Why the duck cant I grow carrots!!!

Hello carrot lovers. I came across your question, being new here, and finding so many things to read! (endless amounts - HA!) Finally taking the time to respond to something for once! I appreciate this site! I only recently came across it.. wondering where this had been all my days! HA!

I have always germinated carrots under row covers for the best success. I water right on top of the row cover, and don’t lift it up, until I see green through the wet cover. One thing that I know, is that you can plant them too deeply - lettuce too, amongst other things. I basically plant them right on the surface and give them barely a brush over of soil. Carrot seed is terrible at keeping from year to year in my experience. It also doesn’t take transplanting well, unless you use soil blocks.. but even then, won’t do the best unless planted direct - again, only in my experience.

A rule of thumb for seeding that my Grandpa taught me, was to ONLY plant a seed as deep as 3X the seed’s thickness. That works very well for me. I spent years as a market gardener - of baby crops of everything… now specialize in fung’tional fungi!

Back to carrot thoughts… carrots like raw soil, loose and deep. They don’t do well with amendments but love nutritious soil, and love water, but not sopping wet. They don’t prefer gravely soil .. they will grow many legs in it… also dislike following grass on new patches of land, also don’t rotate them after a lettuce patch as they share the same pest. Rotating them in after an alluim crop will get rid of a few peskies too! Best of luck…

Stacie Bear wrote:Hello carrot lovers. I came across your question, being new here, and finding so many things to read! (endless amounts - HA!) Finally taking the time to respond to something for once! I appreciate this site! I only recently came across it.. wondering where this had been all my days! HA!

Welcome to permies, Stacie. Good tips.

Stacie Bear wrote:don’t rotate them after a lettuce patch as they share the same pest. Rotating them in after an alluim crop will get rid of a few peskies too! Best of luck…

Is that carrot rust/root fly Stacie? They are my bugbear at the moment - my soil is not too bad: silty and improving on fertility, my climate is damp (!), but the root fly almost destroyed my crop last year. I'm wondering now if they came i on my compost.... But they do seem to have lots of hosts.
I'm trying to think of a nice aromatic annual that likes it cold and wet and acidic that I can grow to disguise them at the moment!
edit - Carrot fly management thread

Samantha Lewis wrote:I like growing these.    They will be fine in heavy soil.
https://www.rareseeds.com/carrot-parisienne

Thank you Samantha! I will try these!

This year I feel better armed and supported to face off against the carrot patch with the help from this forum! My plan this year is to plant them in a bed that had potatoes last year. The rocks got removed and the soil is broken up and the chickens got rotated over that patch last fall a few times. So if we ever get past the seedling stage they have the best shot at being a tasty meal in my rocky clay soil.

I haven't gone through all the replies, but you might want to try "little fingers".  They are as the name will suggest small but packed with flavor!!

Peace/Heddwch