My carrot bed has eight inches of sifted soil (decomposed clay shale), fine sand, and sifted compost. I wet it down well and then press down a piece of old broom stick to make a one inch deep trough. I seed that trough, then cover the seeds with a half inch of white sand. I finely mist the sand and pack it down for good contact with the seeds. Then, I lay a 2x4 on top of the row. In two weeks I lift up the board to see if the seeds have sprouted. If they have, I place the board right along the edge of the sprouted row. This continues to keep the soil moist, reflects a bit more light onto the sprouts, protects them a bit from winds, and prevents weeds. It takes very little watering. This has worked very well gardening in multiple states and two European countries.
Thank you so much for this video, I haven't been able to grow carrots no matter what time of year! They just never come up. Wow I've learned a lot, I see I've been doing everything wrong after watching your instructions. I've always wanted to grow them and couldn't figure out what was wrong and why I never got a single seed to germinate. I grow lots of different vegetables but the carrots eluded me! You got a new subscriber, nice video, clear and to the point!
I’m so glad you liked it. Carrot seedlings can be very delicate. Gentle lift up the cardboard and check to make sure they’re still moist every so often. Once you start getting little sprouts 🌱 remove the cardboard. These little sprouts are very delicate if they dry out at all, they would die. Also, if you wet them too much, they fall over and get stuck in the mud and die. You’re gonna do just great!. 🥕
Another trick I found to be an incredible seed starter with carrots and celery, is to pull some damp leaf mold from deep inside the compost pile and place it damp side down over the seeds. It will be about 2 inches thick and look like a book that was heavily damaged by water. The worms love it, it enriches the soil, and it is basically labor free.
Vermiculite is a good idea. I may add that to what I've been doing. I've had good success with a thin layer of finely sifted peat moss. Once wet, it stays wet. I've never had to use the cardboard, but I do check it every day for moisture.
Wow, this makes perfect sense to me. I've never had any luck with carrots, period. Questions, though: How often do I water, going forward? How do I know when to remove the cardboard? Do I lift & check/water underneath it periodically, or just leave it alone? For 3 weeks? Once it's removed and sprouts can be seen, add mulch?
Great question everyone’s seeds will germinate at a different time. Keep checking under the cardboard for sprouts. 🌱 even with the cardboard check to make sure they are moist. You may have to give them a light mist. Once you start getting sprouts remove the cardboard and keep them moist but not drenched. The sprouts are very delicate and can die easily. I wait until the sprouts are about 4” before I mulch with crushed up leaf mulch or straw. Sometimes mulch can weigh down young seedlings. I hope this helps. 😉
I just saw your video, and after watching countless videos, this was the best solution. I have put a thing clear drop sheet overtop to create a greenhouse effect, but especially this year, I think there were slugs in our soil, as there was almost zero growth, and I replanted a couple of times....don't know your area, zone, but I am going to do your method next planting season. Thank you!
Good video with useful information. A suggestion: when you're spreading your seed-starting mix on the surface, try sifting on with that screen you used to sift the soil (rather than broadcasting it by hand).
Good feedback, I have been gardening for 50 years and have a lifetime of knowledge growing heirloom vegetables, but I’m new to UA-cam and video creation. Please feel free to ask me any questions as I try to read and respond to all comments. 🌱😀
Hey there, I might be wrong here, but i thought coco coir or peat moss is the substance in potting mix that holds the moisture and vermiculite or perlite is what gives it some air in the mix, preventing it from going anaerobic. Another tip i've seen others do is gently press the soil down to ensure seed to soil contact. I don't mean stepping on the soil, but lightly pressing it down with a wooden board, for example. Anyways still a very good video! You earned yourself a subscriber
Hi thanks for commenting. The perlite is mostly used for drainage and aeration while vermiculite helps soil retain water. Vermiculite can hold 3 to 4 times its weight in water. 💦 The coco coir or peat moss is the base material. I also use worm castings in our seed starting mix which also helps with moisture retention, microbes, nutrients, etc. Hope you have lots of success with this years garden, may God bless all you do. 😀
I needed this. It took me 3 sowings to get my fall carrots going and I'm not sure at all if they will get to eating size before taken out by frost. We've already had multiple light frosts. :(
Actually yes, I have my carrots in the garden and I plant them as I show in the video. But my dogs love carrots so much. So I randomly plant them around my house. I even have them coming up in my front yard between my flowers. This way whenever I’m outside with the dogs, I can just reach over and grab a treat for them. I also throw a few seeds in random spots if I have an open area in my garden. 🥕😃🌱
What state are you in? Or at least what zone? What range of temperatures are you experiencing when you started the carrots? I'm asking because I didn't notice it in your profile.
