The idea of a carrot is it forms a long delicate thready root straight down; that thread thickens to become the carrot and it will not transplant straight. That's not exact but it's the idea. However, people transplant carrots all the time without problems if the seedlings are not too advanced. I do and it's hit or miss for me; probably lack of skill or patience...

This post was edited by cold_weather_is_evil on Wed, May 14, 14 at 4:01

So what your saying is I need to put the seed straight in the soil?

I plant carrots straight in the soil. One row is already in. I'll plant another around may 1st. My climate is much cooler than yours but i find they like a bit, just a bit, of shade from neighboring plants. Mine will go down a row between the tomatoes. I harvest about 30-40lbs from sept through early november. One thing i've never needed to try from starts.
Corn i started about two weeks ago in 4inch pots. 6-8 seeds in each. A dozen pots.
Four varieties. It needs a nice 12-20 sq feet garden space to really do well. Anything under a few dozen stalks will just be a novelty to watch grow but not get much.
I usually put in some saved sunflower seeds in that area along with it.
My local farm stand does so much better so i've not really researched how i could do better...someone else may have a few pointers.

6-8 per pot, that's a lot. How many would you say I could put in a pot with a foot radius?

It isn't clear how many one ft pots you have for corn...
I've never container gardened, so i have not much experience in that area.

Starting seeds early in small pots is based on past experience and germination rates.
My corn seeds are 1-5yrs old. Even properly stored, older corn seeds have less of a chance of germinating. One variety is 90%, 9 out of ten seeds sprouted, one package i tossed out.
Similar, i was gifted a large bag of sunflower seeds...i put a dozen seeds in a damp paper towel, then in an un-zipped zip lock and no germination. Tried again and only one. A bag of seeds i saved from last years planting, all germinated but one.

Your fresh seeds should sprout fine given the proper chance, water, etc.

Corn seedlings are very tough. Grow like weeds. Tough roots.
Carrots are fine little frilly things and grow very slow. Directly planting in the soil is easier. Lightly sprinkling on the soil and a dusting of peat on top, pat down a bit, keep moist. Full hot sun may bake them. They do like a bit of dappled shade to keep the soil damp and cool.

-i would take a pinch of carrot seeds and sprinkle a few around your corn, in the same pot. As an experiment...some may say never do that... : )

Thanks for all the info! Out of curiosity, what corn seed brands did you test?

Test? Just what i have. CountryGentleman white, OF o.p.sweet, and from a friends local organic farm not labeled...looks like a mix. If you can get local from a neighbor or a feed store that is proven/tested for your area ...all the best.