When to harvest carrots

Harvest carrots when the plants have grown rapidly and matured before the heat of summer, or when the leaves reach full size.

The window: Carrots taste best when they grow rapidly and mature before the heat of summer; midsummer plantings that mature quickly in cool fall weather produce tender, sweet "baby" carrots.

Harvest carrots when the leaves reach full size.
Full-sized carrots are ready when the tops are 0.75 inch to one inch in diameter.
Harvest carrots when the roots are at least 1/2 inch thick, with 1 to 2 inches being ideal.

The mistake to avoid: ""

Timing varies by region and year; your local extension office is the closest authority.

Grounded in: extension.illinois.edu, extension.usu.edu, health.extension.wisc.edu. Every timing follows sentences verified verbatim on those pages.

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