sowed my carrots

[Two_Sheds]

I sowed my carrots today: some in pots on the patio, and some at lotty.

I have good free-draining soil which carrots like, but it also caps after rain (gets a hard crust) so seedlings often can't break through.

I make a drill with my trowel and water it. Then sprinkle carrot seed (not too thick, I hate thinning out) along it, and top with multi-purpose compost. You don't use much, but it really helps with germination.

I won't water again unless there is a prolonged drought, and I don't feed them.

When the leaves appear, I will cover with enviromesh or debris netting to keep the carrot root fly off Carrot Root Fly Grub

[abby]

I have planted some carrots in a tub today called Parmex it says they are great for containers.

[Eyren]

My maincrop carrots will get sown at the weekend, between rows of onion seedlings - if the weather stays dry enough! I have an enviromesh tunnel to go over them, and plenty of bran and slug pellets, but I will also try that compost trick, T_S - our clay soil tends to cap a bit.

I already have some Paris Market in the raised bed at home. I wanted to see if their stubby round roots would tolerate being sown in a gutter and then transplanted, but it's too early to tell yet. At least they haven't died or been eaten by slugs!

[Mi Jardín]

I have sown some Paris Market too, but haven't seen any signs of life so far, but the early nantes have been in for about 3 weeks and you can distinctly see the rows now.
I also planted E.N. in a pot and they are under a big plastic cloche...now they are doing REALLY well!
oooooo! I can't wait!

[MrsC]

I sowed my carrots today: some in pots on the patio, and some at lotty.

I have good free-draining soil which carrots like, but it also caps after rain (gets a hard crust) so seedlings often can't break through.

I make a drill with my trowel and water it. Then sprinkle carrot seed (not too thick, I hate thinning out) along it, and top with multi-purpose compost. You don't use much, but it really helps with germination.

I won't water again unless there is a prolonged drought, and I don't feed them.

When the leaves appear, I will cover with enviromesh or debris netting to keep the carrot root fly off Carrot Root Fly Grub

Good tip TS re - compost on top! Will give it a try, thanks

[zazen999]

Inspired....by this post - I sowed carrots in pinches in my onion bed. about 3-4 seeds per pinch, the soil was tickled before I sowed them, and covered with a sand/coffee ground mix to stop the capping and so that I know where they are sown.

[Snadger]

Inspired....by this post - I sowed carrots in pinches in my onion bed. about 3-4 seeds per pinch, the soil was tickled before I sowed them, and covered with a sand/coffee ground mix to stop the capping and so that I know where they are sown.

I used yellow sand myself last year as it was all I had available at the time. I've got some used potting compost I may use this year as the sand formed a crust when it dried!

[Safhyre]

Hi there,

what does capping mean?

[Lazgaot]

I guess capping is when the top layer of soil or sand gets compacted and forms a kind of skin.

The carrots I sowed in early March have not come up yet and the weed seedlings were annoying me so I hoe'd the whole lot and will try again under a plastic cloche.
The carrots I planted in tubs in the greenhouse are doing very well.

[Snadger]

Hi there,

what does capping mean?

Probably why zazen added the coffee grounds to the sand....to stop it?

I've even marked my broad bean rows with a sprinkling of garden lime!

[zazen999]

Probably why zazen added the coffee grounds to the sand....to stop it?

I've even marked my broad bean rows with a sprinkling of garden lime!

Yup........

[Demeter]

This year i followed a tip from a grape last year - made a "V" shaped little trench by inserting a spade and wiggling it a little bit along the row, filled the V with compost, sowed on top and covered with a little bit more compost. Hopefully the carrots won't fork as badly this year!
First lot are up this week after a long wait.

[Two_Sheds]

what does capping mean?

See the first post ...

[cupcake]

My free seeds of Paris Market are doing well in a big tub in the greenhouse. I shall sow some main crop this weekend.

[gojiberry]

Have 5 tubs of carrots plante xmas time and they are about 2" high. Have a raised bed on the lottie 6' by 6' which was sown with carrots abot 4/5 weeks ago and they are just starting to show. They have a 3" high micromesh fence on three sides but have left the fourth side to do a final weeding before completely enclosing the sides with micoromesh.

Ian