Planting Carrots in Spring

2 April 2011, The Seed Series

I don’t usually plant carrots this time of year. With the warm weather, the soil dries out faster and seeds may not germinate. In the fall I don’t have to be so attentive.

One of my favorite planting guides says you can plant carrots every month in Southern California. Since my carrot harvest was meager this spring, I purchased the Ferry-Morse seed tape. “Reduces the need to thin seedlings,” say the instructions. The seeds appear too close together on the planting strip to eliminate thinning but I’ll see how many germinate. Here’s a YouTube link for making your own seed tape.

Getting carrot seeds in the ground when soil temperatures are high enough to support good germination is key. Optimal soil temperature for germination of carrots is 75 degrees. Last fall was especially cool and I didn’t get carrot seeds in until late October so I had poor germination.

In Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening, the author claims germination of carrot seeds in three days or less using the boiling water method to scarify the seed. Read the instructions on page 332 of her book or on her website. Unfortunately, I have not had success with this method. This method may work well with the seed tape since the seed will not scatter with the boiling water drench. Faster germination means less effort to maintain soil moisture in warmer weather.

Welsh says the method also works for other members of the carrot family: parsley, parsnips, celery and Queen Anne’s lace. Wonder if it works for dill and cilantro as well? These members of the carrot family did not germinate for me this year either.

Vegetable Gardening Resources:

Vegetable Research Information Center at UC Davis–VRIC has excellent information for home gardeners on growing carrots and other vegetables.

For optimal soil temperatures for various vegetables check the Harvest to Table chart.