carrots under board

One of the weirdo ideas that has found a place in my book of goofy things that actually work is sprouting carrot seeds under a board. This is the second year I’ve done it, and I have to admit it works flawlessly (providing you pay attention around the time the seeds are due to sprout and remove the board immediately).

It took almost exactly two weeks from the time I put the seeds into the ground till they sprouted. I only had to pull out one lanky weed seedling in the 30-ish square feet of planted area. Carrots had been frustrating for me for many years, rows with large empty spaces and lots of random weeds dispersed among the seedlings.

There’s still a little more nurse-maiding to do; mulching and thinning (it’s always so hard to murder innocent young seedlings). But after that, piece of cake.