Planting carrot seeds is also dead easy. You just need some organically vibrant soil (soil enriched with compost or from a previous crop), make a shallow row (5mm) and place your seeds in the row and cover them back over.
It's now the fun, read difficult, begins.
It's getting the little buggers (seeds) to germinate.
The only way I know is to keep them moist or in other words, never let them or the soil get dry, ever, not for a minute, not for a second. As far as I know they can't be over watered so even if the soil surface is looking like it will go dry I'll be in there with a watering can.
Not so bad in the cooler Spring weather but in Summer while at work I'll build a little shade cover with some fencing wire and clothes pegs and hopefully this will prevent them from drying out until I get home from work. Or I'll wait until some showery weather is forecast and plant then.
3 comments:
In my experience my carrot seeds hate being too wet and won't germinate until the soil dries out. Perhaps it depends on the type of soil. I grow mine in raised beds. My husband has suggested perhaps the drainage isn't good enough. With so much rain down here in South Gippsland the seeds I planted a while ago are only just struggling through. Having said all that, I eventually manage a good crop.
Thanks for your blog.
Janice
Hi Janice, you're right about soil type though. South Gippsland is a totally different kettle of fish to me here.
Cold, wet and boggy soils are just as difficult as my well drained and dry soil and raising your garden beds and waiting for things to dry out and warm up a bit will work a treat for you.
Thanks for your comment and good luck with your carrots.
I started using the seed tape a couple of years ago and found I had much better success with germination. Maybe the tape stays moist, because I definitely didn't keep the soil constantly wet. I did try to water each day though and I try to grow them in finer textured soil with less organic matter or fertiliser than my other vegies.
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