They say you learn something every day, so here's some carrot gardening wisdom for your quota.
The scoop
Organic grower and forager Nettles and Petals (@nettlesandpetals) shares how and why to replant your carrots over the winter in a beautiful video.
@nettlesandpetals Re-Plant Carrots and Never Buy Seed Again 🥕🌱 I really enjoy growing carrots in the vegetable garden as they are more than just an edible crops! 😊🌱 They are biennial, so in their first year they produce the carrot that we eat but in their second year they produce ornamental umbels of tiny white flowers that are loved by pollinators. 🌱🐝 I direct sow my carrots and mulch heavily to aid germination, and interplant with onions to help deter carrot root fly. They grow on into mature plants and I pull them throughout the season, but I always either leave some in the ground to overwinter, or store the best ones and replant them the following season so they will then flower in their second year. The flowers then turn to seed heads, which I leave to dry and save them until the following season and the whole process starts again! 😊🌱 It is best to save seeds from several carrots of the same variety to preserve genetic diversity and only save seed from heirloom varieties, hybridised seed won't produce seed true to breed. So that's any with an F1 on the packet. So will you be leaving some carrots in the ground to flower this season? 😊🥕 #gardeningtips #companionplanting #vegetablegarden #organicgardening #gardening ♬ original sound - Nettles and Petals
The TikTok post explains that carrots are so much more than edible crops. Carrots are biennial, meaning they have a two year cycle. The first year, the seeds produce the carrot we know and love. In their second year, they sprout tiny white flower clusters that pollinators adore.
Nettles and Petals plants seeds directly into the soil with plenty of mulch to aid germination. Using companion planting — a gardening technique in which different plants are grown in close proximity in order to benefit from each other — the creator interplants the carrots with onions to help ward off carrot root fly larvae.
After harvest, the recommendation is to leave some in the ground to overwinter or store the best ones to replant the following season.
"The flowers then turn to seed heads, which I leave to dry and save them until the following season, and the whole process starts again," Nettles and Petals says.
They suggested saving seeds from several carrots of the same heirloom variety to maintain genetic diversity. If you're using a packet, make sure it is marked with "F1" for first-generation seeds, as "hybridized seeds won't produce seed true to breed."
How it's working
While gardening can take work, the benefits are well worth it. Not only does homegrown food taste better, but it's also better for your physical and mental health. Produce from the garden provides a more fibrous diet while reducing stress and anxiety. A study in Singapore found that growing your own food also curates optimism and higher self-esteem.
Growing your own fruits and vegetables saves a trip to the store, too. No need for a food delivery service when you have a meal waiting for you in your yard. It also saves you money — an investment of $70 can yield $600 of produce a year. Not to mention the excess plastic packaging you'll forgo by not purchasing mass-produced groceries.
What people are saying
The carrot hack was a big win for all, especially those looking to make the most of their gardens.
"So that's why some of the old farmers called Queen Anne's Lace 'Wild Carrot,'" one TikToker mused as if a lightbulb had been switched on.
"Nothing compares to the taste of homegrown," another commented after someone mentioned how cheap a bag of carrots is.
A third exclaimed, "Learned something today!"
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