Thinning carrots

[Black_Thumb]

My wife and I have NO CLUE how to thin these. Our first question would be whether or not these are even at a point where they need to be thinned. These tops are almost two inches high. It's too cold and unpredictable to put them outside yet so we aren't sure what to do. They look so fragile and we don't want to kill them. HELP!

 

[Meadowlark]

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about it. Transplant them as soon as you think it's safe (carrots withstand mild freezes) ...but sooner rather than later. As they grow, you can occasionally have baby carrots as you thin them...but I wouldn't worry about thinning them now. I've had much thicker stands that produced baby carrots as well as big ones.

 

[YumYum]

I didn't think carrots like to be transplanted. I direct sowed mine in this container on March 14 and they are just now getting a true leaf.

Here is something you might want to look at for our area. It gives you a general ideal anyways.

https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/w436.pdf

 

[Meadowlark]

I agree with YumYum about transplanting carrots, but the Op has them in trays and for sure they need to be transplanted as soon as feasible. I always direct sow mine and often they are difficult to get to germinate because they are rather finicky.

 

[Black_Thumb]

We have them in biodegradable pots, so we'd place the entire container in the ground. My understanding is that they'll grow right through this stuff and we won't have any issues with shock or having to disturb the soil they are in in order to place them in the ground. We tried carrots once before (direct sown) and they were a disaster. They looked like they were planted near a nuclear power plant and mutated into God knows what. I think it's because we didn't separate them properly and they were just too close together.

I guess for now, we'll just leave them as they are and once I feel a bit more confident about overnight temperatures, I'll put them in the ground. I can easily cover them at the very least.

 

[YumYum]

Yes I forgot about the jiffy pot degrading. I see you got 2 choices. 1) separate each pot and plant the pot and thin to 2" apart later (less carrots) or 2) take a chance and try to transplant each sprout about 2" apart and have more carrots. The worst thing is that they might die or fork on you, but if half die you may still end up with more carrots.

 

[Meadowlark]

... We tried carrots once before (direct sown) and they were a disaster. They looked like they were planted near a nuclear power plant and mutated into God knows what....

An excellent gardener on here, Durgan, posted once regarding his technique for germinating in-ground carrots...basically lay a board on top of the seeds once in the ground and keep the board moist then remove when you see germination.

I forgot to try it myself last year but maybe will remember to try it this year. They are a fall planting for me.

 

[YumYum]

An excellent gardener on here, Durgan, posted once regarding his technique for germinating in-ground carrots...basically lay a board on top of the seeds once in the ground and keep the board moist then remove when you see germination.

I forgot to try it myself last year but maybe will remember to try it this year. They are a fall planting for me.

Never thought of something like that.

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes I forgot about the jiffy pot degrading. I see you got 2 choices. 1) separate each pot and plant the pot and thin to 2" apart later (less carrots) or 2) take a chance and try to transplant each sprout about 2" apart and have more carrots. The worst thing is that they might die or fork on you, but if half die you may still end up with more carrots.

There's a third and better choice, IMO...do nothing but transplant the pots and thin as needed when baby carrots show.

 

[plot22]

Carrots don't transplant neither do parsnips. You just might stand a chance with the stumpy ones but they will also have a long tap root. I cannot understand garden centres selling carrot plants in modules it will only lead top disappointment. If I were you Black Thumb I would try to split the modules so you would have 8 modules try to cut the bottom off each module and pull some of them out so that what is left has a bit better chance and then set the entire module as deep as you can.

 

[Black_Thumb]

Here is a photo of the carrots from the ones shown in my original post. I haven't done anything to try and separate them, so I don't really know what they are going to look like. I have never been able to successfully grow carrots. I honestly think I'm doing it all wrong, which would make sense since I fail every time. In any event, these are definitely growing and they are tall, but I have no idea what the carrots look like. I can't imagine it's safe or wise to pull any up to check. What would you all suggest? They've been in the ground since late April. How long do they need to grow before I can harvest them?

 

[YumYum]

They look good to me from here but it kinda looks like they are in the shade from a roof above.

I take my finger and carefully move or wiggle the dirt away from the stem and look for orange then put the dirt back to check mine. Mine seem to just now be producing the carrot and is only about 1/2" diameter at the top.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

The forking and growing 'Like something from next door to a nuclear power plant' can also be down to raw compost or manure in the ground.
I don't know if you have the carrot fly in the US, but if you do they can smell a pulled, or even a disturbed, carrot from a mile off, literally I believe. Best to do anything you are going to do to them late in the evening or on rainy, miserable days.