Great info, great suggestions and step by step instructions. All of that could have been delivered in 3 minutes not 8. Thank you. Oh and kudos for not using cheesey folk music
@@BackyardFoodGarden Ahhh yes,,,, that was what I was wondering, & looking for. HOW MUCH peat moss, for proper PH? Then, what else is needed? I will watch your "making compost" video. FYI,, always state your zone, month, or where you live at the beginning of your video. No sense for us to try for a late season crop like yours, if we are up farther than zone 5,, right? My old neighbors & I are going to raised bed gardens, to eliminate a lot of the work,,, but we sure are having one hec of a problem, finding enough beneficial materials to fill up the large containers like yours. Maybe you can help us with that?
Hi, I am in zone 7a and my carrot box has a pH of 6.5. Regarding filling your boxes, I used a method called. Hügelkultur. This is where you fill your beds with logs, sticks, food, scraps grass clippings and then cover over with compost or soil. We grow in 100% compost. My beds are 17 inches high so filling my containers with all of this material first saved me a lot of money in buying compost. I covered the logs with about 8 inches of compost. I hope this helps and I’m always here for your questions. May God bless you happy gardening. 😊
Your video would be great if I were someone who was looking for expensive solutions (buying stuff to get results.) Why not use a wet blanket (old bed sheet sheet). Covid taught me NOT to trust industry. I value my time (as a science teacher), and want to use my time learning techniques my grandchildren can use the next time globalist shut down the supply chains (making trillions). You have a great youtube personality and an amazing looking garden. I would love to see your videos that replace the bags of amendments with other such things like the fluff under the pine needles...alternatives to store bought (bags) things to improve growing.
I hear ya. We do both here, in fact one of the best things I use is my own compost pile and also my leaf mold pile both are great resources. I am also a grandparent who will be downsizing our house and upsizing our land soon for retirement. I will be looking to be off grid as much as we can. I worry about the world our grandkids will see once we are gone. We need to teach them all we know. 😉
My carrot bed has eight inches of sifted soil (decomposed clay shale), fine sand, and sifted compost. I wet it down well and then press down a piece of old broom stick to make a one inch deep trough. I seed that trough, then cover the seeds with a half inch of white sand. I finely mist the sand and pack it down for good contact with the seeds. Then, I lay a 2x4 on top of the row. In two weeks I lift up the board to see if the seeds have sprouted. If they have, I place the board right along the edge of the sprouted row. This continues to keep the soil moist, reflects a bit more light onto the sprouts, protects them a bit from winds, and prevents weeds. It takes very little watering. This has worked very well gardening in multiple states and two European countries.
Sounds good, the key is to create that moisture barrier whether you use wood, or cardboard. 🥕🌱🥕 Happy gardening 😀
I'm going to try this. I've never been successful with carrots. Two or three might spring up but that's about it. Thanks a bunch!
Carrots 🥕 are great to grow once you get them sprouted 😃
Thank you so much for this video, I haven't been able to grow carrots no matter what time of year! They just never come up. Wow I've learned a lot, I see I've been doing everything wrong after watching your instructions. I've always wanted to grow them and couldn't figure out what was wrong and why I never got a single seed to germinate. I grow lots of different vegetables but the carrots eluded me!
You got a new subscriber, nice video, clear and to the point!
I’m so glad you liked it. Carrot seedlings can be very delicate. Gentle lift up the cardboard and check to make sure they’re still moist every so often. Once you start getting little sprouts 🌱 remove the cardboard. These little sprouts are very delicate if they dry out at all, they would die. Also, if you wet them too much, they fall over and get stuck in the mud and die. You’re gonna do just great!. 🥕
Another trick I found to be an incredible seed starter with carrots and celery, is to pull some damp leaf mold from deep inside the compost pile and place it damp side down over the seeds. It will be about 2 inches thick and look like a book that was heavily damaged by water. The worms love it, it enriches the soil, and it is basically labor free.
