Sure, if you do it very gently they'll be OK. I've done it before, mostly because of spotty germination - in other words, moving a few from where there are too many to a spot just a few inches or a few feet away where for some reason nothing germinated. They usually survive and I have never noticed crooked roots. Go for it!

-Diggity

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Imperative blog

I've done it, but mine were not leftovers from thinning. I started my carrots inside last year, separated and transplanted them into a raised bed. They were fine.

How many weeks did you let them grow indoors before you set them out?

Hi ,
It works great and I have a video showing how to go about it ;-)

Here is the same bed from the video today ;-)

The carrots on the left were debuted in the video and another 150 were transplanted on the right side also, the middle section was "sewn" meaning : I just tossed them in the bed, thats why they are so unevenly spaced (bare spots ;-)

{{gwi:59162}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Transplanting Carrots

How did you prevent crooked roots? Mine were major crooked. Heavy soil but I dug a trench and used light 'n fluffy potting soil.
Tell us more please!

When I transplanted, I stuck my finger way down in the soil and tried to make sure the root stayed straight when I covered it. Hope it works.

Thank you so much for that great video! My problem is that I cannot get carrots to come up in my soil, so I am going to start them inside this fall and see if it is any better. I love your beds, btw!!

Hey veggiefaery ,
You don't have to transplant/move your carrots if you will take the time "next year" and sift/amend your soil to at least 1 foot deep.... All of my carrots that are "sewn" (just tossed onto the bed), are never transplanted or moved,and they grow straight as an arrow,you just have to make your soil loose and soft....it will take a few hours ,but will be soooooo worth it year after year,I only transplanted these carrots as an experiment for the local food bank,so I could show others how to do it, but if you will make your soil "awesome",the carrots will snuggle each other and be free to shift "at will" because they are not "stuck" in crummy ground....

Here is a link that might be useful: Wonderful Soil

jonhughs - I do turn over my soil extensively in my carrot bed, but once the rain comes, it's all over. This was the first year I was able to use compost from my compost bin. I only had enough for my carrot bed (yes, I need a second compost bin). The soil was super loose, but a few good rains and then the sun coming out to dry the soil makes for hard soil. At least this has been my experience.

My bed is straight compost from the city. I know it probably has bad stuff in it, but everything seems to grow well.

I routinely sow my carrots in the g'house and transplant them into the garden beds. It's not the transplanting causing the distortion, but the heavy soil. I usually grow Danvers half long. We live in a clay soil area and my vegetable garden has been manured and composted now enough the soil is much lighter, richer and improved, but it's still hard work for carrots. They can be grown quite successfully in containers with light, fluffy potting mix. My daughter grows hers that way.

Here is a link that might be useful: container carrots

Hey veggiefaery,
If it is getting hard,there is not enough organic fluff (leaf and grass compost),if it is hard,I am assuming clay ????
If clay,add Decomposed granite (lots) and Pumice again.... lots, and then tons of compost... Your clay is wonderful, but you have to teach it to behave....

a Treatise on Decomposed Granite:

Decomposed granite is a rock powder and is an excellent amendment for clay soils. All rock powders are great sources of minerals and micronutrients. All growing soils need them. As the microbes and macrobes like earthworms, digest the insoluble minerals, they break down into the various soluble micronutrients that all forms of plants need.

For example, limestone rocks are rich in calcium. Granite rocks are rich in potassium, etc. Seaweeds of course are the king of micronutrient fertilizers and soil amendments. There can be up to 70+ trace elements in seaweed. In locations where seaweed is not readily available; rock powders is one answer to the problem.

Research continues to reveal that insoluble tiny particles like rock powder minerals, can be easily digested or absorbed via microbial activity, over time, into the anatomy of growing plants, thriving in the presence of rich organic compost, and other forms of powerful biostimulants like aerobic compost teas.

Obviously a heavy clay soil is very difficult to initially dig, whereas a sandy loam is much easier. Heavy clay soils can be improved considerably by adding a lot of sawdust and mason's sand. DO NOT use beach or river sand! Mason's sand, being crushed granite, has sharp edges and actually loosens the soil.

One of the least understood aspects of gardening is that of capillary action of the garden soil. It is a proven fact that compressed earth has a better capillary action than undisturbed soil. That is why gardening books tell you never to walk between rows in a regular garden, as that encourages weed growth. And of course people are told never to step in a French Intensive bed and thus compress the soil.
But the capillary action is absolutely necessary to bring water up to the roots of growing plants to promote good and deep root growth. In regular garden rows, it is easy to roll a heavy 2 or 3 inch wide weighted wheel (mounted on an axle and handle) down the row directly over the freshly planted seeds, which will then promote deep root growth along that line. The spaces between the rows are than rototilled to eliminate footprints prior to the initial watering.
The basic concept of French Intensive gardening is that raised beds are created which have humus added, and the whole bed is light and fluffy to a depth of two feet to promote fantastic root growth. The beds are typically 4 feet wide and 12 or more feet long, with 3 foot paths between the beds.

jonhughs- LOL that's a lot of work cut out for me. I do have clay in my soil, but I have been slowly mixing in city compost soil along with compost from my bin. Some beds are better than others. It'll be a few years for me to get my beds just right. Usually when we pick our carrots, we have to bring out a weeding tool or our carrots just snap off in the ground. This year hopefully it will be better because of the compost.

veggiefaery;
You are so funny, you are cracking me up ;-)
If you went to your landscape supply store and purchased these products I just told you about,you could have great soil, for a carrot bed, in an hour.... Too Much work...You big baby ;-)

Plus...there is still time ;-)
It's not too late ! !