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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: betula on April 12, 2008, 10:55:37

Title: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: betula on April 12, 2008, 10:55:37
Saw Monty broadcast his carrot seed last night.

It has never occurred to me to do this.Normal regular straight rows are what I normally do.

What do you think?
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Ant on April 12, 2008, 10:58:50
I suppose it comes down to how ordered you want to look, and how easy you want to weed  :)
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: sarah on April 12, 2008, 11:25:12
i am going to give it a go because i HATE thinning out carrots. seems like a sensible idea to me.  :)
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: redimp on April 12, 2008, 11:45:58
I was planning on broadcasting mine this year as I haven't had much look with rows.  In fact, took my daughter to her "little allotment" on Tuesday and helped her broadcast carrot seed.  I then covered it with twigs.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Doris_Pinks on April 12, 2008, 12:47:30
I always broadcast mine now, then sprinkle compost over the top of them to help germination as I was having trouble growing rows.
Works a treat! ;D
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: tim on April 12, 2008, 12:57:38
These were broadcast.

Ready for market.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: calendula on April 12, 2008, 15:53:55
I broadcast mine whether I am sowing straight into the ground or in boxes, tubs etc - they find their own way  :)
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: redimp on April 12, 2008, 17:24:09
Broadcast mine down a row about about a foot wide and covered with old compost and a doubled up fleece.  We'll now see if I fare/fair(?) any better.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Ant on April 12, 2008, 17:59:52
well we just did our carrot tub on the patio. Sparkly broadcast the seeds... or as I said "sprinkled"  :)

Will see how they do... Might be a good idea for doing a 1 foot wide strip like that on the plot, Sparky does the weeding anyway  ;D
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Mrs Ava on April 12, 2008, 23:56:50
I always broadcast sow carrots, doing a block about once every 4 to 6 weeks until mid summer.  One of the old boys on our plot also broadcast sows his beetroots and he has so many he gives them away and they are the best beets I have ever tasted.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: tim on April 13, 2008, 08:58:32
How do you cover them? Just rake them in - or add soil?
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: calendula on April 13, 2008, 09:17:46
I sprinkle compost on top of mine, just to cover them - generally i use the bed that I've pulled peas from, rake over, sow, sprinkle and wait  :)
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: thegreatgardener on April 13, 2008, 11:04:24
In my personal opinion I  find both broadcast sowing and row sowing to very untidy and wasteful.To sow carrots I use seed dots(similar to seed tape but only one seed per 1 cm square pieces) sown in  blocks or offset blocked rows, in both methods I use a drilled wooden template. 
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: albacore1854 on April 13, 2008, 19:43:32
I take out a shovel width trench an inch deep and 30' long and thinly broadcast.Cover with sieved soil, and then fleece it.Repeat monthly. Simple, and far easier than fiddling about thining, or messing about with modules, or strips of paper and flour paste.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Mrs Ava on April 13, 2008, 22:23:02
I just rake over Tim.  Works a treat for me.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: thegreatgardener on April 13, 2008, 23:17:44
let me see last season. I plant 64 carrot seed dot  a week for 16 weeks
I harvested 48 market quality carrots from 64 seeds on average  85 days later. 
With a total harvest of 893 carrots from 5.95  sq meters (64 sq ft).
So guess I must doing something right. 
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: sawfish on April 14, 2008, 16:20:09
I broadcast last year and it did work, but the problem was weeding. Its far easier with a hoe so you can go down the lines. Its a 'kneel down and get your hands dirty' job when you broadcast them.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: betula on April 14, 2008, 16:22:36
Quote from: thegreatgardener on April 13, 2008, 23:17:44
let me see last season. I plant 64 carrot seed dot  a week for 16 weeks
I harvested 48 market quality carrots from 64 seeds on average  85 days later. 
With a total harvest of 893 carrots from 5.95  sq meters (64 sq ft).
So guess I must doing something right. 

Gosh what did you do with 893 carrots? ;D
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: thegreatgardener on April 14, 2008, 17:01:21
lots of juice,canned, frozen veg mix and fresh eating for family.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: tim on April 14, 2008, 17:09:16
No wonder you're great!!

Me too, Emma.
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: redimp on April 14, 2008, 17:42:57
Quote from: sawfish on April 14, 2008, 16:20:09
I broadcast last year and it did work, but the problem was weeding. Its far easier with a hoe so you can go down the lines. Its a 'kneel down and get your hands dirty' job when you broadcast them.
Does the mass of foliage keep the weeds down later?
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: albacore1854 on April 15, 2008, 10:05:17
Quote from: thegreatgardener on April 13, 2008, 11:04:24
In my personal opinion I  find both broadcast sowing and row sowing to very untidy and wasteful.To sow carrots I use seed dots(similar to seed tape but only one seed per 1 cm square pieces) sown in  blocks or offset blocked rows, in both methods I use a drilled wooden template. 

Am I correct in thinking you sit down of an evening and glue individual carrot seeds to a bit of paper?
Title: Re: BROADCASTING CARROT SEED
Post by: Squashmad on April 15, 2008, 10:41:12
I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Wow Tim those Carrots are so impressive!!