Little Finger

The ultimate in baby carrots, Little Fingers is a fast-maturing Nantes type with smooth, golden orange skins, crisp texture, and a tender core. Short at 10cm (4″), Little Fingers carrot seeds are well suited to container growing and may succeed in heavier soils. For best results, plant these gourmet carrots in well-cultivated soil from March to July for continuous harvests right into early winter. The sweet flavoured, uniform roots are perfect for pickling, or eating fresh out of the garden.

Bred in France to develop their characteristic orange colour earlier than other varieties, these carrots can be harvested early at 8-9cm (3-3.5″). Don’t let them stay in the ground beyond around 68 days or they begin to lose their gourmet qualities. Carrots are best sown direct in the soil as they do not transplant well. Choose an open, sunny space in your veggie patch. Never add fresh manure when sowing carrots as it will cause them to fork, and encourage leafy growth (rather than root growth, which is what you’re really after!). You can however add well rotted manure the previous autumn to the area where you will grow carrots. Dig the bed well during the autumn to make sure there is at least a foot of good friable soil – compacted soil equals stunted carrots. Apply a general purpose organic fertiliser (such as chicken manure pellets) about two weeks before sowing.