Thanks for sharing!
Vermiculite is a good idea. I may add that to what I've been doing. I've had good success with a thin layer of finely sifted peat moss. Once wet, it stays wet. I've never had to use the cardboard, but I do check it every day for moisture.
Sounds like you’re doing good. 😊 Keeping them moist is the key.
Anything should help me grow carrots!!!! Good info
Thank you so much! 🥕🥕🥕
Wow, this makes perfect sense to me. I've never had any luck with carrots, period. Questions, though: How often do I water, going forward? How do I know when to remove the cardboard? Do I lift & check/water underneath it periodically, or just leave it alone? For 3 weeks? Once it's removed and sprouts can be seen, add mulch?
Great question everyone’s seeds will germinate at a different time. Keep checking under the cardboard for sprouts. 🌱 even with the cardboard check to make sure they are moist. You may have to give them a light mist. Once you start getting sprouts remove the cardboard and keep them moist but not drenched. The sprouts are very delicate and can die easily. I wait until the sprouts are about 4” before I mulch with crushed up leaf mulch or straw. Sometimes mulch can weigh down young seedlings. I hope this helps. 😉
Great questions. It seems like it was only a half of a video and your questions were part of the unmade second half.
I just saw your video, and after watching countless videos, this was the best solution. I have put a thing clear drop sheet overtop to create a greenhouse effect, but especially this year, I think there were slugs in our soil, as there was almost zero growth, and I replanted a couple of times....don't know your area, zone, but I am going to do your method next planting season. Thank you!
Thank you for the feedback we are zone 7a. 🥕.
Good video with useful information. A suggestion: when you're spreading your seed-starting mix on the surface, try sifting on with that screen you used to sift the soil (rather than broadcasting it by hand).
Great suggestion!
Good feedback, I have been gardening for 50 years and have a lifetime of knowledge growing heirloom vegetables, but I’m new to UA-cam and video creation. Please feel free to ask me any questions as I try to read and respond to all comments. 🌱😀
Thank you host for sharing tips for planting carrots.. happy gardening.. watching and support from glecious tv your new friend
Thanks and welcome
When you sift the mulch, that which is sifted out is perfect for orchids.
Absolutely, it is good organic matter.
Thank you for sharing, it’s very helpful.☺️
You’re welcome. God bless you.
Great tip!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey there,
I might be wrong here, but i thought coco coir or peat moss is the substance in potting mix that holds the moisture and vermiculite or perlite is what gives it some air in the mix, preventing it from going anaerobic.
Another tip i've seen others do is gently press the soil down to ensure seed to soil contact. I don't mean stepping on the soil, but lightly pressing it down with a wooden board, for example.
Anyways still a very good video!
You earned yourself a subscriber
Hi thanks for commenting. The perlite is mostly used for drainage and aeration while vermiculite helps soil retain water. Vermiculite can hold 3 to 4 times its weight in water. 💦 The coco coir or peat moss is the base material. I also use worm castings in our seed starting mix which also helps with moisture retention, microbes, nutrients, etc. Hope you have lots of success with this years garden, may God bless all you do. 😀
I think you are half right. As @BackYardFoodGarden states vermiculite retains water and perlite helps aeration, but coir/peat moss hold moisture too.
Excellent idea
Thank you! Cheers!
I needed this. It took me 3 sowings to get my fall carrots going and I'm not sure at all if they will get to eating size before taken out by frost. We've already had multiple light frosts. :(
I feel your pain, I lost some of mine to rabbits. 😊
Thank you for help
You’re welcome, may God bless you with a bountiful harvest. 😃
Happy Fall🍁🎃 I am so behind planting our carrots. I need to get busy. Thank you for the cardboard hack! Wendy🇺🇸🌎🙏🏻
You are so welcome! 🥕🥕🥕 Now it’s time to plant our Garlic 🧄 😀
Im thinking about getting a bag of potting soil, stand on side, cut the plastic, and plant the seeds. Cut drain wholes and leave it.
I’ve seen this done with potatoes, not sure how well it would work with carrots 🥕,but that’s why we experiment. 😀🌱 Happy Gardening!
