I've failed miserably with carrots in the past, mainly because of carrot fly. This year I am going to try the method of a fellow plot holder. He stands lengths of drain pipe upright and fairly well spaced, and then fills with a mixture of compost and sand. Seeds sown directly in the top of the pipes and thinned to only one seedling for each pipe. He grows a variety called Autumn Giants, and the sample he gave me was over a foot long, lasted for two meals for me and my wife, and was the tastiest carrot I have ever had!