Topic: Thinning vegetables

[brownthumb2015]

 Found my self with bad knees  and back, so kneeling or bending is difficult for me  Have anyone got any tips or advice in reducing or avoiding the need to thin out vege,  namely  carrots swede or  parsnips  'beetroot i grow in modules ,but still need to bend  planting those.Raised beds is'nt a option .

[kGarden]

I don't have an answer, but in case it helps I grow virtually all my veg in pots and plant out.

In the main I grow the plants such that they are potted-on to 9cm pots. These fit neatly into holes made with a long-handled bulb planter, so I can make all the holes, at least, standing up. No thinning required of course (I prick-out 3x Beetroot per 9cm pot and harvest the largest-first leaving the remaining ones for a later harvest, but everything else [I think/!!] is one-per-pot).

Parsnips are grown in "pots" made from rolling a sheet of newspaper around an aerosol can - they too fit neatly into holes made with a bulb planter.

Carrots I sow direct - too much trouble to sow individually in, e.g. Loo rolls, for the quantity I need. I sow them thin, and don't thin them thereafter, as such, but I harvest every-other-one when they are small-ish to provide more space for the others to grow on some more / bigger.  Mixing the seed with sand, before sowing, can help if you are not good at sowing thinly.

[plotstoeat]

Try this link
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/seeds/thinning-seedlings.htm

[goodlife]

Found my self with bad knees  and back, so kneeling or bending is difficult for me  Have anyone got any tips or advice in reducing or avoiding the need to thin out vege,  namely  carrots swede or  parsnips  'beetroot i grow in modules ,but still need to bend  planting those.Raised beds is'nt a option .

I grow swedes in trays/modules and they haven't minded a bit for root disturbance even it is said otherwise in many books and magazines. I've even tested this by ruthlessly ripping each plant apart when they were grown to planting stage on single plant tray!
I just poked with dibber a hole into ground and dropped each plant in it...watering them in and job done..no fancy treatments! That could be quite easily done with long spike...just poke, drop, push in and water...

Any other things grown in modules could be treated similar fashion..though no 'ripping apart' but using long handled bulb planter to make planting hole...they don't really need firm 'tucking in' so just getting them into holes is enough and watering in will firm them enough to get them settled.