Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi All,

Anyone got any tips for growing carrots in containers. Inparticular what soil/compost to use for best results.

I put my carrots in the ground last year and they were a complete disaster (apart from the 'That's Life' funny vegetable value). I think the soil is too heavy.

Loz

Hi Loz
I always grow the carrots in containers. I never have success with them in the ground - the slugs are lying in wait for them the moment they germinate. I just use ordinary B&Q multi-purpose compost in the pots, keep them watered, and feed them every couple of weeks or so with liquid seaweed feed. Nantes, Amsterdam Forcing and Parmex have given very good results up to now.
Regards, Lyn

P.S. This year I am trying to switch more to the peat-free varieties of compost, however, so will have to see how they cope with it.

I do the same as Lyn and had no problems. I found it the easiest way to gorw carrots. Plus, with the container being 18" off the ground I had no probs with carrot root fly.

hi, I'm trying it for the first time this year.

I got two cheap buckets from B&Q (98p each) half filled each from a cut open £1 growbag. I watered the surface well then scattered the seed quite thickly on the surface knowing I would eat the thinings and then just covered the seeds with more growbag compost. Have kept them watered and now have a ferny forest in each bucket.

I'm going to take the advice to feed them (thankyou) and hope they grow some good roots.

I used some Nantes type and a round golfball type.

Good luck with yours

David

I grew Early Nantes and Autumn King in mine. They both grew well, although Autumn King was slightly in front germination wise.

I'm doing the early and over-winter carrots in polystyrene fishboxes. Favourites Amsterdam Forcing and Rocket. It's a bit fiddly to use all the space without overcrowding so that thinning is unnecessary but it can be done and pays off in the end.
Allan

All,

Thanx very much. I had a thought that they would need a light sandy soil to stop the splitting. Clearly not.

I've aquired a lot of those black buckets florists use for their cut flowers. Should be fab with the addition of a few drainage holes. Off to sow now.

Once again. Thanx all.

Loz

I too use florists buckets, with old growbag material and sharp sand in. An early variety (Early Nantes) seems to work best.

ive got the old plastic baby bath in the tunnel wth a mix of soil and compost, outside are two full size fiberglass baths one with a mix of carrot and beetroot in a soil compost mix and the other with carrots in pure county council compost which has had a visiblly worse germination, maybe because the surface tends to dry out?

I`m using an old 5 litre paint container with holes drilled in the bottom.Seems to be doing the job. Just used multi purpose compost with no sand.

I plant mine into biodegradable pots (72 for a £1 in Poundland or equivalent type shop). When they've got about 2 inches of top growth I plant them out in raised beds, having torn out the bottoms of the pots. This gives them a first class start and by the time they reach the true soil, they're strong enough to push through.