[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Afternoon all,

My carrots have germinated really well, and are all about 1 inch high and the true leaves just starting to show.

When should I think about thinning them, and when will they start interfering with each others growth.

[DD.]

I have never thinned carrots.

I try and sow fairly thinly and let them tease each other aside as they grow.

Thinning can send out an alert to the dreaded fly!

[TheWhiteRabbit]

My 5 year old helped me sow the carrot seeds and her definition of 'thinly sowed' was very different to mine! So I think I'll be needing to thin mine!

[Beetroot queen]

I have a dotty forest in my carrot tub but it looks so pretty and I know what needs to be done but I can't do it. I have always had patchy results with carrots so now I am reluctant to pick out any that have been nice enough to grow 

[Salmo]

When the carrots are that size I hoe close up either side of the row to destroy weeds. In a couple of days, when the soil has settled, I thin them to about an inch apart and remove any weeds growing amongst them at the same time.  Until that time I just lay enviromesh flat over them to keep carrot flies off. That is when I usually build an enviromesh tent that they will live under.

That will do them until you start to pull those first finger size carrots. When you do so try to pull every other one so that the others have more room.

The experts say that carrot fly do not fly when it is windy or after dusk. Pick those times to uncover the mesh i.e. thinning/weeding/pulling. The experts also say water after these operations to keep the carrot scent down.

[JayG]

Do pretty much what DD does, i.e. try to sow fairly thinly so I can get away without thinning, but in reality it tends to depend on how good my hand-eye co-ordination was at the time of sowing! 

I also add slug pellets whilst I've got the enviromesh off to control those pesky little black slugs which sometimes attack the crop (you can use the non-organic ones safely under there if you wish as you won't cause injury to other animals.)

[compostqueen]

I sow thinly too so don't need to thin but you just sneeze or bang your arm at the wrong moment and spill the damned lot    I noticed with my spinach yesterday that I'd sowed a ruddy great clump 

[Annieh78]

Is it any good to take the thinnings and replant them in empty spaces elsewhere? I could not bear to through the llittle thinnings away and have them in a pot waiting for me to do something with them tomorrow ...

[compostqueen]

I don't think carrot thinnings will survive, they are so tiny and delicate and the hair roots would probably be just too small to transplant succcessfully.  You could try of course. Nothing ventured an all that.

You can leave the thinnings to grow a bit and then remove and eat them

[Kajazy]

If you're going to thin them, do it before the Cow Parsley is flowering as that's when the carrot fly is most active

[viettaclark]

And it's flowering now on verges in Hampshire......
Beware the dreaded fly!!!

[Mark's Sussex Allotment]

Tranplanting Carrots and Parsnips is pretty much a no go.