How to Grow Shaped Carrots

Create carrots that are the life of the party and leave guests talking for months by planning ahead and molding them into unique shapes as they grow. Carrots, like other vegetables, are soft and malleable during the growing stage. It is not until they reach maturity when they develop the hard outer skin that protects them and gives them the ability for long-term storage.

Food-grade mold
Carrot seeds
Peat pellets
Flat or other container for the peat pellets
Duct tape
Fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a mold that is slightly smaller than the mature carrot. Locate the mature size of the carrot on the back of the seed package. Make sure the mold is made of food-grade hard plastic, glass or terracotta and has adequate drainage holes near the bottom for water to escape.
- 2
  Start your carrots indoors in peat pellets. Plant one seed in each peat pot. The carrots need soil to germinate.
- 3
  Dig a hole large enough to bury the mold below the soil level where the carrot root will form.
- 4
  Once the carrot foliage begins to show, transplant the peat pots into the molds. Do not remove the peat pellet from the carrot, instead position it so it is at the top of the mold and the carrot foliage is above ground level. Make sure the bottom of the carrot is sticking into the mold.
- 5
  Secure the carrot inside the mold by placing strips of duct tape across the top of the mold. This prevents the carrot from pushing upwards and growing on the outside of the mold.
- 6
  Make sure the carrots get plenty of water, fertilizer, sunlight and air circulation.
- 7
  Once it is time to harvest the carrots, dig into the soil to remove the molds. Open the mold and remove the shaped carrot. Clean the mold if it is reusable; throw the mold away if not.

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