How To Harvest And Save Carrot Seeds - Gardener's Path

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And by the way, you’ll want to plan on saving at least 5 plants to harvest seed from, for reasons I’ll explain in the harvesting section below.

Mark Your Planting

Whether you grow more than one variety in the first year or not, you’ll want to make sure you mark your crop in some way.

This will provide a visual reminder that at least some of these plants should be left in the ground and not harvested as this year’s food.

A vertical close up picture of the green foliage of carrots growing in the garden with a black sign indicating what they are.

I recommend doing this in year one, at the time when you first plant your root veggies.

And, by the way, If you need a primer on proper practices, check out our guide to growing carrots in your garden.

There are many ways you can mark your plantings, such as making a detailed map of your garden in your garden journal, or by using physical plant markers.

A close up of metal plant markers set on a white background.

Reusable Zinc Plant Markers

I like these reusable zinc plant markers – not only will they do the job of keeping track of your crops, they will give your garden a lovely cachet.

You can find packs of 25 reusable zinc plant markers at Burpee.

Vernalize

Like kale, carrots are biennial plants, which means they require two growing seasons to complete their reproductive cycle.

What happens in between these two growing seasons to tell the plant to go ahead and get busy reproducing?

Cold, that’s what. This cold period is also known as vernalization.

A winter garden scene with large wooden raised garden beds covered in snow pictured in light sunshine with shrubs and bushes in the background.

Vernalization triggers flowering in biennial plants. Your biennial crop needs to experience cold temperatures in order to mature and begin its reproductive cycle.

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