Carrots

I've never attempted to grow carrots before, simply because my dad tried when I was a kid, and failed miserably, despite the fact that he is quite green fingered and everything else is a massive success for him.

I'm going to have a bash at them this year, but the packet says I can sow them in any good free draining soil from february onwards, but my veg book says I have to wait til the end of April and I need sandy soil. Either the packet or the book must be fibbing, seeing as they give conflicting advice.

If I sow them now in a deep containers full of sieved loamy top soil, would that be about right?

 

I use 50:50 mix of last years spent multi-purpose compost (e.g. out of potato bags or Tubs & Urns) and horticultural sharp sand. I use pots that are 12", maybe a bit more, diameter.

Never had much success growing them in the ground (heavy clay here), but the containers do just fine.

February wouldn't work outside here - the seed would rot! although in Cornwall you'd be all right! There are some very early varieties - like Amsterdam Forcing and some of the Nantes ... so maybe you have one of those (in which case probably Packet and Book are correct!)

 

And they could end up like this:

 

Thanks folks. I think I'm going to wait another couple of weeks. Then I might sow them indoors, in their containers, and move the whole container outside as soon as they germinate.

 

I've got a load coming up in the hot bed & have done another sowing in a 12inch pot indoors. An outside sowing has come to nothing, despite putting black polythene over the soil.

Had some monsters from the clay soil last season.

 

Last year I put seeds into a very large pot in my little greenhouse and they have been fine, very tasty, kept them in the greenhouse as I wasn't sure if I should put them outside or not
Val