Fall Carrot Fail

Seeding carrots in the summer for a fall harvest? Sometimes it doesn't always go so smoothly.

Here is a small bed I seeded with fall carrots about 6 weeks ago. I thought it would be perfect in the dappled shade to grow through the hot summer. I left one lettuce plant that I've gotten three cuttings from so far.

What? You're wondering where are the carrots?

Well, here are three.

And here are four more. Hmmm, you think that'll keep us in carrots during autumn? Yeah, it's a great big "fall carrot fail."

I find carrots so iffy any time of the year - sometimes they take off and fill the bed and I can't thin them fast enough and other times...well, seven come up. I'm pretty sure I use the same soil, prep it similar, and fertilize the same, and yet I get such variable germination. Sigh.

Have any tips for me you can share?

About Jami

Since 2009 Jami Boys has helped readers live a simple homemade life through whole food recipes, doable gardening, and easy DIY projects on An Oregon Cottage. Whether it's baking bread, creating a floor from paper and glue, or growing vegetables and canning them, Jami's done it and written about it. She's been featured in Cottages and Bungalows, Old House Journal, and First for Women magazines as well as numerous sites like Good Housekeeping, Huffington Post, and Apartment Therapy.