hello all,

i've been lurking about a bit (hello!) & enjoying reading along, & noticed
there's not a big emphasis on veggie q & a, but if anyone can help, please
do! :-)

i sowed a batch of carrot seed yesterday, & discovered this morning a
certain dog (ahem) has been frolicking in the ground where i sowed them.
seedlings theoretically should appear within about 10 days, so now i'm not
sure if he's ruined the potential crop but waiting 10+ days to find out for
sure seems a bit silly if i'll just need to do it again anyway. it's not
been dug up, kicked out & made an absolute mess of, but i daresay there's
been enough disruption that potentially most of them won't grow as the seed
will now be too deep; but having not grown carrots before, i have no idea!
where it was smooth, there are now a variety of hills and footprints 10cm
high/deep, if that gives you an idea.

best to re-sow immediately, or wait & see what happens, or should they be
fine? if they're probably going to be fine should i smooth it out or just
leave it?

more about us - we (self, husband, boys aged 9 & 6, dog) live in canberra
(crikey!!) temporarily, & my garden is essentially a practice run for when
we get to the country next year or so & start growing fruit & veg for real
on a larger scale (self-sufficiency being the point). in the meantime, i
need more experience, so that's what i'm doing at the moment - filling in
the empty spots with edibles, & getting practice taking & growing cuttings,
& such as that :-) for the most part i've found it's quite easy & intuitive
(after reading approximately 1000 books ;-), but this carrot seed question
has me rather stumped! for whatever it's worth, i'd assume the answer is
going to apply to any other seed which should be planted shallowly & left
undisturbed, so knowing the answer should serve me well, if the answer is
out there.

nice to meet you & many thanks in advance! :-)
kylie

I wouldn't bother about the seeds that the dog "relocated", dig the
area over again and re-sow the carrots.

One trick with small seeds such as carrots is to mix the seed with dry
sand in a jar or plastic bottle, shake the lot up to dispurse the
seeds, put a hole in the top and the just pour the sand/seed mix into
the furrow. This spaces the seed out and removes the need to back fill
shallow planted seeds (you also get to see where the seeds are planted
as the sand is (usually) a different colour to the soil).

If you are short of space try planting vegies in pots or hanging
baskets (the small "cherry" tomatoes grow well in hanging baskets and
look quite decorative).

"GreenieLeBrun" <GreenieLeBrun [at] hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1128984085.989663.271060 [at] g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I wouldn't bother about the seeds that the dog "relocated", dig the
> area over again and re-sow the carrots.

seems the best idea, eh ;-)

> One trick with small seeds such as carrots is to mix the seed with dry
> sand in a jar or plastic bottle, shake the lot up to dispurse the
> seeds, put a hole in the top and the just pour the sand/seed mix into
> the furrow. This spaces the seed out and removes the need to back fill
> shallow planted seeds (you also get to see where the seeds are planted
> as the sand is (usually) a different colour to the soil).
>
> If you are short of space try planting vegies in pots or hanging
> baskets (the small "cherry" tomatoes grow well in hanging baskets and
> look quite decorative).

not short of space, but i have lots of things in pots so as to be
relocatable. it works well!

many thanks!
kylie

In article <Xfp2f.12650$U51.6913 [at] news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
"0tterbot" <spl [at] t.com> wrote:

> i sowed a batch of carrot seed yesterday, & discovered this morning a
> certain dog (ahem) has been frolicking in the ground where i sowed them.
> seedlings theoretically should appear within about 10 days, so now i'm not
> sure if he's ruined the potential crop but waiting 10+ days to find out for
> sure seems a bit silly if i'll just need to do it again anyway. it's not
> been dug up, kicked out & made an absolute mess of, but i daresay there's
> been enough disruption that potentially most of them won't grow as the seed
> will now be too deep; but having not grown carrots before, i have no idea!
> where it was smooth, there are now a variety of hills and footprints 10cm
> high/deep, if that gives you an idea.

I'm a bit of an experimenter, and I'd be inclined to smooth it out and leave
it. The seeds would not have sent out any roots yet, so it's quite likely
they'd be fine, if scattered.

Mind you, I have a very low success rate with carrots!

Nice to see you again,

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.

"Chookie"
> I'm a bit of an experimenter, and I'd be inclined to smooth it out and
> leave
> it. The seeds would not have sent out any roots yet, so it's quite likely
> they'd be fine, if scattered.

yes, they could be coming up everywhere, (which will be interesting).
however, i had A Plan, which was to organise them such that i can "sow
successive crops every few weeks". which means i definitely need the first
crop to come up, and hopefully in the right spot. i have proper organised
plans so rarely that i really need to follow them when i do <g>.

> Mind you, I have a very low success rate with carrots!

a-HA!!

