Pathetic carrots again

[Marb67]

Well here i go again. I sow carrots months ago and i get nowt. Ziltch. Even with these amsterdam i have tried 3 years on the run and this always happens. Sown in march they never get bigger. One year the tops grew well but nothing on the root.

[mrswadders]

your not the only one! I've never been able to grow carrots - i've tried all sorts of ways and can never get the blighters to grow

[Penellype]

March may be a touch early, although they should grow. I find they produce altogether better plants if sown in April. Also, carrots really really don't like being dry when they are small. The seeds won't germinate and the seedlings keel over and die.

[chilli_grower]

I am a complete novice at growing carrots, but they have all done very well indeed.

I sowed:

Ideal red variety

Might be worth a try next year?

[TrialAndError]

Looking at your picture there is some greenish stuff growing on the soil surface in the top right corner. That indicates the soil is very damp, maybe too damp? Does that container have good enough drainage or maybe you are watering too often?
What soil do you have in the container? Hopefully not garden soil.

[veggiechicken]

Has your basket got a plastic liner -and if so - do you have enough drainage holes in it?
As TrialandError says ^^^ you appear to have moss or something growing on the soil. Does it have enough daylight?

[bario1]

I found them almost impossible to grow until i got fed up and just broadcast hundreds of seeds over a patch of earth and raked them in. They seem to have strength in numbers and are better equipped like that for dealing with sun, slugs, rain, whatever - a few feeble little seedlings just seem too vulnerable. Thinning out is a bit of a hassle, but at least you can keep the strongest in the ground.

[Noosner]

I always struggled with carrots too, until I began sowing them in topsoil from a builder which seemed to be mainly sand, and looked to have zilch nutrients. Anyway the carrots seemed to love it and I have sown them in that soil for the last couple of years, only adding the tiniest modicum of extra compost. The soil in your container looks quite dark and I wonder if it is too rich?

[Jonnyt]

I've found growing in mpc in 12 inch buckets works a treat. Plenty of sun and water and drainage.

Apparently half mpc half sharp sand is even better


Sent from my iPhone using Grow Your Own Forum

[Nannysally99]

I grow my carrots in compost filled troughs made by my metalworker husband before he retired. I just add a bit of fertiliser at the start and then once in a while after they. Summer crops very nice, winter ones are going out of shape because I have quite a bit of rubble underneath. I also use seed tape from Lids, works a treat

[Yasai]

Hi

I sowed my carrots on May 3rd; five different varieties. I used a mixture of spent compost from last year and a bit of sifted garden soil because I didn't have enough spent compost. I mixed in some FBB and, so far, the early variety has come up great. It was called Nelson and I got them from moreveg.co.uk. I got all of my seeds from there and bought the ones that they said do well in poor/clay soil. Don't give up, try a few more varieties and don't plant them in anything too rich.

Good luck.

[Noosner]

Can I ask, what is mpc and what is fbb?

[veggiechicken]

Multipurpose compost and Fish, Blood and Bone

Next question

[Marb67]

In the past I have used sharp sand, spent compost, mixed and this year I added sifted garden soil with no stones or lumps. Not watering too much and the liner of the basket is black plastic. Can't remember what drainage if any I made. Perhaps sow some more now and see if they take.

[veggiechicken]

Tip the compost out of the basket and check for drainage holes - you don't want carrots sitting in soggy soil.
Last year, I grew carrots in almost 100% builder's sand (as I had a bag left over) and they did very well.