Do you have difficulty growing spring carrots? Germination seems to take forever in the spring due to the cool air and soil temperatures. A lot can go wrong during this time. Here are 4 tips to improve carrot seed germination.
Many longtime readers of this blog will know that I usually have a difficult time growing spring carrots. Fall carrots are rarely a problem. They usually germinate and become established quickly in warmer soil. Once they reach this point, they are likely to succeed and mature with little effort on my part other than some weeding and watering.
Spring carrots are another matter. Germination seems to take forever in the spring due to the cool air and soil temperatures. After doing some research on troubleshooting carrot growing problems, I realized that getting the seed to sprout and keeping the young carrot seedlings alive once they do germinate is probably the majority of my problem.
I suspected my failure growing spring carrots was due to several issues:
- Damping Off: Death of a seed or seedling caused by a number of different pathogens that live in the soil. Seeds or newly emerged seedlings are particularly vulnerable in cool and moist soil that is common for our springs.
- Crusty Soil: Soil surface compacts from rain and sun forming a hard surface that sheds water and prevents the sprout from breaking through the surface.
- Inconsistent Moisture: When seeds do sprout and reach the surface, they overheat and die from lack of water reaching their shallow roots.
4 Tips to Improve Carrot Seed Germination:
I was determined to make extra effort to give my spring carrots a chance at success this year. Here is what I did:
1. Fresh Seeds: Carrot seeds remain viable for up to 3-years depending on how they are stored. I wanted to give this spring crop their best chance at germination. So I began with fresh seeds purchased from a reliable source. If your soil is heavy, consider Danvers or Red Cored Chantenay carrots. If you are growing in a square foot garden or containers, consider Tonda di Parigi or Little Finger carrots.
2. Soil Preparation: I framed in a new raised bed. Since my native soil has a lot of clay. I amended the carrot bed with sifted compost, organic fertilizer, and loosened the soil about 12-inches with my digging fork. The soil was raked smooth.
3. Planting Seed Mats: Carrot seed mats (See Homemade Seed Mats) were laid out onto the prepared soil. Instead of covering with soil, I covered the seed mats with an organic, sterile potting mix and watered in very well.
4. Consistent Watering: I made an effort early on to water the bed with a fine mist twice a day to keep the soil evenly moist.
There is Hope for a Summer Carrot Crop!
Eventually, the spring carrots germinated and continued to grow and become established. I believe the potting mix provided several solutions by preventing soil crusting, reducing the pathogens that may cause damping off, and retaining moisture. Also making the extra effort to attend to the seedlings moisture needs early on have provided this batch of spring carrots a greater chance of success. I am thrilled that there is now hope for carrots.
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janetpesaturo says
Hi Rachel, I’ve grown carrots successfully, but they don’t get as large as what I find at the grocery store or at farmers markets. My largest ones are only 7-8 inches long, and no more than 1 inch diameter at the fattest part. If I leave them in the ground longer, they split. I’ve been told to make the soil more fertile, but when I do they that, they just get hairier, not larger. Any thoughts? How large do yours grow?
~Rachel Arsenault says
Janet, It could depend on the variety of carrots you are growing. What have you tried? Some carrots don’t grow more than 8-inches and some will continue to grow as long as they are in the ground. I had great success last year growing Yaya carrots that were planted in spring and harvested in early September. Yaya is a Nantes type of carrot that typically doesn’t grow larger than 8-inches. Other Nantes varieties I have grown are Scarlet Nantes, Bolero, and Nelson. Nantes type carrots grow very well in my heavier, clay soil.
If you have nice, fluffy soil with little rocks or stones then consider an Imperator variety. These grow about 10-inches long: Sugarsnax is one I tried last year. It didn’t grow consistently though. I had a lot of variations in size and thickness.
amy says
Would you mind sharing what kind of carrots you planted or brand
~Rachel Arsenault says
Amy, I grew Yaya and Scarlet Nantes from Fedco (http://www.fedcoseeds.com/seeds/?page=0&cat=Carrots) last spring with great success. I have also grown Mokum, Sugarsnax, Napoli in the past but mostly as fall carrots. I need to experiment more to see how they do with this spring planting method. Danvers is a good carrot to grow too if you have heavy clay soil.
FeathersInTheWoods (@la_murano) says
Your carrots look great now! I’ve never tried to grow a fall crop, think I’ll try this year!
Thanks for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday. We hope to see you again this week!
Lisa M
Margaret says
Your carrots look amazing! I too have had carrot problems – last year that meant no carrots at all but I think my issues were more to do with some sort of critter eating up the seedlings – either slugs or earwigs – never really figured out which one 🙁
mac says
I have the same problem, I could not get carrots to germinate in spring, no problem for fall plant carrots, next year I’ll copy your method and hope for it’ll work for me as well.
Rachel @ Grow a Good Life says
Daphne, I like seed mats for spacing. This time it seemed to work out ok since germination was successful. I didn’t think of cutworms, but I don’t seem to have a big problem with them this year since I let the chickens work through the garden before planting.
daphnegould says
It looks great. And I’ve found what works for one person, doesn’t always work for another. I tried seed mats, but they seemed to make matters worse for me. Now I use doubled over remay now to keep the soil moist and prevent it from crusting. One of my worst spring problems is cutworms. They aren’t around now when I’m seeding my fall carrots, but in the late spring they just mow the poor things down. And you can’t collar them like you can for a tomato plant.
Michelle says
Congratulations, it looks like your strategies and attention have paid off. Isn’t it amazing how much specialized knowledge we acquire as we stumble our way through the seasons every year.
Rachel @ Grow a Good Life says
Michelle, Carrots seem so easy for most. I was determined to figure it out this year. I am so excited that they are growing and healthy.