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RE BrokenLink on Post re. germinating carrots. Included that link in post about using a board over a carrot bed to help speed carrot germination. The broken link was to this video by the author of "Whizbang Gardening Ideas" which demonstrated his very different way of growing carrots. (I just wanted to show how quickly you can get carrot germination, but heck, why not link to his idea video.)

Herrick Kimball Youtube short on his way to grow carrots. The 4 days is the time to induce germination. He has a mounded raised bed. He gives it a very deep watering and fertilizes it before he covers his raised bed with black plastic. He makes spaced cut out holes and plants his carrot seed. He uses something to cover those holes and watches for germination. See the video for what he does. He removes his covers once he gets the germination and thins to 3 plants per cutout.

I look at this and say what a lot of work for this result, BUT, his work is complete after planting with no further work until harvest. He does not water or weed or take any action for the rest of the season up to the day he removes the plastic and digs out his carrots. He relies on the initial very deep watering for the entire season.

Important to remember that he is in Upper NY State. It probably would probably work in WI or Michigan. Not, I think, quite as well in Kansas or Oklahoma or Texas.

(**Doing something like this in warmer places would probably require a late season carrot planting that avoids the summer heat. A July planting here in KS with 90F+ summer temperatures would probably cook the carrots under the black plastic. He also has soil that holds moisture for 70 or 80 days and enough space to do this. I do not have these things, but If you have the room and are in a dry area you could trench your mound location and fill that with a lot of absorbent non fertilizing plant material that holds water. )

His objective is to produce the largest carrots he can for winter storage without constant attention to his carrot plantings. Every gardener has to decide if they want to grow things that are locally inexpensive and obtainable. I like the carrots I have grown and they are better than store bought, but it is easier here to buy them. I think this is (mostly) a good truck garden and prepper solution. (I would still use boards for 4 days over the cutouts instead of the hats)

Four Day Carrots Part 1

Four Day Carrots Part 2