> Nice to see you again,

you too chookie! i feel know you quite well from mk, but since i mostly
lurk, i suppose you don't know _me_ very well at all. :-)
thanks
kylie

In article <DXh3f.16314$U51.15425 [at] news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
"0tterbot" <spl [at] t.com> wrote:

> you too chookie! i feel know you quite well from mk, but since i mostly
> lurk, i suppose you don't know _me_ very well at all. :-)

Not hugely, but I do recognise your handle, so you can't have been that quiet!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.

0tterbot wrote:
> i sowed a batch of carrot seed yesterday, & discovered this morning a
> certain dog (ahem) has been frolicking in the ground where i sowed them.

If the dog has just tromped around a little, I wouldn't worry too
much about it. Carrots don't need to be very deep. Rake it over to
make it semi-even, maybe sprinkle some seed raising mixture on top
and water lightly.

One of the secrets of sowing carrots from this time of the year
onwards is to keep the soil moist. If it dries out completely, you
usually lose them. From about December onward (when it gets hot) I
always put lawn clippings on top - the carrots come up through the
clippings OK.

Andrew
--
Andrew Gabb
email: agabb [at] tpgi.com.au Adelaide, South Australia
phone: +61 8 8342-1021, fax: +61 8 8269-3280
-----

"Andrew Gabb" <agabb [at] tpgi.com.au> wrote in message
news:3rebs4Fj1609U1 [at] individual.net...
> 0tterbot wrote:
>> i sowed a batch of carrot seed yesterday, & discovered this morning a
>> certain dog (ahem) has been frolicking in the ground where i sowed them.
>
> If the dog has just tromped around a little, I wouldn't worry too much
> about it. Carrots don't need to be very deep. Rake it over to make it
> semi-even, maybe sprinkle some seed raising mixture on top and water
> lightly.
>
> One of the secrets of sowing carrots from this time of the year onwards is
> to keep the soil moist. If it dries out completely, you usually lose them.
> From about December onward (when it gets hot) I always put lawn clippings
> on top - the carrots come up through the clippings OK.

thanks andrew,
i'm sorry to say that since posting about it, i haven't actually done
anything about it at _all_ (despite my good intentions)!!! so the reality is
that i needed to keep them moist but haven't due to dog damage - so i'm just
writing off that batch of seed altogether as they haven't been moist enough.
dreadful, isn't it ;-) i will keep the grass clipping idea in mind for when
it's hotter, as they'll definitely need to be mulched with something! atm
i'm in love with pea straw, which is my new discovery, & putting it about
everywhere.
kylie

GreenieLeBrun wrote:
> I wouldn't bother about the seeds that the dog "relocated", dig the
> area over again and re-sow the carrots.
>
> One trick with small seeds such as carrots is to mix the seed with dry
> sand in a jar or plastic bottle, shake the lot up to dispurse the
> seeds, put a hole in the top and the just pour the sand/seed mix into
> the furrow. This spaces the seed out and removes the need to back fill
> shallow planted seeds (you also get to see where the seeds are planted
> as the sand is (usually) a different colour to the soil).
>
> If you are short of space try planting vegies in pots or hanging
> baskets (the small "cherry" tomatoes grow well in hanging baskets and
> look quite decorative).
>
One thing I've found that the el cheapo electronic water timers, (less
than $35 at bunnings) will allow you to set the timer to water every 6
hours for 2 minutes, and keep your carrots moist. I was having the same
problems before that. I is reasonable to suggest that as carrots are
grown near the surface, the surface dries out, as do the carrots seeds.
Bingo. Theres your problem. PS NO dogs are allowed in my vege garden.
They love the blood and bone too much...
PS BUNNINGS now sell carrots in punnets. Er would love to know what fool
ordered them and if when transplant time comes around, how many days
you need to actually transplant them. By the time they sell they may be
fully grown.

Jacko <fastamail [at] fastmail.com.au> writes:
>hours for 2 minutes, and keep your carrots moist. I was having the same
>problems before that. I is reasonable to suggest that as carrots are
>grown near the surface, the surface dries out, as do the carrots seeds.

The best time to plant carrot seed is at the start of a week of showery
weather. Difficult to arrange, I know.

>PS BUNNINGS now sell carrots in punnets. Er would love to know what fool
> ordered them and if when transplant time comes around, how many days
>you need to actually transplant them. By the time they sell they may be
>fully grown.

When I tried transplanting carrots they all developed forked roots instead
of a solid taproot, so I recommend that carrots never be transplanted.
Whenever I see carrot seedlings in punnets I assume that the nurserymen
are catering for those people who want to grow carrot tops to feed pet
rabbits or guinea pigs. :-) While owners can always buy carrot roots from
the supermarket to feed pets, they cannot so easily obtain fresh green
carrot tops. Transplanted carrots grow lush tops, but almost no sizeable
roots, IME.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)