK Fertilizer

3. Land Preparation

Preparing the land for planting carrots can be done in the following ways:

• Clean plants from weeds and weeds
• Adjust soil pH to 6-7
• Loosening the soil
• Leave the soil for up to 2 weeks
• Make a bed with a width of 150 cm and a height of 40 cm
• The distance between the beds is 50 cm. 

4. Seed Planting

How to plant seeds is to sow the seeds evenly into the path that has been prepared with the root tip at the bottom, then cover it again with a thin layer of soil.

5. Maintenance

Carrots require treatment in the form of thinning in order to produce fertile and optimal carrots so as to produce higher yields. In addition, other treatments needed in maintenance are cleaning weeds or weeds.

Also read: Tips for Ageless with Calendula Flowers

6. Harvesting

Carrots can be harvested after 12 weeks of planting. As much as possible avoid late harvest events so that carrots do not harden and are difficult to sell in the market. Usually carrots grown in a good way can produce a harvest of 25 tons / hectare.

Current Condition of Carrot Farmers

Carrot farmers currently get a lot of convenience in exporting. This can be seen from BPS data which shows an increase in exports in 2018 as much as 630% compared to 2017. The government also supports through a program to increase production and quality which will increase the quantity of Indonesian carrot exports. In fact, several types of export quality seeds continue to be developed.

According to the Director General of Horticulture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi, carrot businesses are even capable of producing 40-60 tons/hectare. This gives the fact that carrot farmers, especially in the Berastagi area, can generate income of up to 50 million per month with a land area of ​​15 hectares.

Also read: Types of Plants Used as Vegetable Pesticides

In addition, the owner of PT Pandiafarm in Berastagi said that the supply of carrots was very smooth and the amount of supplies that were routinely sent to Java to Papua reached 100 tons/day. This proves that the carrot market is still very wide open and smooth.

Well, those are the steps you need to take, as a beginner, to grow carrots. By looking at the condition of farmers who have succeeded in exporting their carrots, growing carrots can be an activity that has bright prospects and brings a lot of profit.