Is it ok to grow different carrots all together in the same bed or should they be kept seperate?

Also is there a way of searching old topics here? Or do I just have to be patient and look at each topic heading?

I have seeds for two different types of carrots in my carrot planter thingie. They all go into together; what grows, grows.

If you are concerned about keeping the breeding true and wish to get seeds that give the same results then maybe keep them separate.

The only other separations I would make would be those form baby carrots or different season carrots because they will perform differently and use the light, soil water and nutrients differently which may give inconsistent results.

yep its only a problem when the crops are finished and the plants are going to seed. since this will happen in march or later i doubt if any carrots will be left
- so no problemmo.

roughbarked said:

If you are concerned about keeping the breeding true and wish to get seeds that give the same results then maybe keep them separate.

The only other separations I would make would be those form baby carrots or different season carrots because they will perform differently and use the light, soil water and nutrients differently which may give inconsistent results.

I planted baby carrots and all year round carrots together. They were all picked well before the all year round carrots were full size – we were greedy :-) If you wanted your carrots to grow to full size you’d probably only want to plant together those that had roughly the same growing cycle.

My first batch of carrots were great; and I’ve had problems ever since. I’ve given up trying to plant my seed thinly. Seems I’m getting a very low germination rate. I’ve now gone back to just ‘bunging em in’ and thinning as they grow.

‘bunging em in’ and thinning as they grow.

>>

it is the only way to eat them.. :)

Arvo All,
Thanks for the advice.

I may even set aside a couple small areas for seed collection and keep them as far apart as possible. AND have a bed full of all sorts…sounds the way to go.
I doubt those ones will get a chance to go to seed. YUM

I doubt those ones will get a chance to go to seed. YUM

<

eat drink and be merry

carrot juice .. is wunnerful stuff

carrot and celery is a real pickup..

My first batch of carrots were great; and I’ve had problems ever since. I’ve given up trying to plant my seed thinly. Seems I’m getting a very low germination rate. I’ve now gone back to just ‘bunging em in’ and thinning as they grow.

plant carrots thickly and thin is good advice

but even that doesn’t help if one does not realise that carrots require the acual surface to be moist for more than two weeks .. at first.. and immediately again after a couple of days.. in our climate. .. er.. for germination.

You can pop radishes between each row of carrot seeds. This will also help for you to see where the carrots are sown. Radishes are long gone by the time carrots get big enough:D

I haven’t grown carrots for a long time, but I do remember covering the ground with hessian and keeping that moist. I had a great success rate.
Just trying to remember if carrot germinate better when kept in darker situation? ie. the hessian

Muschee said:

I haven’t grown carrots for a long time, but I do remember covering the ground with hessian and keeping that moist. I had a great success rate.
Just trying to remember if carrot germinate better when kept in darker situation? ie. the hessian

I don’t use anything…Just sow the seeds and watch them…… But then I am home all the time…

Off to work I go :(

ie. the hessian

>>>>darker and more moist is good.

I have covered each batch of seeds with a piece of board. My first lot grew great guns. My second lot I planted finely (by hand) and it was … neeh … okay. My third lot I think I forgot to water after I removed the board, so I got next to nothing. My most recent two plantings I used a you-beaut tiny seed planter thing (overgrown syringe looking thing). Obviously not as a dense a crop and then those that did grow suffered with the excess rain and wind. I had pretty good germination rates but a couple of days later – nothing.

Yesterday I planted another batch. Sprinkled in the seed pretty thick. Figured, really, seed isn’t that expensive. Who cares if I have to buy a packet every month (planning on planting a row a week). Shall thin and eat as we go. Piggles love the ones with no eatable roots.

i’ve already had my rant somewhere about getting good germination rates of carrot seed here, prompted by soil augmentation with bentonite clay….and frequent watering.

commercial carrot growers roll the soil after planting.

to maximise carrot germination -
- fork the soil
- plant seed in rows
- then either roll the whole bed with a heavy roller or (as i do) whack the soil over the seed rows with the back of the rake – to get maximum soil / seed connection.

oh yes…forgot that…i also tamp down the soil a bit, with the back of my ho-mi tool. in fact i’m doing that to most seed that i plant in rows.

OK

carrots are seeds that require to be on the surface to germinate

placing them too deep will cause lower germination rates..

Personally I find that soil compacts too easily without going to the bother of rolling it. I have worked with commercial growers of all kinds of plants for most of my life yet I don’t use any mechanical tilling or rolling in my own garden.

Carrots need this..

deep water

and lots of it.

the way to germinate carrots is to keep the water up.. preferably a chance flood situation where instead of the water rushing past it comes up through the soil and stays long enough for the seed to start off then recedes but still stays at a depth where the seed can send their roots to.. the roots grow longer if the water is still there but deeper down.

got it?

You can pop radishes between each row of carrot seeds.

