CARROT - BERLICUM

Organic Carrot Berlicum

150 Seeds Pack    

The Berlicum Carrot, famously named after the Dutch town where it originated, is a long, cylindrical, stump-rooted variety ideal for maincrop production. Known for its exceptional sweetness, Berlicum is an early bunching carrot similar to Nantes, producing smooth, vibrant orange-red roots with a small red core. Its roots boast excellent colour, a crisp and tender texture, high sugar content, and a rich, fine carrot flavour. Vigorous in growth, the roots can reach up to 20 cm (8 in) in length, particularly in lighter soils.

This versatile variety is well-suited for early forcing in cold frames, early cropping, and winter harvests. It is excellent for bunching, slicing, and dicing, with harvests possible from October through winter. The roots remain tender and resist becoming woody. For continuous harvests, sow successively from February to August to enjoy crops from June to January.

Berlicum Carrots feature robust tops and demonstrate resistance to alternaria (carrot blight) and splitting. They also tolerate light autumn frosts and store well, making them a reliable choice for gardeners. Expect maturity approximately 65 days after sowing.

                                                                                              PLANTING & GROWING

It’s essential that you disinfect all of your pots, plastic grow trays, seed cells, and seedling tray covers before you reuse them. 

Patios and balconies can be great little growing spaces. Choose a container that’s about 45cm (18in) deep to give the roots as much space as possible.  

Carrots are slow to germinate (1 to 3 weeks), and often germinate unevenly over a period of several weeks. To speed germination, water lightly daily if soil is dry. Add plenty of organic matter to the soil before sowing but remember that carrots dislike freshly manured earth. For carrots sown early in the year it's important that they are grown in a full sun position. Carrots sown from April onwards will also prefer a full sun position but they will still grow well in partial shade.

Sow the seeds as thinly as possible, 1cm (½in) deep, in rows 15–30cm (6–12in) apart.  Thin out the seedlings if necessary, aiming for plants 5–7.5cm (2–3in) apart. Sowing small batches every three to four weeks will give you continuous harvests. If seedlings are too close together, thin out the weakest plants to give each room to grow and prevent them competing for nutrients.  Water minimally but consistently - too much fluctuation in moisture can lead to split roots. And if the shoulders of your carrots start to show above the soil, earth them up slightly to prevent them from turning green. 

Carrots benefit from nitrogen rich soil, something that beans and peas plants both provide. If you opt for this pairing, be sure not to combine with onions as these will hinder the peas and beans growth.  Other plants that can be grown amongst carrots include Tomatoes and Lettuce especially the leafy varieties.

To prevent diseases, don't plant carrots in the same spot more than once every 3 years.

In their second year they produce spectacular ‘umbels’ made up of many tiny flowers. They will easily cross-pollinate with any other carrot in flower, and also with the wild carrot Daucus carota. Carrot flowers are protandrous, that is the anthers (male part) open first and shed their pollen before the stigma (female part) of that flower is receptive. They are, therefore, predominantly cross-pollinating.