I planted them a week ago, but I'm not in your zone.

I think it is worth trying on a small scale. The challenge is keeping the soil surface constantly moist during the long germination period for the seed.

I plant carrots anytime that the ground isn't frozen. Last year I planted a bed in mid October and they did just fine. We just finished eating the last of the October planted carrots and we started harvesting in May.

I planted some about the 12th of July.

We planted some a few days ago and we will plant a second planting next week (After the ground dries out). We cover ours with a movable high tunnel and harvest them all winter long. Maybe if you used a low tunnel, you could make it work.

Jay

chervil2, noted your comment on the challenge with keeping the soil moist over a long carrot seed germination period.... I've had excellent results when using an inexpensive landscape fabric, which I purchased at Big Lots. It is very thin which allows water pass-through for easy watering of the seeds. The thin fabric allows light to pass through it. The fabric is thick enough to help reduce evaporation loss, and is strong enough to keep the soil and seeds in place during heavy rains. You do need a few corner and middle placed bricks to hold down the fabric.

After planting, I check daily starting at day #5 or 6 for the first sign of seed germination. At this point I remove the covering.

FWIW, I have not had much luck with using the fabric as weed control. It needs to be applied several layers thick to be effective. But thus far it has proven to be my best method for carrot seed germination.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weed Shield Landscape Fabric at Big Lots

Nice suggestions by grandad. I end up planting carrots in late spring in part sun, rather than go through the keep moist tribulations of summer germination. In summer, I prefer to germinate daikon and turnips. Now, those are some quick, vigorous seeds. and to me, just as good to eat.

Thank You all for your advice. I am probably crazy for even thinking about trying this as we have had no rain for a month, my garden is drying up. It is amazing how much still comes out of the garden everyday even without the rain. I am sure all the dews in the morning are helpful in keeping the plants going.
Grandad~I am going to use your suggestion to try and keep the moisture in...
I have never had a daikon or a turnip. I am really getting into juicing. Would either of those be good juiced?

I have also done some fall planting. Mine is fall/long term radishes like Chinese and Korean. They have already germinated.
I have also germinated a batch of bunching onions. I am hoping that both of those will be harvestable from October on thru the winter.

laurihill, given your dry conditions I would guess you will likely need to water the fabric, with planted seeds underneath, daily.

This post was edited by grandad on Thu, Aug 1, 13 at 13:10

OP, what I do with all roots is grate them (actually, turn them into matchsticks with a grater-like instrument), and eat them with olive oil, vinegar and salt. When I want variety I change the root (I also have beets, Chioggia beets, carrots and rutabaga for raw consumption, plus parsnips for cooked food only), or I add thinly sliced cabbage, red or green. Carrots are the sweetest of roots, the other ones may not be suitable for juicing except red beets, but will make salads, roast well, and make decent soups.

for some reason while I find good carrots at the market, I can not get turnips or daikons close to the quality of my production. Turnips, like carrots, ought to be picked some time after the first hard frost (the longer you can wait, the better), after which they will be faintly sweet. Daikon I like all the time.

How do you manage to keep the carrots so long?

^root cellars. The temperature in a deep root cellar approximates the average annual temperature of the region. For me, that is around 40 to 45 degrees F.

OP, if the soil is that dry, I echo grandad's advice - you will have to keep the young carrot seedlings moist and pampered until they manage to root deep enough to suck up moisture.