Need a new Carrot and Parsnip plan of action

[plot 11 pam]

Hi all

I sowed about 8 rows of carrots and parsnips last month and dues to my own neglect I left the bed alone and the weeds have taken over. My neighbour tried to help me work out which shoots to keep but in the end I think we both were thinking it best to start again. I sat there for about an hour last night trying to work out what was what but no joy. To top it all I was rubbish at marking out the rows etc.

So I am going to start again. Can anyone give me some good Carrot and Parsnip sowing advice? They are going in a raised bed which allready has onions growing. How can I keep the weeds at bay until the seedlings have established?

Any advice apprecieated.

WiZeR, dont give up on your original sowings be patient and eventually the parsips will outgrow the weeds in height and you shoul be able to tell the difference, like wise the carrotts will be carrot topped and flimsy fronds., thin them out when you can see a good stalk, and put a 2 foot high net curtain up around them the carrot fly can't fly over this.

[Jaxom]

Nature Girl. I use the same spacing for carrots as well. I grow vegetables the square foot way. I put 16 holes in a square 1 foot x 1 foot. The same spacing works for beetroot, spring onions, radish, pak choy, spinach and a few other types of vegetables.

The sand will not cause a problem if your soil is to be used in its next rotation. Some gardeners buy large quantities of sand to brake up the clay soil they are going to be growing in.

[Nature Girl]

Great reply Jaxom, Thank you. I will do this v. soon & pop a fleece wind breaker around them to stop incoming carrott fly.

Will save loads of time as in reality I didn't have the time to sieve the whole bed.

Great!!!

[fruit&vegvirgin]

can I add a carrot question? I have a pot of Nantes early carrots - come up beautifully but I sowed far too thickly. tried pulling out a few last night and altho they come out they are teeny tiny still. on the packet it says you can use early as baby/salad carrots or leave til they are bigger - do I really need to thin at all in that case?

[Lesley Jay]

Really it depends just how thickly you sowed the seeds. For carrots to grow properly and nice and straight you should thin them out but I don't bother. I still get good carrots but they are not as big as they would have been if I had thinned them out.

[noshed]

If you don't like radishes you can sow annuals like Love In A Mist instead - and they confuse the carrot fly.