My sad attempt of carrots

[jacks10]

My first attempt of carrots not turned out well.

I have a little raised box on legs so not much space and should of separated the ones that r close together.

I have about 10 still planted so may try to separate or is to late. I sowed them on the first bank holiday in may.

Been going on about courgettes and my poor carrotts.

; (

[craftymarie]

I've never grown carrots so I can't advise. I sowed some recently with my daughter which are still just seedlings.

At least you tried. Perhaps they were just picked too early? I read they normally take between 12 and 16 weeks - does it say how long on your seed packet?

[Martin H]

I think you are pulling the carrots too early. They need another month or so. The ones that are still growing need to be at least an inch apart to give them room to swell. You can't transplant them though, just pull out any that are too close.

Good luck!

[Tripmeup]

Minimum 3 months growth needed for carrots I would always give..

[SusieG]

Jacks10, my efforts were pretty pitiful really .... they were sown in large tubs in March, think I should've thinned them out earlier ....
You can just make them out on the left, excellent foliage tho'!!!!!


Your remaining ones should be ok if you leave them a few more weeks, as Martin said ....

[jacks10]

Thanks for all your advice again! I am a beginner and got very green fingers but I am determined to get there in the end by hook or by crook. Just have to be patient.

I have pulled 2 more out and left about an inch apart.
Having taking pics not sure if u can tell difference. I will now leave them alone I promise. Silly me threw the packet away should of kept it.

All a learning curve and will be happy if I produce at least 5 carrots. ☺

[Nannysally99]

It's definately a learning curve Jacks, I'm on my third sowing of carrots already. Little and ofthe I say
I thoroughly recommend seed tape for carrots, sorts out the gaps quite nicely

[Penellype]

I think it helps to understand why the plants we grow do what they do. Carrots (and other root veg) grow lots of leaf first. The leaves are green and contain chlorophyll for photosynthesis, and this makes sugars which the plant stores in a swollen root system. The idea is that the root will survive over winter and give the plant energy to produce flowers and seeds the following year.

You can therefore expect root crops to produce an awful lot of leaf before they produce roots that are big enough to eat. While we have tended to develop root veg that mature earlier, you still can't get away from the fact that the leaves are necessary to produce the food to swell the roots, so all you can do is be patient.

[dru`s haven]

this is probably abit late about carrots i also have grown carrots for the first time this year ,ive pulled the first lot as time wise they should have been ready ,but nope they werent still tiny ,so i left the second pot another month and yes they are a better size ,so next time like ive been told just pull one or two if still tiny leave longer im guessing depends on weather and we certainly didnt get a good start hope this helps

[Penellype]

What I do is push my finger into the soil next to a carrot and feel round the top to see how big it is. If it is only small at the top it won't be any bigger further down. You can of course end up with short fat carrots, but at least it stops you from pulling the thin ones.

[jacks10]

I originally sowed 3 rows but unfortunately one row was much stronger and that's the reason for the cluster.

So on next attempt do one row at a time, using a sow seed tape, and if i clustered separate so there is at least 1 inch apart, leave at least 3 months and be patient!!!

2 final questions do they need a lot of watering, I have a water butt thingy so have caught a lot of rain water of late but I don't want to over water them. And how far apart do I sow the next row?

I will succeed!!!

[Penellype]

Carrots prefer to be wet rather than dry, although they don't like standing in water. I'm afraid I don't sow in rows (I sow thinly in pots) so I can't answer that question.

[Jungle Jane]

If you wet the compost first before you put the seeds in they stay where they are,I wonder if watering can move the seeds all around & the rain,all my lettuce seeds are in one corner of my trug because of rain (I think?) if you make sure each seed is 1 inch away from each other you'll be alright.

[cilla]

They usually say 30 cm apart in rows. I plant spring onions between the rows as they are companion. I usually wait until I can see the orange tops of the carrots and pull them out before the tops go green. I have read there are 2 schools of thinning out, some say you must thin out and some say thin out as they grow because the little ones will then grow. The only problem with thinning to early is that they attract carrot fly. But I could be completely wrong as I only started last year but last year my carrots were good. Have not done too many this year, but will be planting some more now the weather has improved.

[Jungle Jane]

30cms apart in jacks trough would be about one row though I've grown peas amongst my carrots,pea roots are small & when they die down it adds a bit of nitrogen to the pot.