Strange title, I know. But it’s true. I can’t stop thinking of those golden orange spears of Vitamin A: carrots. Not about eating them—that wouldn’t make sense to a gardener this early in the season. Thoughts of growing them are what cross my mind randomly throughout my day.

Let’s back up to last season. You’ll recall I had purchased a pot containing several dozen carrot seedlings—on a lark, of course. I had no previous experience with these edible taproots except for eating. Sure, there were a lot of things one would think I would just know about them, like they need rich, stone-free soil and constant moisture. Well, these things just didn’t occur to me. I just planted the clump and called it a day.

Learning from last season’s mistakes

Followers of Just Veggies also might recall what I harvested last fall: about a dozen short, stumpy, deformed orangey things. I don’t even want to call them carrots. Guilt overcame me. I knew I hadn’t cared for them properly. I was a neglectful Mamma Gardener.

Here’s what I did wrong:

1. compacted soil
2. stony soil
3. seedlings planted too close together
4. inadequate water

I vowed to get back up on that horse this year. When I headed out to the garden that first weekend in April, I did, in fact, have a couple of packets of carrot seeds. And I was going to plant them, too. But then another community gardener strolled by. We got to talking; I told him about my early-spring planting plans, including the carrots.

“Oh, I see,” he says. “So are you going to sift your soil? Don’t you have to dig down more than a foot and add compost? Dont carrots need…”

At that point, a bit intimidated at the carroting prospect, I put those seed packets back in my gardening bag. I mean, these weren’t just any carrot seeds. These were from Renee’s Garden, sent to me by Renee herself! I needed to raise them properly. So, I opted to think about how I’d remove all those tiny rocks (I tell people my first crop of the season was a bountiful harvest of stones).

Growing carrots in raised beds

Carrot seeds should be planted two to four weeks before the last frost date (May 1 here in Boston), so I had some time.

Earlier this week, I decided to just plunge into a portion of my plot and remove—by hand—every stone, chunk of mortar, and plastic soda bottle top that I could find. That lasted all of five minutes before I realized the futility of my actions.

But then, it occurred to me. Why grow carrots in the rocky soil below ground, when I can have stone-free soil above ground? Raised beds to the rescue!

So, I got right to building a 1-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide, 2-foot-deep raised bed from non-treated pine boards (if it rots from water damage in a few years, so be it). I filled the small box with nearly 6 cubic feet of organic garden soil. Miracle-Gro brand, and surprisingly rich and composty! After a good watering down, I planted Renee’s Sunshine Mix and Babette, and a packet of Royal Kuroda from Burpee.

Now, let’s hope for the best.