Pathetic Carrots

[Marb67]

Well, here I am again years and years down the line and still I get this harvest after being in the ground since last summer. It just doesn't make sense 😞

[Peanut]

When did you sow them and what variety are they Marb?

[Marb67]

I can't remember but they were planted out summer. May have been Autumn king or Nantes.

[JoaoLeaftide]

Carrots left in over winter can go woody and split as they try to regrow in spring. If they went in last summer they've probably done what they're going to do. Worth pulling them and starting fresh with a new sowing now, you'll get a much better harvest by autumn.

[Marb67]

Carrots left in over winter can go woody and split as they try to regrow in spring. If they went in last summer they've probably done what they're going to do. Worth pulling them and starting fresh with a new sowing now, you'll get a much better harvest by autumn.

I have sowed come carrots in a tray but I can guarantee they won't come to anything however early I plant them out. I have tried the best part of 25 years. It's the same with radish.

[Snoop Puss]

I used to have the most awful failures with carrots, Marb. The only thing that has worked for me is to sow direct and keep the bed moist as best you can. Don't drench with a hosepipe or watering can because you can send the seeds floating into a clump. But you have to be patient. I give up on them if they're no-shows at four weeks. I use a water spray and try and water a couple of times a day if not more. Home-grown carrots are a labour of love. But I love them enough to make it worth while.

Radishes would probably benefit from the same treatment, but rather than giving up at four weeks, if the temperatures are right you might see them germinate as early as four days in.

[Penellype]

Carrots are biennials and are best harvested before they start to regrow, when they will be forming a flower head and the roots go hard in the middle. I find keeping them beyond April is almost impossible. Some varieties cope better with winter than others - Eskimo is a good variety, but Nantes are ok. Sow them in spring to give them time to develop before the cold weather.

Because of their long tap roots carrots dislike being transplanted and are much better sown direct, very thinly so that you don't have to thin them out. I use 30 litre buckets, which are big enough for about 20-30 carrots and deep enough to accommodate the roots. Slugs can be a problem in open ground and can eat off a row of seedlings over night. I put copper tape round each bucket, which helps. Nets are essential to keep carrot fly off.

[Marb67]

I've sown some more and actually got them to germinate (a few weeks ago they were no show) but now they are keeling over. I really just feel like
giving up!

[mothhawk]

I sympathise, Marb, I too struggle to grow carrots. Out of my spring sowing I have just 2 plants thriving. What is most infuriating is that farmers sow fieldfuls of the things that cheerfully grow with seemingly no care at all.

[Jungle Jane]

Please try sowing direct in a deeper pot,it is always successful,even growing alongside flowers,put two or three seeds in some pots. The carrots tap root grows faster than the top growth & needs a greater depth which leads to longer carrots. There’s science behind it if you look at the carrot lifecycle & taproot depth. They’re really easy to grow when the tap root isn’t restricted & then replanted whilst growing.

[Marb67]

The trouble sowing them direct is I have no real way of protecting them from slugs. I just don't know why they are suddenly keeling over as I have seen trays this deep with thriving seedlings for sale at nurserys.

[Nicos]

I imagine the nurseries use pesticides and fungicides Marb

[Jungle Jane]

I’ve never had slug/snail damage on my carrot seedlings in pots,even on a torchlit walk,they’ve never been on my carrot leaves in all the years. Maybe they’re attracted to other plants here. If you plant French marigolds amongst or near crops,they are very attractive to slugs/snails & easy to find with a torch in the evening.