I have paid special attention to growing carrots this year, proper ones that Bugs Bunny would eat (Autumn King II) but after 3 weeks there is not a sign of germination :(
The carrots seeds were planted outside in a large tyre with sand and lots of care ... why is has it not worked ???
Carrots are slow to germinate esp in the cold weather we've had recently.
Three weeks would not be exceptional given the conditions...
yes, I germinate carrots in tubs in the greenhouse first, then move them into the garden
Snap - mine sown in a large tub have just started coming through after 3 - 4 weeks
4 weeks for mine too. I also think they were a bit dry but I did not water because it was so cold. So a bit late but O.K. I think.
thanks for the info everyone. I shall try and be more patient
To grow carrots the soil has to be at leaast 9 degrees C. otherwise they usaully fail due to cold. I have been growing carrots for 10 years with no failure other than carrots fly attacks
Hi everyone who grows carrots,
First Bugloss2009, how on earth do you transplant the carrots from your tubs to the outside, it is well known carrots are not transferable. Also it is recommended that carrots should not be sown before the first or second week in June as this is when the carrot root fly attacks. also again in September. The soil has to have warmed up and the best time is the middle of May if you can protect with horticultural fleece untill as least the first week in July as by this time the fly has died, the next generation strikes in September so best harvest then. I live in an area where the carrot root fly is rife and the fleece has worked for me. Another way is to plant in raised beds as the fly can only :) fly a few inches from the ground 18 inch has the best results. I hope you all do not consider me a "know all" but I have been growing carrots for more than 20 years, the first five were my learning curve.
Regards to all you carrot growers,
Queenbee.
hi, i have mixed success with carrots. we sow quite late, but not as late as june, they are just starting to come up, - a bit sporadically. Frequently though there is a yellowing of the seedlings true leaves after few days, sort of like they're scorched, last year it happened in one row but not another. most of them recovered. we watered them in a very weak solution of jeyes fluid. like a tiny drop added to the watering can, I have since read that it is not good to use jeyes fluid.
What is causing this? i must add that i dont think they're getting sun scorched as well we always have tons of weed seedlings, so some of them would have been sheltered by these,(depending how quick i am to weed the row.
can carrot fly affect the leaves at this stage, or could it be flea beetle? i have just found this on my swedes today, along with loads of tiny holes.
any advice thoughts appreciated.
I'm a bit miffed with my carrots too. I know I sowed the first batch too early though. But the ones I sowed 3 weeks ago are not showing in the ground , though they've come up in some wellies (compost). I then read something from Sarah Raven about sowing in guttering. These have just started showing so I slipped them into the ground today. Maybe the answer is cosseting the seeds by sowing into a bit of compost in the furrow, rather than directly into soil?
Until this year, the only way I've been able to grow carrots has been in large tubs, and that's been great. This year, I waited til it was warmer before having another go at sowing them direct in the ground, and watered more frequently too, and it's worked :D :D :D They do take ages to germinate though. I've also got some Nematodes for the carrot root fly and also the one for slugs from Harrod Horticultural (I've only seen the carrot root fly nematode sold through Harrod Hort), and have watered them on. I think in the past the carrot thing hasn't worked for me when sowing in the ground because
a) I haven't waited til it's been warm enough before sowing
b) I haven't watered often enough if it's been dry
c) probably if any seedlings did come through they were grazed off by slugs or whatever before I even saw them
I'm hoping for a bumper harvest this year, and am planning to sow more this weekend - I've got the carrot fly nematode ready and waiting for when they germinate...
Quote from: Mme Muck on May 28, 2010, 22:30:37
Maybe the answer is cosseting the seeds by sowing into a bit of compost in the furrow, rather than directly into soil?
I did that at the lottie (first time at growing them) as our soil is still very lumpy, us newbies still learning how to achieve a "fine tilth". They've come up well, so am hoping that the carrot fly leave them alone and the roots aren't too forked from battling through the lumps underneath their nice soft compost bed!
I too have had lots of trouble getting carrots to germinate, either too cold or too wet maybe.
The last couple of years I sow seeds on wet kitchen roll paper on a plate covered in cling film and kept under my sideboard. Once the roots appear from the seeds after a week or two, I sow them in the ground one by one. They are hard to handle because they are wet but you can sow them without allowing for thinning because they all come up. I sowed some in early May and another couple of rows lat week. Also use the blue organic slug pellets to try and stop them being taken the moment they appear. So far this has worked well over two seasons.
I have given up sowing carrots in the ground and have had success in dustbins, but yesterday I was weeding and noticed some carrot seedlings in the ground- so they have taken about 9 months to germinate!
9 months.....you can grow a baby in that time ;D
Had to smile yesterday,had a walk round the market and a lady was selling carrots in pots 60 p each ::)
I have never had problems with them germinating but growing well has been another story...........normally have minute little ones. :(
Better luck this year,they are doing OK so far .
Mine used to germinate in the garden but then this suddenly stopped. Actyally I am sure that the slugs simply hoover them up as soon as they show. At the allotment about a mile away they come up like weeds. I find that starting them on kitchen roll speeds things up a bit especially early in the season or covering them in plastic.
I gave mine a top dressing of BFB between the rows last year and they were great.
mine took 5 weeks to germinate!!!
i normally start stuff off indoors at home when i'm bored of an evening (lol) but this year i made a raised bed especially for the carrots and sowed them direct.
i'd actually given up on them but just hadn't had time to get anything else in the bed when i went to weed the bed i noticed loads of carrots, they're all coming through nicely after that week of hot weather!