Topic: late carrots

[caroline7758]

I have had little success with carrots in the past but want to try palnting some in the next few days, hoping that it's late enough to avoid the carrot fly. Two questions- what variety would you recommend for this time, and how well do carrot seeds keep- I've got two unopened packets of Autumn king 2, one of which is 2 years old and the other I think one year old.

[saddad]

The Autumn King should be fine... the seed don't last forever but I have had good germination from a 05 packet left lost in a corner...
 :-[

[caroline7758]

Thanks, saddad. If I sow the whole two packets, maybe some will come up!

[Tora]

I think carrot seeds last quite long. I had a packet of Amsterdam Forcing bought in 2002 and had a very good germination this year, only they were all eaten by snails!

I haven't had much success with carrots either and am going to sow from now.  :)

[kt.]

I sowed some autumn king 4 weeks ago and none ahve germinated. Tried it... yes I know it was early. Gonna sow again in 2-3 weeks.

[davyw1]

Carrots must be the hardest crop to please. I don,t know if its the method i use but i seem to be more successful than most of you that has posted above.
This is what i do.
After making my wedge and filling it with my fine mix i put a thin layer of good multi purpose compost on (Humax) on the top and give it a good watering lay my seeds and again water, then about half inch of multi purpose on top and again water after that i keep them moist and i get good germination. Try it see if it works for you.

[Trevor_D]

Late sowings seem to be more successful than the early ones. We all have to sow & re-sow on our site. (We are London clay, of course, which doesn't help!) I've had good results with earlies by sowing them in the GH in a trough filled with a mix of potting compost & sharp sand, but nothing from the first outdoor sowings. But the main-crop (sown early/mid-May) are coming through. Think I'll sow some more in early June. And I always sow in a shallow groove filled with a compost/sand mix.

[BAK]

Carrot seed can keep for up to 3 years.

Here is a useful page on seed longevity (including carrots) ..

http://growingtaste.com/storage.shtml

and here is another ..

http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetables_and_herbs/Seed_Storage_and_Life.php

We are in the SE on a sandy, stony soil and we only grow Autumn King (no earlies or mids). They are sown outdoors in mid-March and we start to pick thinnings for salads around the first week in June (next week!). We then pick them right through to early November when there are still lots to dig out and store.

[manicscousers]

carrot thinnings from our raised carrot bed, and a turnip planted in a fibre pot in february, planted march  :)