Troublesome carrot sprouting

In the bed of spinach and carrots, the spinach has now emerged, while not a single carrot sprout can be seen.

Sowing carrots does not always go as you would like. In the spring they can be longer to germinate than so much else, the germination rate is often low (and can be even lower if it is not completely fresh seeds) - and sometimes they just do not germinate at all without an explanation for the misery. . It happens both for beginners and for experienced gardeners.

Due to the longer germination time, while not being sown deeper than about 1 cm, carrot seeds can also be a little sensitive to drying out of the soil. This can easily happen during periods of heat, wind, high sun and no rainfall. And that’s just the way the weather has been since the carrots were sown a week ago. The soil should preferably be kept evenly moist until the carrots have sprouted, and therefore the rows have been given a pitcher of water today.

A good way to water freshly sown carrot rows is to lay a piece of non-woven fabric flat on top of the soil, thus avoiding the soil just slamming together and suffocating the seeds if you water too heavily - which can especially be a risk on clay soils. At the same time, the non-woven fabric helps to protect a little against drying out and keep the soil surface sufficiently moist.

Written by Peter Norris, April 16, 2018