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Post by ferdzy on Mar 19, 2013 21:41:16 GMT -5
Ottawagardener, no. Nothing is eating them. It's just our soil is poor and our moisture is erratic. Actually, our soil is sand and it dries out to a crisp in about half an hour, if the sun is at all warm.
It does get better each year as we amend the soil, a little bit. But unless we are on top of keeping the carrot seed moist all the time, we just won't ever get much. It's been doing much better since we've been putting burlap over the planted beds. Edwin is actually starting to put down plywood over the planted beds. We still have to water, water, water though.
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Post by richardw on Mar 19, 2013 23:52:25 GMT -5
I've been drying off carrot seed heads in my plastic house, and now have little carrots popping up in all the seed trays and pots. Wish they would do that in my garden. T Do you not find they dry ok on the plant Templeton or is there another reason why you dry them in your plastic house. I always leave the seed heads on the plants till dry then cut off, i also find that i never get any volunteer carrot in and around the seed plants,after reading that some of you people do have them popping up on there own it makes me wonder why i dont. |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Mar 20, 2013 0:22:56 GMT -5
... i also find that i never get any volunteer carrot in and around the seed plants,after reading that some of you people do have them popping up on there own it makes me wonder why i dont. I don't harvest all of the seed heads, and then I till them into the garden just before winter arrives. |
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Post by richardw on Mar 20, 2013 1:26:24 GMT -5
I dont take the last of the seed heads either,the amount of seed those heads contain is not worth worrying about,it all get chucked into the compost heap before winter and because i dont get to use that compost for at least a year or so any carrot seed has most likely rotted.
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Post by templeton on Apr 2, 2013 2:57:50 GMT -5
Oops,
a bit late to reply Richard.
I've been drying seed in my plastic house to make sure it is good and dry before I put it in the freezer. Didn't want to kill it by putting it in damp. Probably being over careful.
T
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Post by billw on Apr 2, 2013 3:07:22 GMT -5
I start carrots in late September for early spring harvest. I sprout them in a sprouting jar, mix the sprouted seeds into a large amount of water, and then pour them down a row (have to re-mix every few feet). I come back and cover them with a little sifted compost.
Might be a good technique for those of you who have trouble keeping them moist enough to germinate. There is also the better known board method - sow seed, water, then cover with a 2x4 or whatever scrap you have until they sprout.
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Post by templeton on Apr 2, 2013 6:52:35 GMT -5
Pre-sprouting sounds like a great idea. Must try it this week.
Got plenty of fresh seed to play with.
T
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Post by ottawagardener on Apr 2, 2013 7:39:01 GMT -5
Excellent idea bills
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Post by gjcore on Apr 20, 2013 20:36:58 GMT -5
I started fall sown carrots in mid October. They grew slowly through the winter. I put them in the driest area of my yard in the winter, against the north wood fence and not far from the neighbor's 40 foot pine tree. Had to do some hand watering once every couple weeks. I've kept them covered with nothing more than 2 layers of row cover. So far so good, pretty much ready to remove the row covers. Maybe soon our unseasonable cold, wet windy conditions will end.
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Post by robertb on Apr 21, 2013 12:39:05 GMT -5
They're planted very shallow, so could they be drying out too much? I can get parsnip seed to germinate by watering it well and putting a plank on top; maybe it would work for carrots as well.
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Post by raymondo on Apr 21, 2013 16:41:59 GMT -5
I use the board method for summer sown carrots, unless I happen to luck upon a few days of damp weather. The board method works well for the home garden. I don't know what it would be like growing larger numbers. Perhaps bills' sprouting method would work better there.
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