[Abbeyview]

For many years I have had a south facing shelterd back yard veg plot, last year I  became the holder of a very open wind swept allotment an quickly found that seed from the same packet sown on the same day in both locations took between 25% and 50% longer to germinate on the allotment however the end results were very similar. Nature works in mysterious ways and not necessarily to our calendar.

[chriscross1966]

It is possible to module sow carrots... in normal cells you can put the round-rooted forcing types like Rondo, Atlas and Amsterdam Forcing, and if you get a 24-cell tray and push a toilet-roll tube into each cell then you can sow the shorter rooted types like Chantenay and Nantes ... 2-3 seeds per cell, propagator or window sill, once they've shown then they'll take being in a cold frame (harden them off a bit for that) or an unheated GH... plant out once they're a few weeks old, just plant the whole tube... no thinning needed, nice clean crop, but they do tend to be limited to the length of the toilet roll tube.... they tend to go straggly once they hit the bottom.... but still that's a decent clean size... I do do it with my maincrops as well but live with short fat roots as a result..... Well worth a try if carrots are a problem crop for either the ground or (as in my case I think) the grower :-)... There's also a variety called Eskimo that does OK sown like this and planted out into big pots, then brought into the GH in early December..... carrots (and big ones) thorugh winter without clamping etc.... great...

[devonbarmygardener]

My plot neighbour starts everything in modules, but I don't think she gets huge, good sized carrots.

Mine are always sown straight into the ground, and apart from the odd forked one (which is quite fun) they do get some size.

Emma

[sunshineband]

I tried module planting carrots last year, and I thought I had managed to get them inot the ground in good time --- wrong!!! A range of entwined, forked roots 

Short roots may be OK, or round ones like Parmex would certainly be

[Dopey113]

Had a look (not that i know what i was looking for you understand!  ) but it looks like they are coming through, but when the weather breaks I will have to do more (correctly this time) as I definitely dont have enough planted out. there very small 2 almost round leafs on them, duz that sound right to you guys?, either that or im looking after weeds again (not a surprise) 

[Yorkie]

Image of a carrot seedling here.  Note the long seed leaves, followed by the feathery true leaves.

[Carrot Man]

Here are some others

This is a long type carrot. You can see it now has three true leaves and two seed leaves which will eventually go.



Here are some short carrot seedling. They have been in the same time as the long variety but appear to be a bit stronger.

[Dopey113]

Err I think I have weeds then ^^^ your picks prove that, thanks all

[mattwragg94]

well i check on my seedlings yesterday and all of them have dissappeared - i think i must have been the slugs  - needless to say im gonna sow some more this week and put some pellets down.

[devonbarmygardener]

well i check on my seedlings yesterday and all of them have dissappeared - i think i must have been the slugs  - needless to say im gonna sow some more this week and put some pellets down.

Good ol' pellets!
Swear by them.
It's my tummy or the slugs' tummies - I WILL WIN!

[Dopey113]

Kill mice as well 

[Daisysandbeans]

Mine are still not sprouted after 19 days, so much for successional sowing plans, I can see I'll end up with everything growing all at the same time like usual!!

[PembsPanther]

Mine have not come up yet either (I only sowed them yesterday )I have them in a big tub full of excellent quality compost ans the seed compost on the top where they are sown, I went for the multi coloured Harlequin F1 from fothergills.

[viettaclark]

I thought my first batch of carrots were destroyed by slugs because some were definitely up and then disappeared.
So after a couple of applications of the blue death I sowed some more.
I think there must have been some left from before or they're coming up very quickly!!!
Ho hum...lots of congested carrots!
Got the same prob with parsnips. The radish to mark the rows is swelling nicely but I can't see alot of parsnip action.
I'll leave it 2 more weeks then re-sow between the rows of radish......
Then they'll come up.....

[Daisysandbeans]

Today my carrots have started to sprout!  Along with the beet root that was sowed in the same bed.  Only tiny shoots but germination is definately occurring - it has taken 20 days!! Sown some more today and covered with a cloche.