Sowing Carrots in a Container

Today the kids and I sowed our carrot seeds in our garden container. We did not follow recommendations precisely, as we spaced our rows only 8" apart rather than 12". However, we did choose not to oversow too much, placing seeds approximately 1" apart and will be sure to thin out carrots once we can see them emerging if necessary. They do say carrots is one of those things you should oversow, but seeing as my rows are a bit closer I didn't want to overdo it on all aspects. We always have fall to try again as well.

With that said, we started by spraying our soil with water until it was good and moist. I had actually moistened this soil a few days prior as well, plus we recently had a decently rainy day.

After that I loosened the soil with a gentle raking so that I could later gently toss loose soil over the seeds.

We used a ruler to make our rows by simply using the edge of the ruler to mark each row and measured 8" over for the next row.

Finally we sowed our seeds using just eyeball judgement and spaced them anywhere from 1/2" to 1.5" apart. We did not dig a trench or poke any holes, just dropped them on the slim line marked by the ruler.

After all seeds were sowed, we gently combed over some of the loose soil onto the seeds.

Lastly, I had read that a great way to help carrot seeds germinate is to cover them with some cardboard (you can also use other materials such as wood to cover your seeds). When you cover your seeds you are ensuring that the seeds stay in place, keeping them from full sun exposure, which also helps to keep soil moist and preventing them from being eaten by outdoor critters.

Carrot seeds can take 14 to 21 days to germinate, so I will begin checking on the seeds around day 10 or so. Once I see some growth emerging, I will remove the cardboard, allow the plants to perk up and thin what needs thinned. I will be sure to update along the way!
Happy Gardening