Carrots Are Up

Hello fellow Gardeners

A couple of weeks ago we planted carrot seed in the community garden. A week later they were starting to come up.

Now we have lots of tiny carrot plants.

You will find our babies under the shade cloth next to the shelter.

It can be difficult to germinate small seeds like carrots in the heat of summer. The shade helps conserve the soil moisture so the tiny seedlings get a chance to grow long roots without being fried by the hot sun. This method is a modern adaptation of the way my Grandfather grew carrots. He sowed seed then laid a board over the row to provide shade and conserve soil moisture. You need to check every couple of days and when the seedlings start to emerge, lift the board onto a couple of bricks or something similar so the tiny seedlings still have some protection but still get some light and air. Once the seedlings are well established we will remove the shade and let them grow.

You can harvest carrots all winter so we have planted quite a lot in these 3 rows.

The earlier crop of carrots is now ready to start picking as baby carrots.

We did not get time to thin out the original seedlings so they are a bit more crowded than they should be.

Pulling a few from where they are really crowded will allow the rest to grow much better and in a few weeks we'll have larger carrots to harvest. 

If a few extra come out while you pull the one you want, don't try to replant them. Carrots don't transplant very well, so put any that are of no use into the compost or take them to eat - baby carrots are very tasty. The extra space will allow the ones that are left to grow so much better.

Carrots are a very productive and rewarding crop for a home garden. Have fun growing some at your place. 

If you need to know more about growing carrots join us at a Garden Gathering - Saturday mornings between 9:30am and 10:30am at the Yackandandah Community Garden.

Neil