You can grow carrots in the heat of summer

I live in N. California zone 9B I tend to think of carrots as a cool season crop. I usually don't start carrots in the summer. I pulled the last of the carrots I had not long ago, and wished I had more. I decided to sow carrots in mid July, and see what happens, after all I had the seeds, and space.

I watered the soil well, sprinkled the seeds in, sprinkled vermiculite on top and watered again, and placed a board on top.  I watered every day, and started to check for germination about a week in. As soon as I noticed growth I removed the board. (I'm pretty sure the first seedlings I saw were Johnson grass. I kept watering every day, and removed the Johnson grass when I realized what it was) I do water this bed every day, so it's definitely more work, but if the carrots taste good, I'll know I can grow carrots year round.

Yeah that board trick is really solid for getting them to germinate. Keeps the moisture in without needing to water constantly. Zone 9B mid-summer must be warm but carrots are surprisingly tough once they're past germination, it's that first week where they give up if the soil dries out even once. Curious to see how they come out.

That sounds like a worthwhile experiment, especially in zone 9B. Keeping the seed bed consistently moist is probably the biggest challenge with summer-sown carrots, since the seeds are so small and can dry out quickly. The board and vermiculite seem like a good way to help with moisture retention and germination. I'd be interested to hear how the roots turn out, though, because the summer heat could affect both growth rate and flavor. If they do well, having fresh carrots available year-round would definitely be worth the extra watering.

Will definitely use the board trick next year!

I usually do carrots from April to July and then plant again in early Aug. to harvest in Nov. just planted my carrots about a week ago.