Root Veg Problems

[cardiffsteve]

Hi All

I'm having problems growing root veg, e.g. carrots, beetroot, spring onions. etc.
Every year I try but have very poor results.

I've tried sowing fresh seed, seed tapes, into pots even tried plug plants but i get the same results, they either don't germinate or poor germination or with plug plants they start to grow then i don't get much veg.

I've used new compost, last years compost, seed compost, MPC and MPC mixed with sharp sand.

Where am I going wrong or is it i've got a black thumb!

[burnie]

I'm pretty useless with spring onions and beets, but can grow carrots, I grow now in raised beds, advantages are I don't seem to be bothered with the flies(my beds are over a foot tall) and I can get a nice soil/compost mix. I rotate the crops, so for 2 years there's manure going in, then on the third year, just compost and then sow the carrots. I grow in blocks rather than in rows, scattering the seed over the surface then lightly cover with MPC. It's raining just now, but I will post a picture of the set up and this years efforts. I grow shorter rooted varieties and they were very good last year, I was still lifting crops right through the winter, just covered them with fleece.

[muckdiva]

Yeah, mine can be a bit hit and miss some years. Beets, and even onions, I’d start in modules as that’s helped with stuff without a long taproot. Proper roots like parsnips etc, I sow quite thickly in situ and thin ruthlessly to give then enough room. Use fresh seed, keep them well watered if it’s dry, and I sow in April so the soil has warmed a bit. Best carrots I’ve grown were in an old bath filled with a topsoil, sand and old compost mix. Good luck !

[Mr Bones]

Carrots, parsnips, spring onions and beetroot all seem to germinate better for us if they're not sown too thin. Be generous when sowing the seed.