carrots, having no luck :(

[suzan]

Why do i have so much trouble growing carrots, last year they only grew tiny and this year the first batch i sowed did not come up, and so yesterday i sowed some more seeds in a container, watered them in and left them outside. Later i went out and the heavens opened and we had a right storm, so i presume i will have lost these too now!

So what should i do, cut my losses or try and grow some more, and maybe put them in an unheated greenhouse until they start to grow, would this work?

Looking forward to your replies.

[Two_Sheds]

it's still not *really* warm enough for carrots to germinate outside.

World Carrot Museum - Carrot Cultivation Guidance and advice

[kazmum]

My first lot of carrots didn't germinate either, so i put some more in last week and put the trough in unheated greenhouse, they're up and growing well. I'd try again, if they're small they still taste good.

[Veggielot]

I have only just started sowing carrots, may still be a bit early but I am ever the optomist. I would give up One the ones you have just sown, they may have got a bit over wet but give them a chance to dry out and I reckon you will be okay.

[RaptorUK]

Why do i have so much trouble growing carrots, last year they only grew tiny and this year the first batch i sowed did not come up, . . .

How long did you give them ? at 10C they could take 3 weeks . . .

[Alison]

it's still not *really* warm enough for carrots to germinate outside.

World Carrot Museum - Carrot Cultivation Guidance and advice

I've only just sown my outdoor ones (the polytunnel ones were sown ages back and getting a good size now) but one of the guys on our site has germinated his quite happily. Not too sure when he sowed them but they're looking a decent sized seedling now and he's not had any protection over them at all.

[Two_Sheds]

at 10C they could take 3 weeks . . .

it's less than that at night though.

So, you could wait the 3 weeks out, and sow the seed when it's that bit warmer ~ middle of May should be starting to have warm nights

[MrsCordial]

Just a suggestion, but you could try warming the ground first by putting a cloche over it for a couple of weeks. I've done that for my parsnip seeds.

DS and I sowed carrot seeds outside a couple of weeks ago, and more to protect them from the rain than anything I put a couple of old window panes over them, raised at one end on bricks. The seedlings are starting to come through now, and until the temperature rises a bit I'm going to leave their very low-tech glass protection over them. I gave the pane a quick wash this morning as they had started get a bit mudddy.

It's been suggested to me that leaving glass over them for too long might encourage them to bolt, so I'll remove it once the seedlings start to put on some proper growth rather than just breaking through, as they are atm.

[RaptorUK]

My Carrot - Flyaway are showing now, been 13 days since sown.

[Greenleaves]

I have had hit and miss results with carrots in the past, I sometimes think its worth trying several varieties and see what grows best.

Autumn King 2 and Eskimo grow best for me

[Knight of Albion]

This is a gardener's dilemma. Some things 'you' have the gift for and they'll grow beautifully. Other things either just won't take or the result is not worth the effort.

I've taken a pragmatic approach and have refined my gardening to things I can grow well in my garden.
I think you have to really, certainly when you have limited space.

[Alison]

This is a gardener's dilemma. Some things 'you' have the gift for and they'll grow beautifully. Other things either just won't take or the result is not worth the effort.

I've taken a pragmatic approach and have refined my gardening to things I can grow well in my garden.
I think you have to really, certainly when you have limited space.

It's also worth remembering that some things don't grow because you're (not you but any gardener ) doing something wrong, sometimes because your soil / site is wrong or sometimes because of weird weather or bad timing. If it's the first one then it's worth trying a different method, the last one just happens sometimes (and can be after years of really good crops but thankfully if you grow loads of different things rarely seems to hit the same things every year). If it's the middle one then there are things you can do to make things better (improve soil, provide protection etc) but sometimes you have to admit defeat if things are really against you.

[Kristen]

This is a gardener's dilemma. Some things 'you' have the gift for and they'll grow beautifully. Other things either just won't take or the result is not worth the effort.

First time I grew Cucumbers from seed they all grew really well. I watered from the top, buried them deep , left on the male flowers ... all the things you are not supposed to do. Ever since then, including now, given that I now know what to do, I usually lose one or two during plant raising phase ...

It's also worth remembering that some things don't grow because you're (not you but any gardener ) doing something wrong, sometimes because your soil / site is wrong or sometimes because of weird weather or bad timing

Quite. I presume is it the Gardening Gods busy elsewhere and not able to give me a helping hand

[suzan]

well i put my containers in the greenhouse and they have now started growing at last, just hope they carry on growing now, oh and thanks for all the replies