>>>>>>>>

yep I use radishes as indicators .. and as a food bonus.. I love to nibble on them as wander around my garden.

bluddy crested pigeons love the seeds so I either have to plant the radishes deeper or shoot the pigeons which nest in my yard.. but then If I was going to do that I’d probably blast the blue wrens for having the temerity to nest in my yard.

roughbarked said:

OK

carrots are seeds that require to be on the surface to germinate

placing them too deep will cause lower germination rates..

Personally I find that soil compacts too easily without going to the bother of rolling it. I have worked with commercial growers of all kinds of plants for most of my life yet I don’t use any mechanical tilling or rolling in my own garden.

Carrots need this..

deep water

and lots of it.

the way to germinate carrots is to keep the water up.. preferably a chance flood situation where instead of the water rushing past it comes up through the soil and stays long enough for the seed to start off then recedes but still stays at a depth where the seed can send their roots to.. the roots grow longer if the water is still there but deeper down.

got it?

i would tend to disagree about no need for digging or rolling/tamping. that could be just a factor of my garden soil. however, most of the non-stumpy type carrots require a soft soil to grow into. earlier forking or digging over overcomes some compaction. carrots are basically a thick root, which grows fairly quickly. compacted soil works against their growth. the small amount of surface tamping or rolling does not compact the soil below but, establishes good contact for the soil particles and the seed. as the seed must be sown fairly shallow, the soil needs almost daily watering, to prevent emerging plants from dying. i use a dramm watering wand, as it produces large water drops, which quickly saturates the soil. fine sprays do not penetrate soil well—especially a soil that tends to go hydrophobic—and also creates a smooth crust, which becomes even harder to wet. some people use a flat board or such to cover the initially sown and watered seed. the board keeps the surface soil more moist, and is removed as soon as the seeds are showing emergence. also, soil that hasn’t had the benefit of a digging over or forking, is more difficult to wet. flood irrigation is great but not always practical, and depends on a good wicking soil. it can also cause soil compaction. the soil at the back of my garden gets saturated well during winter. as i have found, this soil compacts rather quickly and becomes hydrophobic by spring, unless some real rain intervenes. without digging, seedlings established there don’t fruit very well, in an airless soil very difficult to wet properly. so now i dig it over well in spring, and add some goodies, and things grow well.

although we can learn a thing or two from commercial growing operations, it’s not always the case that those ways will work for a home garden. some commercial farming ways are the results of decisions which do not apply in a not for profit home garden. for one thing, although water has become scarce to irrigators recently…in times past it was a very cheap resource. the amounts of water used by irrigators using booms to “flood” water their crops regularly is staggering, and totally impractical for a home garden. each commercial growing technique/practice should therefore require trial and re-assessment in a home garden situation. in the drive for profit, a lot of commercial growers have burned their fingers by continually applying synthetic fertilizers. with the soil becoming worse over the years, more and more fertilizer is needed, and profit margin shrinks again. some of these farmers have been the loud voices of discontent about irrigation regulation, as they would like the almost free water for irrigation to continue flowing…even though they may have caused the soil to become so poor and not moisture retentive, through a blind greed and use of synthetic fertilizers. this is almost as bad as the energy wasteful, waste producing businesses of recent misfortune. where heavy government subsidies and industry lobbying were common place. their time is almost up….or there will not be a future for our children, or maybe even for us. i am ashamed to be part of this machine whose sole purpose is to provide yet more wealth to the wealthy, as i am uncertain of the kind of world that my child will have to live in. whilst the middle class was born in the industrial revolution, and we may feel/think that we’ve got it good….there is now more poor/sick/hungry/thirsty people in the world than ever…as a result of the industrial revolution. we’re still yet to reap the seeds of our collective greed. sorry for getting off topic. i do believe that we must use our passion for life to make things better, if possible. this is so much better than the fake passion televised regularly, about some farmers or businesses who think they’ve been given the right by god himself to unlimited water or huge tax breaks etc….because they grow vegetables for city folk or because they provide jobs, and have heavyweight lobbying behind them.

ooops…..carrots….i’m growing some with onion growing between the 20 cm apart rows of carrots. supermarket and local greengrocer carrots, are getting worse and worse. huge things of little if any taste they are.

ooops…..carrots….i’m growing some with onion growing between the 20 cm apart rows of carrots. supermarket and local greengrocer carrots, are getting worse and worse. huge things of little if any taste they are.
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good brain dump fishtank LOL.

one advantage of forking over, hoeing rows and then whacking the rows hard is – you get little trenches where the seed are. this makes watering easy because the trenches fill first and concentrate the dampness over the seed.

i agree that selfishness has invaded all parts of the society – so all industries are requesting continual government assistance.

Commercial farming is obviously required because many people just are unable to provide their own food.

Water is something most people don’t understand and completely take for ganted without realising that it is mostly what they are made of.

Carrots are also made from water and cannot be made without water.

Tilth can affect how water is available to roots and can also be friable enough to allow more even growth but essentially it is all about water.