It’s that time of year that I should be planting carrots.
Usually that would mean sowing them directly into the sandiest of our raised garden beds.
But in recent years, burrowing critters and seed-eating birds have made it impossible to get carrots going.
Last year I resorted to sowing some in pots fairly late (after 2 failed attempts outside) and while they did germinate and grow, I think they were too crowded and the soil mix wasn’t ideal. Didn’t get much carrot production out of those pots.
So I’d been shopping around for a new approach. Yesterday YouTube offered up this gentleman’s solution:
He’s germinating the carrot seed on moist papertowels, and then carefully transplanting them into pots with pre-made holes spaced evenly with templates. Says that he can get them going in 5 days this way! I’ve decided to give it a go.
I’ve got my carrot seeds nestled in moist paper towels in the seedling tray on heat
And since they should be spouting before I know it, I thought I should get the pots ready to go .
This time I want to give these little guys the best possible shot at growing to their potential, so I made up a special soil mix that hopefully they will like. Sand, compost and screened hoophouse soil.
Looks pretty carrot-friendly to me. I might just eyeball the placement instead of making copies of his planting templates, tho.
And while I was working in the hoophouse, trying to ignore the blustery weather outside, I noticed that I’ve got quite a few little volunteers popping up
chamomile
borage
and oregano
And in wool news, I think I’m finally close to finishing off that little locker hooking sample that I started so long ago.
Just going around the edge now with a chain stitch to stabilize and frame it, then I think I’m going to turn it into a pillow, probably with some of this fabric as the back
Will be really nice to have it done. I love the soft nubbly texture and that it features Chone and Edgar wools, along with Esther. Miss those sweet boys.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got.
Have a good week folks 🙂
I hope your carrot experiment works!
well, it kind of did. I got quick germination, but then had some issues getting the seeds off the paper towels and into their designated holes in the pot. I might have to sow a few more seeds directly to try and fill in the gaps