My Garden

Another new Gardener needs HELP!

Last post 25-01-2009 6:02 PM by julie_poo. 12 replies.

• 05/01/2009 09:57 PM

  craig2009 Location: cardiff Joined on: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 5

  Reply | Contact Hello everyone,  I need a little advice on growing carrots and beetroot from seed in containers out my garden as i intend to get my 3 year old son involved in growing his own veg. The containers i have are 23"Long by 15"Wide by 16"High, Are these big enough to grow carrots and beetroot from seed? I would also like to know how many seeds to plant and at what distance apart, and when to plant? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as my little one is quite keen to get going, Thanks for any tips and help.

• 05/01/2009 10:39 PM	In reply to
  craig2009 Location: cardiff Joined on: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 5	Reply | Contact Oh just to let you know, My seeds are Beetroot-boltardy, and carrot-autumn king 2, Thanks all

• 05/01/2009 11:06 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,333

  Reply | Contact The containers are big enough - it's too early though. I suggest following the instructions on the pack - you can plant more closely in containers than in the open ground though. Try to sow the seeds seperately, so you won't need to thin them too soon. The thinnings can then be eaten as mini veg and a few plants left to grow to full size. As your son is keen to get going, why not invest in a packet of cress seeds? That's easy to grow indoors - quick too. You could also try some salad leaves on a windowsill.   Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 06/01/2009 11:02 AM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,740	Reply | Contact Hi Craig Just a thought, carrot seeds need a temperature of about 7 degrees celsius to germinate, usually if sowing outdoors April is when things warm up enough, lettuce is a good quick growing crop and radish are quick as well digger

• 06/01/2009 11:06 AM

  In reply to

  craig2009 Location: cardiff Joined on: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 5

  Reply | Contact Thank you for advice, but a few more questions if you could help, these may sound a bit silly to you but i am a complete novice here. My packet of carrot seeds contains 1600 seeds, Does 1 seed produce 1 carrot?, And what is 'Thinning'? Also any advice on what salad leaves to grow on my windowsill? Thank you very much for your help. I'll keep in touch as to how i get on as i find this site and forum is superb for the novice grower.

• 06/01/2009 11:26 AM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,740

  Reply | Contact Hi Craig2009, Don't worry about asking questions my friend we are all delighted to help you, Each carrot seed if germinated will produce one carrot, initially it will make lots of growth "upstairs" leaves etc.. and then the root will form beneath the soil, thinning is a name used for the process of removing some of the carrot seedlings, seed that is quite small, like carrots seeds are difficult to sow individually and it's often a good thing to sow seed thickly, that is quite close to each other, this helps to ensure a good crop in case some doesn't germinate, anyway when the seeds have all germinated and begun to grow, they will need thinning because they are too close together, so look along the row of carrots and remove the weakest seedlings, which will give the stronger seedlings more room to grow, the aim is to leave an inch or so gap between each carrot, as time goes on, you can pull the seedlings again, increasing the gap a little more each time, the thinnings will firstly not look like a carrot but at the second or third thinning you will be pulling up "baby" carrots which you can eat, eventually you will have a row of well spaced carrots that can grow on to maturity. Salad leaves on your window sill are numerous as Phot's said cress is a good one especially for children, you can try corn salad (some times called lambs lettuce) most of the lettuce family can be started indoors and planted into gro bags later on digger

• 06/01/2009 01:14 PM	In reply to
  craig2009 Location: cardiff Joined on: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 5	Reply | Contact Many thanks for the advice, I think i'm going to enjoy my new hobby!!

• 06/01/2009 09:33 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,333

  Reply | Contact  Growing your own stuff is fun - addictive though, so I advise you put yourself on the waiting list for an allotment (unless you're lucky enough to have a garden with enoughspace for a veg patch) You can buy packs of mixed salad leaves, which might be a good start as a few different colours and shapes looks prettier than a whole plate of the same thing. With these leaves you can sow them quite close and pinch out every other one as soon as they have a couple of leaves. Use the bits you pinch out in a salad or put them in a sarnie. As the others get bigger again take out and use every other one. You can keep doing that until the plants that are left are big enough to pick the leaves seperately. You then pick one from each plant every few days. The leaves will grow better outside in big pots when it's warm enough, but you will still get some sown in small pots or trays on the windowsill now. You could sow one tray now and another in a couple of weeks and so on. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 06/01/2009 11:01 PM

  In reply to

  craig2009 Location: cardiff Joined on: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 5

  Reply | Contact Ok, Thanks all, I've got a window propogator kit for my windowsill and i've bought some 4cm square fibre pots to start seedlings. These will be for growing Mint and Parsley ( i thought this would be easy to start off with ). The fibre pots do not fill the seed tray as there were none to fit exactly in the shop. I have filled them with some potting compost and gave them a bit of water and they are sitting on my window sill out the kitchen( in the propogator ). I intend to plant my seeds tomorrow(wednesday) and put a little compost over the top and then put them into pots later when they are seedlings. My question is, Do i need to put a bit of compost in the seed tray underneath the fibre pots as there is a little bit of space around them? Or do i just cut the little fibre pots up into singles when they start to shoot with 1 seedling in each and then just move them into pots?, as the instructions on the fibre pots says that they are biodegradable and the roots seem to grow through them from what i can gather. Thank you for your patience with me

• 07/01/2009 08:41 AM

  In reply to

  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,031

  Reply | Contact Just leave the pots in the tray and all will be well, but if you fancy some compost below the pots it won't much matter.  Be aware that even in the balmy climate of South Wales sowing now is a wee bit early, especially as if seems likely, you don't have greenhouse, cold frame etc. You seem to have plenty of seeds so make sure you keep plenty back to re-sow if it all goes wrong.  Often later sown plants catch up anyway so you won't have lost much and gained useful experience.   Boggy     Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 15/01/2009 01:46 PM	In reply to
  annefloweryanne Location: Joined on: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 42	Reply | Contact When I was little I LOVED growing radishes (actually, still do...). When the weather is warmer, they'll grow really quickly, so they're fun for kids. And, of course, they're bright red, which is always pleasing!!

• 21/01/2009 01:10 PM

  In reply to

  Beanie Location: Angus, Scotland Joined on: 11 Jan 2009 Posts: 2

  Reply | Contact Hi Craig2009 I am a relatively new gardener with young children who love to get involved in the garden. My best crops for getting the kids involved have so far been: peas - they can pick them and eat them immediately and they are so sweet the kids love them, nasturtiums as they are edible flowers we put them into ice cubes for summer BBQs. Strawberries, raspberries and sweetcorn were also a real hit as they are things they can pick themselves and eat immediately. My biggest surprise was that they loved spinach - again because they had grown and picked it themselves!  Happy gardening!

• 25/01/2009 06:02 PM

  In reply to

  julie_poo Location: cheshire Joined on: 20 Dec 2008 Posts: 9

  Reply | Contact hi there, to prevent getting carrots they have been pre eaten by carrot fly larve i suggest when you put the pots outside you stand them on something about 2 or 3 foot high. I just use an overturned pot. Believe it or not this little carrot pest is too flippin lazy to fly high - so if u have ur pot up a bit he leaves your carrots alone. also i put plenty of sand with my carrot compost as they like a free and easy passage to grow down easy - they hate hard soil and stones etc.  good luck ! Jools  '' Those who ask a lot of questions may seem stupid, but those who don't ask questions stay stupid ''