Is it okay to broadcast carrot seeds instead of planting them in rows?
Either way works fine, but like everything else, there are pros and cons.
Broadcasting is a great way to cover a large area with minimal effort. You just scatter the seeds, rake them in, and you're done. The real work comes later.
As the seedlings start coming up, they will require thinning in order to attain optimal growth. Thinning is one of those jobs that's far easier to accomplish when the seedlings are growing in straight, orderly rows where they’re accessible and limited in number. When seeds are broadcast, the resulting seedlings often come up in uneven clusters which always seem to be located somewhere that requires you to perform a modified version of Twister in order to reach them. As a result, the job doesn't always get done as well or as often as it should, leading to overcrowding and all of the problems that go along with it – everything from stunted growth and increased disease susceptibility to insect infestations and complicated harvesting logistics.
Then there are the challenges associated with weeding. When plants are grown in well-spaced rows, you can knock down scores of weeds with a garden hoe in a matter of minutes. Weeds that pop up in plots where the seeds have been broadcast will need to be pulled by hand since those plants will be haphazardly arranged, making hoeing out of the question. And hand pulling weeds can get tedious fast.
Broadcasting is also quite wasteful since a far greater quantity of seeds is needed than if the same square footage is broken down into rows. The majority of the seedlings will ultimately be thinned out, so you end up using significantly more seeds and receive only marginally more plants at harvest time.
Still, the ease of initial sowing is an undeniable lure.
Over the years I've broadcast lettuce, radishes, spinach, beets, chard, Chinese vegetables and peas with varying degrees of success. That variation was caused primarily by how much time I invested in thinning and weeding the plots. Needless to say, in busy years, I had unruly, under-productive masses of vegetables that always seemed to be silently reproaching me.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
Originally published in the Creston Valley Advance.
