A staple of many dishes, the humble carrot can be cooked or eaten raw. On the whole they are quite easy to grow (see carrot fly below) but they do prefer a sandy and stone-free, un-manured soil for the roots to grow to a decent length. Carrots store well over winter and can be easily frozen to keep your harvest for many months. The humble carrot is an excellent source of beta carotene which the human body converts to vitamin A. This is where the 'old wives tale' started about carrots helping you to see at night, vitamin A is of benefit to your eyesight.
Unlike most other vegetables, carrots are more nutritious when eaten cooked rather than raw. This is because cooking breaks down the tough cellular walls within the raw carrot which enables the human body to absorb more than 50% of the carotene as opposed to less than 25% with raw carrots.
Sow outside as soon as the soil can be worked but is also above 5°C.