Excellent 😃🎉
I subscribed to your channel 🙏
Thanks and welcome 🥕
@@BackyardFoodGarden you're welcome 😁 Happy to be here 🙏🎉
Have you ever tried scatter seeding for carrots
Actually yes, I have my carrots in the garden and I plant them as I show in the video. But my dogs love carrots so much. So I randomly plant them around my house. I even have them coming up in my front yard between my flowers. This way whenever I’m outside with the dogs, I can just reach over and grab a treat for them. I also throw a few seeds in random spots if I have an open area in my garden. 🥕😃🌱
@ thanks for the reply. I do a 2x2’ scattering. What grows grows. I’m not one for thinning.
What state are you in? Or at least what zone? What range of temperatures are you experiencing when you started the carrots? I'm asking because I didn't notice it in your profile.
Good question and I will be adding this to my profile. New Jersey zone 7a. Temperatures between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit.
"There's two good things that money can't buy and that's one true love and home grown Tomatoes" song by Guy Clark.
Love me some pink Brandywine tomatoes 🍅
Where is the video on how to make your seed starting mix?
ua-cam.com/video/xXfVHrnLBaU/v-deo.htmlsi=VEHaJICNigitKO4g
Thanks for your help
Great info, great suggestions and step by step instructions. All of that could have been delivered in 3 minutes not 8. Thank you. Oh and kudos for not using cheesey folk music
Glad it was helpful!
Mix your seed with sand helps to spread them out.
I’ve done that before and it works well. 🥕
I struggle with carrots so much year round
What problems do you have and what is your soil like?
When you went for the tomatoes 🍅 I legit thought you were going to put them it the bed🤣🤣🤣
Every now and then ya just need a snack. God bless you in all you do.
He put them to bed. The bed of his belly 😄😄😄
Thinning is not needed... They grow just fine and abundant
I have to admit, I hate thinning carrots 🥕
What is mixed with the vermiculite? Coconut coir?
Yes, but if you’re making it for outdoors you could also use peat moss. 😀
@@BackyardFoodGarden Ahhh yes,,,, that was what I was wondering, & looking for. HOW MUCH peat moss, for proper PH? Then, what else is needed?
I will watch your "making compost" video.
FYI,, always state your zone, month, or where you live at the beginning of your video. No sense for us to try for a late season crop like yours, if we are up farther than zone 5,, right?
My old neighbors & I are going to raised bed gardens, to eliminate a lot of the work,,, but we sure are having one hec of a problem, finding enough beneficial materials to fill up the large containers like yours.
Maybe you can help us with that?
Hi, I am in zone 7a and my carrot box has a pH of 6.5. Regarding filling your boxes, I used a method called. Hügelkultur. This is where you fill your beds with logs, sticks, food, scraps grass clippings and then cover over with compost or soil. We grow in 100% compost. My beds are 17 inches high so filling my containers with all of this material first saved me a lot of money in buying compost. I covered the logs with about 8 inches of compost. I hope this helps and I’m always here for your questions. May God bless you happy gardening. 😊
What zone are you in?
We are zone 7a
Why didn’t you use your barbaqu pan ? Jim80
It was one of those things I found in my garage I didn’t know I had so I repurposed it. 😃
Will carrots grow good in pure sand?
I’ve never grown in pure sand, but it lacks nutrients.
Good presentation without a lot of goofy stuff
Thank you so much. 😃
@@BackyardFoodGarden Thank you
Your video would be great if I were someone who was looking for expensive solutions (buying stuff to get results.) Why not use a wet blanket (old bed sheet sheet). Covid taught me NOT to trust industry. I value my time (as a science teacher), and want to use my time learning techniques my grandchildren can use the next time globalist shut down the supply chains (making trillions). You have a great youtube personality and an amazing looking garden. I would love to see your videos that replace the bags of amendments with other such things like the fluff under the pine needles...alternatives to store bought (bags) things to improve growing.
I hear ya. We do both here, in fact one of the best things I use is my own compost pile and also my leaf mold pile both are great resources. I am also a grandparent who will be downsizing our house and upsizing our land soon for retirement. I will be looking to be off grid as much as we can. I worry about the world our grandkids will see once we are gone. We need to teach them all we know. 😉
Pronounced keyoto