Carrot Farming In Kenya: Carrots are among the most universally grown, if not the best loved of vegetables. Because of their broad appeal — radiant colors, diverse shapes and sizes, culinary versatility, and nutritional value — demand for carrots will always be strong. Horticulturally, though, they can be particular, and even seasoned growers find them exacting in their requirements. Because demand is reliably strong, however, mastering carrot farming can be well worth a grower’s while.

Carrot Farming In Kenya

Carrots like consistency: They grow best with no wide swings in temperature or moisture. They grow straightest and smoothest in deep, loose, fertile sandy loams and peat soils, with good water-retention capacity to keep moisture levels even.

To the extent a grower can influence the environment, these favorable conditions are most effectively achieved through correct bed preparation and spacing, and timely weeding and watering.

The crop requires low attention making it manageable. It also has short maturity period and high returns with a kilo retailing for not less than Ksh 50.

Varieties of Carrots In Kenya

Common varieties in Kenya include but not limited to Chantney, Nantes and Oxheart. Nantes variety is the choice for most farmers due to a nice deep orange colour as well as sweet taste. The carrots are smooth and long. It also has a longer shelf life and can be grown in all seasons.

Seedbed Preparations On Carrot Farming In Kenya

Carrot farming prefer well-drained, deeply-worked soil: preferably to an 18″ depth for the longer varieties, though a shallower depth may suffice for shorter varieties. Heavier soils are okay for half-long or round types.

Deeply-worked soil minimizes the resistance encountered by the growing carrot roots as they elongate. Resistance can lead to misshapen roots. While interesting to look at, forked, stunted, or twisted carrots are more prone to damage during harvest; are less easily handled, transported, and stored post harvest; and generally don’t sell as well as smooth, evenly proportioned carrots.

Spacing

Here are the guidelines we suggest for spacing your carrot rows:

  • Allow for at least 12″ between rows; 18″ is ideal.
  • Spacing depends upon the variety grown and its top height.
  • Spacing needs are also dictated by the width of the cultivation equipment being used.
  • Consider planting pelleted seeds with a precision seeder if available to achieve neat, accurately spaced carrot rows and minimize labor and waste.

Climatic conditions for carrot farming in Kenya

Carrot farming does best in cool climate. Recommended that they are grown in temperatures ranging from 15 to 20 degrees because high temperatures result in pale carrots with shorter roots and poor flavour. In order to get the best quality, plant them in well prepared, deep, well drained, loamy soils that allow the roots to penetrate and enlarge.

Carrot farming soil requirements

The objective in growing carrots is a high yield of straight, smooth roots. Deep, well drained, sandy
loam soils with a friable texture are most desirable. Heavy, stony, compacted and poorly drained soil is less desirable at it interferes with the development of the roots.
Carrots are very sensitive to acidic soils. Soils with a PH of 6.5-7.5 are suitable for their growth. If the PH is lower than 5.5 it is advisable to apply moderate amounts of rock phosphate fertilizers to reduce acidity.
Carrot seeds are small and are sown directly in the field. It is therefore most important that the soil be thoroughly prepared, with a level, fine, soil surface. Deep ploughing or working to loosen the  soil to a depth of at least 30 cm is important to allow good root development. A chisel plough is recommended to work the soils to this depth.
Sub-soiling can be advantageous in breaking compacted soil layers. It is preferable that soil be raised and bedded in order to obtain optimum drainage and soil depth to maximise root length and smoothness.

Carrot Seed rate per acre

About 6-7 kg of carrot seeds per hectare or 2.5kg per acre is adequate. The soils must be well prepared and the planting depth should about one centimetre. The spacing is 30cm from row to row by continuous drill at planting time.

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Recommended Spacing For Carrot Farming

The space needed for carrots’ growth depends on their variety. However, allowing a distance of 5cm between rows is advisable. And an area of 8cm apart in every direction with a minimum depth of 25cm for each plant.

Carrot Farming & Planting

Carrot seeds need plenty of humidity to start germinating. In this regard, an astute farmer wrap the seeds in dump paper two days before planting.

When planting the carrot seeds, make a slight furrow in the soil 1cm deep and deposit 4-5 seeds every 2.5cm. Cover the trenches with the removed moist soil and wait patiently for the seeds to grow.

It is worth noting that carrots take time to appear; you don’t have to despair if you immediately see changes.

After the seeds have grown to a height of 2.5-3cm, remove the extra seedlings, and leave one carrot every 2.5cm.

