Best Carrot Varieties for Scotland

Carrots are simple to grow, and the variety decides how a few problems play out. RHS recommends six, and only one claims any resistance to carrot fly, the pest that makes many gardeners give up.

What Scotland means for the choice

Carrots like sun and light, well-drained soil, and are drought resistant, so they rarely need watering unless they're in containers. They're sown from early spring, and baby carrots can be ready in four to six weeks, with larger ones taking three months or more. A very early sowing only works under fleeceA lightweight, breathable fabric laid or draped over plants to trap a little warmth and keep off frost, wind and some flying pests. Full definition → or clochesA small, portable clear cover placed over an individual plant or short row to trap warmth and keep off wind, rain and pests. Full definition → in most of Scotland, so start from your last frost date. Short, blunt-ended or finger-shaped roots cope better where the soil is heavy or stony. The carrot growing guide covers sowing, soil preparation and the mesh that keeps carrot fly out, and the carrot fly page covers the pest.

All six hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGMThe RHS's Award of Garden Merit: a UK-wide trials award for reliable performance, not a Scotland-specific recommendation. Full definition →).

Flyaway, Adelaide and Marion

Flyaway has sweet, smooth, blunt-ended roots up to 15cm long and good resistance to carrot fly, though no carrot is completely immune, so mesh is still the safest defence. Adelaide is an early F1The first-generation offspring of two specific, deliberately chosen parent plants, bred for a predictable, uniform result but not worth saving seed from. Full definition → baby carrot with small finger-shaped roots, and can be sown from February under fleece or cloches. Marion has blunt-tipped, rich orange roots to about 15cm that overwinterKeeping a plant alive and intact through the cold months, whether left outdoors, moved under cover, or stored dormant. Full definition → well in the ground in all but the coldest regions, so you can harvest from August through to March, and it also suits all-year growing.

Sweet Candle, Sugarsnax 54 and Deep Purple

Sweet Candle is a popular, high-yielding carrot with smooth orange skin, an almost coreless, uniformly cylindrical root and a very sweet flavour, sown March to July for harvest July to October or November. Sugarsnax 54 has long, tapered, rich orange roots, sweet raw or cooked, grown as baby carrots or as a maincropThe main, usually latest-sown and longest-growing type of a crop, grown for bulk and storage rather than an early harvest. Full definition → that stores well over winter, sown April to June. Deep Purple is a long, slender, purple-skinned carrot with ornamental feathery leaves.

Which one for your situation

• Carrot fly on your plot: Flyaway, with mesh.
• The earliest baby carrots: Adelaide, under fleece.
• Carrots to leave in the ground over winter: Marion.
• High yields, or very sweet roots: Sweet Candle, or Sugarsnax 54.
• Colour: Deep Purple.
• Heavy or stony soil: a short, finger-shaped or blunt type such as Adelaide, Flyaway or Marion.

Common questions

Sources