Growing carrots in a container

[giley69]

Hi there,

I have recently been given an old rubbish bin which I would like grow my carrots in!

I have made a couple of holes in the botton, filled with some broken bricks and also some sand.

My question is that is it ok to just grow them in compost alone or do I need to add some top soil etc?

I have bought some New Horizon from our allotment shop but not sure if I need to mix this with some soil?

Thanks,
Giley

[selfraising]

I grew my early nantes last year in a bin in just compost and they grew well.

[giley69]

Thanks Selfraising...

Do you think it could be too early to put them in, if I cover the bin with fleece?

[greendean]

i sowed some in a big pot with just compost a couple of weks ago and left them in greenhouse, they have just germinated.

if your bin is outside then a bit of fleece will look after them

[Marthaclematis]

I have some in a bucket with a sheet of glass over the top in a sunny sheltered spot. I sowed them about two/three weeks ago straight into the bucket, straight outside in my own compost mixed with john innes type multicompost. It looks to be good stuff so they should be able to go straight down. I'm not sure about how and what to feed them with though - OR when they are likely to be ready.... I've never grown them before but the seeds were only 47p and I already had the compost. Its an experiment for fun!

[giley69]

Great stuff... thank you so much for your replies!

I thought I would have a go in the bin as our soil is quite stony and on the clay side... until we give it a bit more manure/compost etc - I am going to leave carrots and parsnips to containers.

Giley

[dexterdoglancashire]

Go for it! Ive got my old bath on my lottie, I filled it with a mixture of compost and sand - and it worked a treat last year. Hoping for the same resuts this year.

[giley69]

Go for it! Ive got my old bath on my lottie, I filled it with a mixture of compost and sand - and it worked a treat last year. Hoping for the same resuts this year.

Great, thanks!

We are going to kick them off next weekend...

[Marthaclematis]

dexterdog... can you tell me when or if I'm supposed to feed them, and what with? And when they might be ready and if they need a lot of water or just a bit? I have gone into this completely blind!

[Jillyreeves]

Last week I sowed "Paris Market Atlas" the round type in window box type troughs, I have them in my conservatory waiting to go outside in a couple of weeks, they will stay in the troughs until harvesting.

[Two_Sheds]

dexterdog... can you tell me when or if I'm supposed to feed them, and what with?

Nothing.
You don't feed carrots at all ... they prefer poor soil like what we have here in East Anglia

[5thelement]

This page has some good info on growing carrots in containers...seems quite encouraging!

Growing Carrots In Plant Containers Makes For Easy Cultivation

[Sanjo]

Thanks for the link 5thelement. Very helpful. And welcome to the vine by the way. Sanjo

[cheerfulness]

This page has some good info on growing carrots in containers...seems quite encouraging!

Growing Carrots In Plant Containers Makes For Easy Cultivation

That's a brilliant link, 5thelement, with loads more things on the website that I've found really useful.
Its exactly what I've been looking for and has such an upbeat feel to the whole process of growing. Thank you.

[stevemac]

This page has some good info on growing carrots in containers...seems quite encouraging!

Growing Carrots In Plant Containers Makes For Easy Cultivation

Excellent link

Thank you