Starting carrots and beets in peat pots?

[Adenn1]

I was unable to start my work on a new section (4x10') of garden space for my son...and now the weather is going south for the next few days.

I was wondering if I could start carrots and beets in small peat pots and then plant these right into the ground. I thought I could cut the bottoms off the peat pots prior to planting.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Thanks

[honu]

Mark,
I checked 5 of my gardening books, and every one says carrots don't transplant well. How about trying container carrots? You can direct sow in the final containers, and move containers around as needed.
Beets, on the other hand, can be started indoors and transplanted, according to my books, but I always direct seed them in 10-12 inch deep containers.
I never tried peat pots before.

[Adenn1]

Thanks Honu...I wondered about the carrots. I did find suggestions for container carrots...I will have to think about this...I would have to purchase some containers and I spent a good portion of my gardening budget on seeds .

I hope to get some beets started tonight. I thought the peat pots could also be sliced on the sides prior planting to allow the beets to grow. Will come back and discuss later how this worked.

[tjg911]

i suspose cutting off the bottom of the peat pot allows you to plant them without disturbing them (ie transplanting) but my question is why? what is the rush?

.

i used to seed them in late april to early may. the soil was so cold they took forever to germinate and that's not very considering how hard they are to germinate in warm soil!!!! last season i decided to have an early crop and a fall crop of carrots. my fall crop was bolero with 70 dtm so i seeded them on 7/30. the hot soil was no deterant to germination, of course keeping the soil moist is a must whether in may or july.

you're south of me so your season is a bit longer than mine and this worked for me. so you can wait until mid may anyway to seed them unless for some reason you must do this now.
.
tom

[Adenn1]

Tom:

The directions that came with the beets note to plant two weeks prior to last frost...which for me would be right now. With the crazy cold weather...it will be a while before the soil warms up...so I thought seeding them in peat pots would get me started.

[Gimme3]

Mark...can answer from experience on both. It's not true that carrots cant be properly (meaning yielding correct tuber form) transplanted...but theres a trick to doing it, and i actually think your peat pot suggestion will work..as well.

The main reason it is considered a taboo to transplant a carrot is because the roots will be damaged, and the tuber will fork or otherwise grow mis-shapened. In my experience, i have transplanted them w/no ill effects both from out of a pot, as well as when thinning, in fact, i have some nice ones now in -ground, that were transplanted from thinning endeavors. The keys to transplanting them are this...before dis-rupting their potted or planted state...insure that the medium the roots are in, is in a good...loose condition, easily flaking, friable. This may mean it needs to dry out some, or get wetter...depending upon it's composition. You want the roots to extract very easy from it. Most importantly, they need to be very young seedlings, an inch or 1.5 inches high is perfect, older..an the roots are startin to get longer than manageable for the task. Simply pull or lift them straight up , then re-insert where desired, in a finger-sized hole where desired...by dropping them straight down in it, an use a hole deeper than the root is long. I use a very fine potting-type layer of soil for placing them into, i also get it a little moist to start with. Firm soil as you place the root in, allowing the soil to control how far the root-drop is placed, just be sure to keep the root straight. Water in..gently, an you done it...)))

Beets are a lot more forgiving, and easy to grow from transplants,...in fact, they survive a lot better if grown to second true-leaf stage prior to transplant. Follow carrot technique above, for fine results. Beets at this stage have a 4-5 inch root some-times, so its good to start them in a 8-10 inch deep pot of loose soil, to extract them easily with good root intact.

I think your peat pot, bottom-removal idea is a great idea for transplanting a carrot, but i'd think a more vertical, deeper cell would be desirable, or else very quick transplant soon after germination (say a week at most), due to the root hitting the bottom in a typical 2-3 inch cell.

Good Luck with em...)))

[honu]

Gimme, I'm delighted to find out you can transplant carrot thinnings. Thanks for explaining the technique!

[Gimme3]

Honu...jus like You...)))...some things were learned...thru pure Struggle...))) 10 years of tryin to get decent carrot here, i been across a few trails of endeavor...)))

Observation of ones failures...are the greatest Teacher...and such a Waste of Effort and Time, if they arent Always...burned into Memory. Carrots are the finest example i know of...in Gardening...that can teach...Prescision...)))

i hope i can live long enough for Fruit trees to Teach me...the same way. Appreciated yo Chamomile advice...its another challenge...on round number 3 of the Fight , here...)))

Lot more to understand on a carrot.. Mark...but i trust you got those wonderins in Stow. Best wishes in gettin the youngster's bed of Concern underway an in a Pretty way...)))

The Beauty of growin Plants...is how...there is No end...to the Road...))) (Allman Brothers tune...not exactly...)))

[Adenn1]

Thanks much Gimme...great information. I did not get a chance to start anything yet...but hope to today. I was looking around the stores for bigger peat pots...but they are pretty much gone. I am using 16 ounce styrofoam cups for my tomatoes...I wonder if I could use these for the carrots as it is much deeper...and then carefully transplant the carrots as you describe.

I purchased two carrot varities (can't think of the names off the top of my head...too many tomato names taking up space ) that are supposed to do better in heavier soil. I was thinking of digging a 10-12 inch ditch and filling it in with a lighter soil mix--I have a good amount of Promix left over.

Will keep you posted on how things turn out...again thanks for all of the help everyone.

Keep warm (darn cold weather )

[Gimme3]

Mark...lemme try an clarify somethin...thats whats Important...as to transplantin a carrot. A carrot aint like a bean plant, or a cucumber plant, or a okra plant. Those plants dont like air-exposure to their roots...one bit, an will croak in a heartbeat, if transplanted in a bare-root or exposed root manner. A carrot aint that way.Transplant shock is not a factor w/it, it dont mind it one bit.

What messes it up, is damagin the tap root. If ya keep that in mind....its a good success...consistently. you can even throw about 10 seeds in each styrofoam cup like you talkin about,...an re-transplant them...provided you can extract them from it...intact...thats the Whole key...))) Thats why i say it teaches...Prescision...))) it also teaches...Timing....in a wonderful way here in the hot South. If that boy can get involved an learn about a carrot, u got him way ahead in the Game, in a good way...)))

[honu]

I just tried Gimme's suggestion for transplanting carrot sprouts that were just a few days old growing in a 12" pot. I used a plastic spoon to spoon it out and transplanted it deep like a tomato. I was worried that I'd mess up both the one I spooned out and the one next to it. However, that was last week, and they are doing just fine. My beets, though, I waited too long, and they're getting kind of big, so I'm afraid to try transplanting at this point.
A big thank you to Gimme for teaching me this new trick!