Carrots: why do you need to thin them after planting?

Preparation before sowing

Carrots grow best in a sunny location with deep, well-drained soil and no clumps. Of course, not all of us have perfect soil and in this regard, raised beds can be a good solution. If your soil is shallow or heavy, you can opt for compact carrot varieties such as Chantenay with red flesh and short, thick roots. Or, smaller varieties like Little Finger which have thin roots 10 cm long.

Once you have chosen a good location for your crop, it is time to amend the soil. If using manure, make sure it is at least two years old. Too much nitrogen in partially composted manure can cause carrot roots to branch or become covered with hairs.

Planting and thinning

Direct sow carrot seeds in the garden in mid-spring, about a week or two before the last expected spring frost. You can access the carrot planting schedule here. If you have a cold frame or tunnel type greenhouse, it is possible to sow up to two months earlier. To sow the seeds, make a furrow in the ground about a centimeter deep. Usually, the furrow is dug with your finger or the tip of a garden fork is applied to the soil surface with gentle pressure.

This operation offers you a first possibility to minimize the need to thin the carrots later on. How to do it? By sowing only two to three seeds per centimeter and spacing them as far apart as possible. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil or horticultural vermiculite and water the soil thoroughly with a light stream of water. It is necessary to keep the soil constantly moist during seed germination, which can take 14 to 21 days, sometimes longer.

To ensure an optimal, quality carrot growing season, it is recommended that successive plantings be made every four to six weeks from mid-spring to mid-summer. The last carrot seedlings are planted in late July and the carrots are harvested throughout the fall and winter.

Why thin out carrot seedlings?

Now we come to the fateful question: why thin out your carrot seedlings? Well, for the simple reason that carrots are very small and it is easy to sow them too densely by mistake. When they are too close together, there is not enough room for beautiful, healthy roots to develop and the roots may look stunted or misshapen, so remove them to give them enough room to grow. In general, we leave a plant every 5 to 10 centimeters.

Sowing coated carrot seeds

One of the easiest ways to properly space carrot seeds and limit thinning is to use coated seeds. Pelleted seeds are coated with an inert clay that makes all seeds the same size and shape. This is a natural substance that has the advantage of not being harmful to the environment. This method is suitable for market gardeners and farmers who use sowing equipment. But it is also ideal for gardeners for whom large seeds are easier to handle and plant. Space the coated seeds two centimeters apart. Ensure sufficient moisture until the seeds germinate and grow properly.