Carrots didn't grow

john mayo 10

AS the title suggests I sowed carrot seeds on 3 different occasions this year in a polytunnel. And the 3 times they failed to grow. I never had this problem before. Any ideas

Rows Grower

Carrot fly.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058366194/carrots-didnt-grow

Did they germinate? If so, what size did they get to?

Jim_Hodge

If they didn't germinate it could be old unviable seed or insufficient moisture.

john mayo 10

They didn't germinate at all. Same happened with the lettuce. But I had no issues with potatoes, peas and onions that were all in the polytunnel too.

Rows Grower

Carrot fly.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122543929#Comment_122543929

Don't carrot fly not damage the roots rather than ungerminated seed?

greasepalm

Yes roots , they have to have the smell of the carrot for the fly to attack , like when thinning them out.

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122543907#Comment_122543907

Old seeds maybe?

john mayo 10

I use a sprinkler system twice a day so not a moisture issue anyway

10-10-20

Would it have been a pathogen in the soil or depleted nutrient from previous planting in the same spot rather than the fly?

https://ask2.extension.org/kb/faq.php?id=865756

john mayo 10

The only thing I can think of is I sprayed off the area in February with roundup. This was 2 months before I planted the seed. As for nutrition I used an organic feed and rotten stable manure.

For the last batch of seed I sowed some of the seedlings 🌱 were up about an inch and then disappeared

Field east

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122547023#Comment_122547023

so the third sowing actually germinated. Did the first two sowings not germinate at all? We’re all three sowing from the SAME PACKET? I

The reason could be a combination of a number of things eg lack of/ too much moisture; germination; slugs, rabbits, rats, chemical in the soil, etc.its NOT Carrot Fly.

creedp

Interesting. I had a small plot of ground at corner of the garden in which I decided to plant a few potatoes, some radish seeds I had for a couple of years and some carrot and lettuce seeds I bought in Lidl back in May. Potatoes grew, except for a couple of plants, radishes grew fine but none of the carrot or lettuce seeds germinated. Thought it was strange but assumed seeds were old/bad

eusap

Why would you spray roundup in a Tunnel is beyond me! Could be bad seed or something in the manure that was added

greasepalm

Would not be using a manure for carrots as they like a sandy light soil for the roots to go down , manure will give you mutations do they not?