Kitchen Garden Forum

I am about to splash out on taped carrot seeds. Are they any good? I think that although expensive, the waste will be much less, and not having to thin out, will keep the dreaded fly away.
Has anyone used them? If so what are they like?

I don't seem to be very successful at growing carrots but I did grow the taped version one year (mainly because I have back problems and too much bending down is uncomfortable) and I did get a reasonable result. It's all very well for experts to recommend sowing carrot seeds mixed with sand because they're so small, but by the time you've hade to go out and obtain the sand, sowing a row of carrots becomes a rather expensive way of growing them. I'd recommend giving it a try, especially if bending down and thinning is a problem for you. The only problem you will probably find is that you'll have a limited selection of varieties.

Thank you Primrose. I certainl do have a problem! In fact I am now in the position to by Mary my wife's foreman! After all these years it's me giving the orders!!!

Submariner - If you're frustrated at not being able to bend down, I can really recommend those kneeling stools with upright struts which allow you to lever yourself up from a kneeling position, and then allow themselves to be turned upside down to become a little seat on which you can rest to enjoy a cup of tea. My first reaction when my husband suggested buying me one because I'm the gardener in our house was "Wouldn't be seen dead admitting I needed one of those". But now commonsense has prevailed and I find it absolutely invaluable.

Thank you Primrose.

Hello Submariner
I grew carrots in one of those large blue barrels last year and had the best carrots ever. I filled it with old potting compost, mainly peat based stuff, let settle for a few weeks, sowed ordinary seeds over the surface then finally riddled some more old compost over the seeds. Excellent germination, no bending and no signs of fly damage.

John

Submariner - they'll be available at Aldi any time now at a good price. I've got 3 - as has Chantal - knees, hips, general joints!

I couldn't manage my allotment without my kneeler. My knees are very bad and I can't kneel even with it, but I use it to sit on to weed, plant, have a cup of tea etc. It's brilliant and as Tigger says, soon available from Aldi for around £5.

Last year I improvised a form of carrot seeds on tape. I got a length of string as long as the drill was going to be. Wrapped the string around a piece of cardboard which was 3 inches square. I dipped either edge, where the string wrapped over the edge, in a paste I had made from flour and water. I then dipped the pasted edges in the seeds spread out on a flat surface. When the string is unwound along the drill you have seeds every 3 inches. And less bending down. Self-raising flour does not give taller carrots!!.

In one of the gardening mags (probably KG come to think of it) a few years ago, there was an article on making seed tapes. The idea was to use newspaper as the tape, and position your seeds at whatever spacing, even in blocks if you do square foot gardening. The "glue" would be flour and water - the consistency of wallpaper paste.