Repeat the above process after the growth has continued for some time. However, leave a distance of 8cm apart for each crop.

Thinning

Thinning is carried out gradually 2-4 weeks after planting to ultimately leave a spacing of 10cm from plant to plant to allow enough space for good growth.

Weeding

Weeding starts 2 weeks after planting the crop which overlaps with commencement of thinning. The second weeding is advised about 4-5weeks after planting depending on the emergence of weeds.

Inter-cropping

The crop can be inter-cropped with a variety of crops like lettuce, tomatoes, capsicums, leek etc. The ideal inter-cropping model is inter-cropping carrots with leeks. The crops have a symbiotic relationship where carrots repel caterpillars from leeks while leeks repel flies from the carrots.

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Pest and diseases and their control

The vegetable is susceptible to aphids, nematodes and cutworms. They fungal diseases especially powdery mildew and leaf blight are common. Crop rotation is important for control. When infested by pests and diseases chemical spraying is recommended. Observe hygiene during planting and use certified disease-free and resistant hybrid seed varieties. Maturity period for carrots is between 2-3 months after planting depending on the variety grown.

Supplementary Irrigation on carrot farming

The crop need frequent rains and in cases where the rains are unreliable regular irrigation are recommended depending on the type of soil.

Harvesting

Harvesting begins when the roots are enlarged; soft and juicy. Late harvesting results to crops are of lower quality because they will cracks. Manual harvesting by pulling the crop from the soil by hand or using a spade is employed. The tops are then completely cut to avoid storage rots. Shelf life for and mature carrots that are pests and disease free can be 100-150 days when the leaves are completely cut off, at temperatures range of 1-4 degrees centigrade.

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Success Story of a Carrots Farmer In Kenya – Michael Kimathi’s

By Caroline Wambui

Off the Meru-Nanyuki highway, on the dusty Kilimambogo Road, sits Michael Kimathi’s carrot farm. The Seeds of Gold team finds the farmer, 36, and his daughter Sarah Kendi, 11, on the farm watering the crop.

“Carrots require a lot of water to enhance good root development,” says the farmer after some pleasantries.

He adds that poor watering leads to shallow root development, which affects quality as it makes the produce susceptible to hot weather.

Kimathi grows the Royal Chantenay variety, which is known for its sweet flavour, shape and dark orange colour. It also guarantees the farmer up to 100 per cent germination. He started farming carrots two years ago after switching from potatoes due to poor prices.

“I have found carrot farming stress-free and it has better returns compared to potatoes. The crop has a short maturity period and high returns with a 90kg sack going at an average of Sh3,000,” says Kimathi, who invested Sh20,000 when starting.

The money went to seeds, ploughing the land using a tractor, levelling and planting.

“Normally during planting, I hire six workers who collect all the small rocks from the farm since carrots grow well in fine soils,” Kimani, who together with his daughter are taekwondo champs, says.

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Sarah has represented Kenya in the junior tournament in South Korea and holds a black belt while his father is a taekwondo trainer.

ACT AS WINDBREAKERS

Kimathi explains that soil is a key determinant of good carrot growth, and apart from being fine, it should also be well-drained and fertile. “The soil should also have sufficient potassium, an important mineral in farming carrots since it enhances the sweetness and makes it solid.”

During planting, Kimathi uses a kilo of seeds for his one acre and uses a spacing of 12-15cm between plants. His carrot farming is purely organic.

Carrots take four months to mature, with the farmer noting he plants them based on demand trends as he analyses the market before embarking on carrot farming.

“I normally have three seasons, between December to March, April to July and August to November.” Harvesting begins when the roots are big, soft and juicy. It is either done manually by pulling the crop from the soil by hand or by use of a spade.

Late harvesting may result in poor quality produce as the carrots may crack, he says. After harvesting the seven tonnes of the produce, he feeds the green fibrous part and produce considered rejects to his two three Friesian cows.

Powdery mildew, black root rot and bacteria wilt are some of the diseases that affect carrots. The first two can be treated by curative fungicides, says John Kiogora, an agronomist from Elgon Kenya.

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Nutrients

Carrots are excellent sources of vitamin A, C, calcium and iron.

They are also a rich source of beta carotene, a powerful antioxidant that helps maintain a healthy skin and good eyesight.

Carrots also help in killing harmful germs in the mouth, thus preventing tooth decay.

Carrots can be consumed in various ways that include steaming, eat raw, cooking or making carrot juice.

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