Well, I usually plant my peas at the back of a wide row (2 feet wide) backing up on a fence. The peas grow up the fence (I grow vining peas rather than dwarf varieties), and the carrots are planted in the bed in front of them.

This year I have runner beans growing along the fence with potatoes in front, and the peas are planted on pea fence where my daughter's flower maze grew last year. Yes, we have a pea maze. I'll try to get a picture of it this weekend. Anyway, I sprinkled carrot seed in front of the peas, just on one side of the fence. It hasn't sprouted very well, but this is one of the less improved areas in the garden, so it was just a whim.

Anyway, in a wide bed you could plant peas in the center and carrots on either side:

c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p
fence fence fence fence fence fence fence fence
p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p...p

c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c
c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

Well, you get the idea. I plant a lot of carrots for fall and winter harvest, but you may not need as many as indicated in my drawing ;-)

Catherine

Some years ago, I came across a post about growing carrots. The poster suggested placing a board, or sheet of plywood, over the newly seeded bed to keep the soil moist for successful germination. I haven't tried the method but thought I'd repeat it, cf., Catherine's remarks above.

To prevent the carrot maggot fly from entering the carrot bed and laying its eggs there, someone suggested setting up window screens (or some other screens) around the carrot bed. Apparently the carrot fly keeps low to the ground, so the screens need only be a few feet high to be effective.

Hope this is useful information......

Catherine, what type/variety of carrots are you growing, and how do you winter-store them?

The last couple of years I have grown a rainbow mix of colors (mostly red/orange/yellow/white) and a couple of the purple hybrids that have yellow or orange cores. Just what ever I have had in the garden in the spring. Last year I also grew one called Big Orange which was supposed to be a prizewinner for size. Actually, one of the purple ones (purple haze, I think) grew bigger, about 9 inches long and 3 inches in diameter, and still tasted good. My kids like the BIG carrot "coins" in their lunches.

I plant a bed in front of my south-facing house with the carrots and radishes, and around the first frost I put about 6 inches of pine straw between the rows. Then when the night-time temperatures are staying in the 20s and threatening to head into the teens, I put either plastic or a thick row cover over poly pipe ribs over the bed. We don't get a lot of snow cover in the winter, so I'm not worried too much about the structure, just a bit of air insulation. We also have a lot of sunny days during the winter, so just the little solar gain of my makeshift low tunnel along with the pine straw keeps the soil from freezing except for the depths of late December until late January. So most of the winter I can just pull back the cover and dig up some carrots or winter radishes without much effort.

In a snowier/cloudier climate you could do pretty much the same but with a rigid coldframe or even a low tunnel with the poly pipes closer together and perhaps with a ridge brace. Oh, and maybe closer to a foot of mulch instead of 6 inches.

About April the carrots start growing again and get hairy and the flavor deteriorates. But by then it's time to pull everything and start the spring planting anyway.

Catherine

Thanks, Catherine, for describing the interesting method you have devised for growing and storing carrots. Terrific, useful information. Many thanks.