Most carrots will need about 2 inches of space from their neighbors. This will give you nicer-looking carrots as they will be straighter. Remove them very gently from their containers and try to keep as much of the starter potting mix intact. If you decide to germinate your seeds indoors and then transplant them into the garden, be mindful of the delicate nature of those first bits of root. So, while you “can” do it, I’d caution against it. Because carrots are root vegetables, transplanting can disrupt and damage the formation of the root, and thus, the carrots themselves. Some vegetables get a better start when they are started indoors and transplanted once they have had time to put on some weight. That doesn’t mean you can’t start them indoors and move them outside, but it means you should expect mixed to poor results when compared to direct seeding. Transplanting Be gentle when transplanting indoor germinated seeds to the garden to preserve their delicate roots.įirst, let’s start off by saying that most carrot varieties don’t transplant well. You may have more thinning to do with this method, as you will probably spread more seeds than you would when planting in rows. Once the tops get to that 4” mark, go back through and thin out your carrots, leaving about 2” of space between them. Keep your soil moist during the germination process, and afterward as well. After you’ve spread the seeds evenly around your bed, using the same sprinkling method, lightly cover your seeds with potting soil. Make sure to sow into moist soil, to help prevent the seeds from blowing around while you are working. Rather, sprinkle the seeds by hand in small areas, working to get the seeds as evenly distributed as possible. You don’t want to end up with concentrated areas that need a lot of thinning out. Now, it’s not a great idea to just toss a handful of seeds into a garden bed. In broadcast sowing, the seeds are gently sprinkled around the bed. Broadcast sowing is also known as scatter sowing, a name that explains the process a bit better. This method requires very little time on the front end but will make up for it when the time comes to thin out your carrots. Broadcast Sowing Broadcast sowing involves sprinkling seeds around the bed and requires little time but causes problems when thinning. If your seedlings pop up too close together, not to worry, simply follow the same process of thinning them by removing the smallest plants, to leave 2” of space between each plant. If you’ve been careful to sow sparingly, you might not need to thin them out. In colder temperatures, this process can take up to three weeks. If the soil temperature is near 75°, germination should occur in about a week. Keep the soil moist consistently until the seeds germinate, as it will be difficult for carrots to break through soil that is dry and crusted. Seeds should be covered lightly with no more than ¼”-1/2” of soil. Make a very small indention with a finger or pencil and drop one to two seeds into the hole. If you are very careful about spacing, you will save time later when it comes time to thin them out. Seeds can be planted in a raised row, making it easier to identify where you can expect those sprouts to appear. This is a perfectly good way to plant carrots, so we will address it first.īegin by moistening the soil to prevent tiny seeds from blowing away in the breeze. The more organized and traditional gardener may favor the orderly appearance of feathery carrot tops growing in straight rows. Organized Sowing Plant seeds in raised rows spaced 6″-8″ apart for easier identification of sprouts. Later in the spring, you’ll be able to start thinning them out, so you have at least 2 to 3 inches in between plants. When direct sowing seeds, make sure each seed is at least 1 inch apart. Soaking the seeds may speed up the germination process. The soil should be kept moist throughout the seeds’ relatively long germination period. There are two methods of direct sowing, in organized rows or by scattering.Ĭarrot seeds are very tiny, so they do not need to be sown deeply, they will more or less root where they land, but we will get to that in a moment.ĭirect sowing should be done 2-3 weeks before the last anticipated frost. Direct Sowing Carrots should be planted directly into the ground, either in regular rows or randomly scattered.īecause carrots are root vegetables, direct sowing is the preferred method of planting. But there are a few different options available that you can choose from if you decide direct seeding isn’t something you’d like to wait for. When it comes to planting carrots, most gardeners opt to seed them directly into their garden.
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