Topic: arghhh whay cant I grow carrots!!

[Inky]

First the ones I planted in the allotment did nothing, so I tried a load more in a seed tray at home, and again nothing, and I think its a good 4 weeks since I sowed them. 4 different verieties too, could it be that I have chosen difficult verieties, they are the purple haze, pastel tricolours etc, or am I just being unlucky.

Is it to late to try again, would I be better trying a different type? I have been looking at getting some plug plant carrots but they are about £4 for 12 plants. £4 for 12 carrots!?!?! I could buy a bag of 20 for 60p!

[debster]

i grow mine in pots and often the smaller varieties ie round and finger ones they seem to grow well and pretty quickly obviously never get very big but taste good i cant grow them in the ground either

[caroline7758]

I could never grow them until last year when I sowed them in two dustbins. The bottom two-thirds (at least) was filled with clods of grass and soil I'd dug up, then compost on top. I covered the top with fleece, although supposedly the carrot fly won't fly above 2 ft so shouldn't need it, and got a decent (if small) crop. This year i've got two bins on the go again and they are growing well. I've also sown some in the ground just in case my luck has changed!And it's not too late,in fact sowing late can avoid carrot fly as well- the Guardian magazine today says wait a week or two.

[oliveoyl_25]

I've had fab results with mine (and parsnips)... I dig a narrow trench, fill it with a sharp sand/compost mix, sow the seed and cover with just a couple of mm compost, firm soil lightly, drape a length of cheap fleece onto the soil, and water well.... the fleece stops it all from drying out so quickly in the weather we've been having.

[davyw1]

Its not to late to sow more, my last sowing Autum King will go in next week

[lewic]

Could the seeds have been too dry in the recent weather? The packet I had said to keep them moist, and I have been religious about that, and they are popping up.

The Autumn King packet said sow til June so you are probably OK time-wise. Was warned by several people on our site not to bother with carrots as they dont like clay soil, but was bloody minded enough to try. Lobbed a layer of Levingtons compost on top of the lumpy soil, sowed the seeds then topped it with more compost. Seedlings are starting to grow now, but I think they might turn out rather stunted with lots of rude extremities!

[laurieuk]

I am lucky with good soil,but I do not water. I try and sow when rain is forecast and leave it to nature. I also grow in a container as this avoids any possibilty of carrot fly. I have just been pulling from my container, if you look on my blogspot you will see I sow thick and then I can water and pull as they get bigger.

[Digeroo]

I have had brilliant germination at my allotment which has been slug free.  Half a mile away in my garden the number of carrots is much fewer.

[terrier]

My soil is quite sandy. I filled a shallow trench with MPCompost and sowed in that and I've not had one germinate, but that was only a week or two before the hot dry spell started, so I've bought some fresh  seed and I'm going to sow them tomorrow, let's hope for better luck.

[Bjerreby]

I've tried several times this year to get carrots going, and only when I followed saddad's advice did I get anything....................except that is, one place where I sowed carrots and gave up after 5 weeks, when I sowed parsnips instead, well, I have some carrots peeing up between the parsnips now :o

[saddad]

Now is a great time to try again while the soil is wet from all this rain...  :)

[amphibian]

I've sown autumn king a late as august and got a crop.

[landimad]

Inky,
you are not alone out there in not being able to grow these jewels of nature. I too have had germination problems over the past year. But as always you go back to basics.
Make sure the fertility of the ground is good and you have a fine tilth.
Next choose an easy to grow type like Amsterdam forcing.
Sow long drills and lightly cover them.
Water with a fine rose and in no time they will show their little heads.
I have had a late crop just beginning to show and hope that when I sow more later under glass these too will come up and give the family a taste of what food should be. wholesome and free from any pesticides.
One last thing I work on very heavy clay so I have put down a good thick layer of compost for them to get a good start.

[Digeroo]

and in no time they will show their little heads.

and then the slugs will eat them.

[landimad]

and in no time they will show their little heads.

and then the slugs will eat them.

To much wildlife around for these to get any headway in getting to my plants.
Have had one crop so far and more to come Ihope.

[boltonlad]

Been having a read in my greenhouse book and it says you can plant them in their as late as september, as soon as the toms have finished I will be sowing a few lines in.  As well as possibly a few parsnips.

[powerspade]

Every autumn right through the winter I collect leaves - stacks of them
In April I take out a V shaped trench and fill it up with riddled leafmould  and that is the medium I use to grow carrots. When ready for harvest the lift out clean and  straight. I grow them in rows about 9 inches apart, to keep the carrot fly out I use a dutch hoe to draw the earth around the collar of the carrots (like mini earthing up as for spuds)

[caroline7758]

Intersting, Powerspade! How old is the leafmould?

[telboy]

Interesting thread!
I had a wonderful germination this year for once. Two 30' rows full of green showing.
A week later - tops decimated! Effing sky rats I reckoned. Placed, at great effort, two rows of folded chicken wire & the topping didn't stop.
Yes Digeroo - Slugs!!!!!!!!
 :( :(

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

I've had limited success in the ground and am thinking of doing them in pots in future, ir possibly make a raised bed for them - my problem is clay soil which the carrots find it hard to penetrate.