Topic: Carrot Experiment

[Garden Manager]

Some of you may remember some time a go i was discussing various alternative ways of growing carrots

Well about a month ago I filled a seed tray of toilet roll inners, filled them with compost and sowed a couple of carrot seeds in the top of each one, watered it in then left it to germinate.

We then had a hot spell and the tray became dried out. Oh dear i thought thats the end of that. However i have kept it watered and a while back a few of the seeds germinated, but not enough to be worth planting - or so i thought. In the meantime i used the space i'd set aside for the carrots for a second sowing of beetroot. That i thought was the end of it.

A couple of days ago i noticed that LOADS more carot seed had germinated and were growing well. Typical, now i have nowhere to plant them!  ::)

Anyway i have managed to find space to squeeze the plants in between some bush tomatoes and the wooden retainer of the bed they are planted in. I shall be interested in the results. i have a feeling the carrots (if any) will be a little crooked as roots were showing through the bottom of the tubes when i planted them. Never mind at least i will have SOME carrots  ;D

[busy_lizzie]

Good news and well done Richard, quite an ingenious planting method.  It would be great to have carrots, has always been my ambition.  Don't know if it will happen because of the destruction by vandals of my carrot bed, but would be lovely to pick your own carrots fresh from the soil.  It doesn't matter if they are slightly wonky.

 ;D busy_lizzie

[Multiveg]

On the plot next to mine, the bloke sowed beetroot & carrot seeds together in a long raised row (he doesn't get much opportunity to get down the plot, and he also took carrots home to eat that were from last year).

[carrot-cruncher]

excellant.   I considered your method for my carrots next year, partly to reduce weeding & to avoid carrot fly.   Nice to know it does work

[Garden Manager]

Thanks for replies. Next year i (hope) to plan things a bit better and have a proper bed for them.

I am also still willing to try other methods, such as direct sowing into a compost filled drill etc, as I will never have enough tubes or space to grow the quantity i realy want by the above method.

Hopefully i will have more space in the veg plot next year once I have moved the strawberries back into the fruit area.