I am having no lucks with carrots. I planted on row in late March.... Nothing. Row 2 middle of april. Nothing sprouts. What could I be doing wrong?????? I am in Maryland Zone 6

I don't have any advice for Maryland since I have never grown veggies there.

Here are some of what I have seen with carrots.
Plant thicker than you plan on growing. Carrots don't germinate well with only one seed per location. In rows plant 2 seeds spaced every 1/2 inch.

I have terrible luck with carrots because of my soil which has a lot of clay in it and crusts over. Carrots don't like to break through a think crust of earth. If you have clay soil, you could try breaking it up good, plant on top of the soil and cover with planting soil.

If the temp has been getting below 45, carrots won't germinate. They like to germinate when the soil temp is about 75.

I have the last set of carrots in the ground now and will refrain from growing carrots until I get the soil ammended some more.

Later,
Roy

I live in Maryland (Baltimore suburb) and I planted carrots on the 15th of April. They have come up already. I do have one word of advice with planting carrots and that is to make sure the ground is tilled deep, at least a foot or so. Otherwise the carrots come out looking stubby and fat. Also it seems if you over-water then they tend to crack and split alot. This year I planted Burpee Little Finger carrots. Last year I forgot what it was I planted but they were regular sized carrots and they came up and produced fine. I just make a row trench and sprinkle the seeds along it and then cover it up and keep moist till they appear. I guess they are planted about 1/2 inch below the soil. I thin them out later once they mature a little more. I don't know if I have been much help to you, but good luck with them.

Ronnie

You have to make absolutely certain that the seed bed is moist until the seedlings are at least 1-2 inches tall. It's not only sun, but wind that dries out the soil, and the carrots are not planted very deep so they dry easily. Here in northern California, I have to water twise a day sometimes.

Last year, I started carrots very late in June, and my carrots took 3 weeks to show any signs of life. I scattered the seed over the area I would usually plant in rows, and the yield was high.

This year, I started the carrots in late April. I would have started them in late March, but it rained every single day in March this year. I planted in rows, and was greeted with sprouts in just 1 week! The yield doesn't seem as high in the rows.

I'll be starting a carrot patch of mixed oxheart and yellowstone today. One tip I learned -- don't pull up when you are thinning, just use shears and nip off right at the ground. This leaves the soil undisturbed around the ones that you are keeping.

Yoda is right, once you've got them going, resist the urge to water too much. I find that they not only split, but the ones that don't will grow more slowly. If your carrots are poking their roots through the surface as they mature, hoe soil around them to cover or the end will start to turn green.

I have a heavy clay soil up here in the Red River valley so I plant my carrots with radishes. I don't particularly like radishes, but they come up fast and seem to help the carrots break through the soil. Their leaves shade the little carrots coming up and helps keep the soil moist for them. You just have to remember to pull the radishes before they get too big and disturb the carrots too much when you pull them out. I also like to plant rows about 6 inches wide. It gives the carrots lots of "leg" room.

Hi All.
I know that this is an old post but I think I may have a helpful suggestion on how to get better germination for carrot seeds. I put seed directly on top of the ground (not in rows) and put a top dressing of about an 1/8 " over them. Then water with boiling water carefully so not to disturb the seeds to 1/2 " depth (only do this for the first watering). I use the top pot to my double boiler. I get 85- 95% germination. I also companion plant with radishes to help shade the ground. Be sure to keep the ground moist.

Hope this helps,
Carol

that's a great idea Carol...never thought about using boiling water when planting.

I've always started my carrots by spacing out on a damp paper towel, then rolling it up and placing in the fridge till they start to sprout, usually 6-10 days. Then I take the towel to the garden, place it a 1/2" down and cover with peat moss. Once they're established, I mound a little more dirt on top and keep moist. This way you don't have to worry about proper spacing or thinning.