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Carrots & Onions - how long for seedlings to take hold?

Shoxt3rShoxt3r Posts: 196
edited April 2020 in Fruit & veg
Hi there,

A couple of weeks ago I planted some carrot and onion seeds straight into my raised bed, gave them a decent water (but not too much) and left them uncovered since the weather seemed pretty settled. Unfortunately the very next morning we had quite a hard frost which completely covered the soil.

As I say it's now been about 2 weeks and I haven't seen any sign of seedlings or anything. How long do these seedlings normally take to take hold? I presume it depends on the variety but is there a ballpark figure?

A few cucumber seeds I planted at the same haven't taken hold either but these have usually taken a bit longer to get going in previous years.

I have a cloche that I could set up if that would help the carrots and onions but didn't think it would be needed at this time of year.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Woo, 100 posts! haha.

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd have said 2 weeks isn't long enough, especially if you've sown in the latter half of March.
    I'd have thought cucumber would definitely need protection. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    Onions are notoriously slow from seed. I tend to go later every year here because of similar happenings down the years. Never in a rush now. I wouldn't give up hope, though it is not a bad idea to put in a row or two at a time, then follow again in a couple of weeks, and so on until a bed is filled. Then if you lose a few to a late heavy frost, you just redo the early sowings at the end.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    It's often a good idea to sow a few radish seed in the same drill as carrots or parsnips as both are slow to germinate and it marks the row. The radish will be pulled way before the carrots or parsnips need the room.
    AB Still learning

  • bookmonsterbookmonster Posts: 399
    Have you grown anything in this way before? I have to start seeds indoors or birds/slugs/mice get them
  • Shoxt3rShoxt3r Posts: 196
    Ok thanks for the thoughts everyone!
    It seems like I'll need to plant some new seeds - perhaps in small pots like I've done before would be better, and then put a covering over them until they germinate?

    Never would have thought about planting radish seeds as well - good tip! What is it that particularly helps when using this method?

    I've had pretty good luck with planting cucumber seeds directly into the raised bed but maybe starting everything from scratch using smaller pots would be a better approach.
  • Shoxt3rShoxt3r Posts: 196
    An update - I now have small seedlings coming through for the cucumbers and carrots! The onions still aren't making an appearance yet but maybe they will soon.

    Just to keep things going I have made up some pots of carrot seeds to help the supplies.

    Amazing sunshine this weekend so I'm happy all round! haha 😎
  • SmudgeriiSmudgerii Posts: 185
    carrots do not fair well with being re-planted so starting in pots is not a good option
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Yes root crops do not do well when transplanted they tend to make a lot of fibrous roots- not what you want. The reason for putting in a few radish seed is to mark the row so you know where the parsnips should be coming up and you can safely hoe off any weed seedlings either side. The radish will be harvested long before the main crop needs the space.
    AB Still learning

  • Shoxt3rShoxt3r Posts: 196
    Ah good to know! Do they cope ok with being moved around, for example in the same bed?
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