Having problems with my carrots. I use a piece of board or cardboard over them when I plant them to keep them moist. I’m getting lovely germination results, but within a day or so of removing the board the little tops have been killed off by the sun :( They’re all year round varieties, and I’m sure if I could get them bigger/stronger they’d have no problems.

I can’t rush out every hour and water them ‘cause I’m working and I have a life. Should I use shadecloth? Or some other method of protecting them.

a bit of hessian kept moist spread over them works well.

also sprinkling peat, dried cow manure or dried lawn clippings lightly as a top dresssing before watering and see how much longer they keep going.

roughbarked said:

also sprinkling peat, dried cow manure or dried lawn clippings lightly as a top dresssing before watering and see how much longer they keep going.

So, when the seedlings appear, remove my ‘mositure board’, sprinkle over some lawn clippings (sheesh, no lawn, they could be hard to find) and then water?

If I use hessian (where the heck does one get hessian these days) do I leave it on even when the seedlings appear? Won’t that stop them photosynthesising and therefore growing?

it sounds like they are drying out so any strategy you can use to keep moisture in the surface soil untill the roots get deep enough will help. Even laying a board on either side, if in rows, will help prevent evaporation from the surrounding soil.

I would use shadecloth Sue, see if you can devise a way to keep it raised above ground level. Hoops (arches) made of polypipe fixed on to short pieces of cane stuck in the ground would work. Clothes pegs would hold the cloth on .

I did say sprinkle lightly..

usually a light sprinkle will barely if at all cover them to much so that you can’t still see some parts of the dicotyledons.

but it is enough to hold more moisture at the surface… carrots cannot be grown without keeping the soil surface moist for the full period of up to a month.. after that the water should be going deeper as the roots will fork if it is still at the surface after they have been established.

Hessian is available at Bunnings or any such hardware places gardening shops or agricultural suppliers.

jute works well also but is closer weave than hessian and has tyo be removed for some light to reach leaves.

oops.. jute “sacking” works well also but is closer weave than hessian and has tyo be removed for some light to reach leaves.

i’m with orchid – raised 75% shadecloth – even a brick high works well. also straw mulch down the isles.

pepe said:

i’m with orchid – raised 75% shadecloth – even a brick high works well. also straw mulch down the isles.

Yes any method of retaining moisture nearest the surface for the first month is essential.. I prefer to give them afull soak at least twice during that first month and light sprinkles if the soil starts to dry on top too much but I also employ a lot of mulch. It is perhaps true to say that I pioneered the use of grape marc as a mulching soil improver and moisture retention material.

Most others including all the major potting mix companies thought grape marc to be toxic.

It is perhaps true to say that I pioneered the use of grape marc as a mulching soil improver and moisture retention material.
—————-
yes – that story of the original soil pH 11 has stuck in my mind.
mulch will rob the soil of nitrogen but that doesn’t hurt carrots.

in actual fact..

a heap of compost .. in particular grape marc(being only one ingredient)

(where the heck does one get hessian these days
==================

I’ve seen it in the “local” (think 3 hours away, to the coast) Spotlight…

Living in Brisbane, SueBk, (but not knowing much about summer carrots, my dad only grew them in sand and in winter)…I would go for the shadecloth..

I think the principle here would be to keep the seedlings cool so that they don’t transpire their little hearts out, run out of moisture and dehydrate…our Qld sun is not to be denied…there will be plenty of reflected sunlight (I should imagine) that will keep the seedlings going even with the shadecloth…

I shall invest in some shadecloth before I plant any more seeds. The carrot patch is in one of my tubs, so nice handy sides to peg it to. I suspect the heat generated by the plastic tub sides isn’t helping much either.

SueBk said:

I shall invest in some shadecloth before I plant any more seeds. The carrot patch is in one of my tubs, so nice handy sides to peg it to. I suspect the heat generated by the plastic tub sides isn’t helping much either.

Not having seen your setup, I wonder if the humidity is “crushing” them? If they are down inside this tub, they might not be able to transpire fast enough to keep up with the heat…and if it was me, I would place the shade cloth about a metre above the rim of the pot…but wait and see what the more experienced growers say…

We had a shadehouse once, the plants were always wilting, and eventually we took off the shadecloth from all the sides (the shade house was a “lean-to” on one side of the building) but left about 18” down the sides from the roof of the structure…and the plants were a lot happier…

That’s just me, tho…

i reckon improve your soil, so it wets easily and stays moist.
preparing carrot soil before sowing:
- add bentonite (or slurry from local red/yellow clay)
- add gypsum
- add horticultural grit

at the moment to improve soil wetting and moisture capacity
- a thin watering with either bentonite or thin slurry from local red/yellow clay
- a sprinkle of gypsum

as mentioned before, i think that watering (outside) with a fine nozzle doesn’t wet the soil. a tiny excavation with a finger (post watering) should show. i use a watering wand that produces large water droplets—quickly wave it over the soil to water—and the water penetrates. a fine spray wand/nozzle used to water for an extended period doesn’t do the job either, as the water pools, and the soil develops a fine crust layer which becomes even harder to wet.

alternatively, invest in a misting system that senses when moisture is needed, or setup with a reasonable timer.
another possibility is using setting up a tunnel using clear plastic but, they seedlings might possibly cook.

if you’re in clay soil, use a soaked coir brick (seed raising) to cover the seed, instead of sand or your own soil. coir is good at holding moisture.

My carrots have all popped up and now seem to be taking forever to get their next set of leaves.
I know the like a fairly ordinary soil, but what can I give them to get them moving along?
Worm wee?

Muschee said:

My carrots have all popped up and now seem to be taking forever to get their next set of leaves.
I know the like a fairly ordinary soil, but what can I give them to get them moving along?
Worm wee?

keep the water up to them and I think Lucky puts worm wee on hers. they are probably concentrating on root growth atm so they can support new leaves.

Muschee said:

My carrots have all popped up and now seem to be taking forever to get their next set of leaves.
I know the like a fairly ordinary soil, but what can I give them to get them moving along?
Worm wee?

dilute seaweed foliant watering is good.
hoeing between the rows is helpful.
it weeds, provides nitrogen in the form of air and insulates the topsoil.
old compost used as a watered in mulch is also good.

pepe said:

Muschee said:

My carrots have all popped up and now seem to be taking forever to get their next set of leaves.
I know the like a fairly ordinary soil, but what can I give them to get them moving along?
Worm wee?

dilute seaweed foliant watering is good.
hoeing between the rows is helpful.
it weeds, provides nitrogen in the form of air and insulates the topsoil.
old compost used as a watered in mulch is also good.

Thanks for that Pepe, I’m only growing on a very small scale at atm, till my new vegie patch is ready to go. Which hopefully isn’t too far away.
I will give them a burst of seaweed tonight when it’s cooled down.