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How to sow carrot seeds

Updated: October 2026

You have a packet on the table and a strip of soil that is finally dry enough to rake, and the bullet does not match the depth you half-remember. How to sow carrot seeds comes down to three decisions: sow where the root will stay, cover it by about 1 cm, and time it for April to early July unless you are fleecing an early variety. The [carrot seed comparison](/hub/root-vegetables/carrot-seeds) is where the packets differ. This page is the method. The Products Compared editorial team set the steps against the RHS guide, Gardeners’ World, and seller lines in the 15 October 2026 listings. We did not time a row of our own.

You have a packet on the table and a strip of soil that is finally dry enough to rake, and the bullet does not match the depth you half-remember.

Our top picks

Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Chantenay Red Cored

Best overall

Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Chantenay Red Cored
9.2/10about £2.95
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Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Early Nantes

Rank 2

Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Early Nantes
9.0/10about £3.10
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Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill’s Autumn King 2

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Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill’s Autumn King 2
9.0/10about £2.34
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On this page
  1. 1.Sow where the root will grow
  2. 2.Depth is about 1 cm
  3. 3.Timing for a UK season
  4. 4.Thin only if you need space, then cover
  5. 5.If nothing shows

Sow where the root will grow

Carrots are sown direct because the root is the crop, and moving a seedling snaps the tip that should have lengthened. The RHS tells you not to transplant. Rake to a fine tilth and take out stones you can feel, because a pebble at 10 cm is enough to split a long root. Suttons, on its Early Nantes 5 page, says not to sow into freshly manured ground. If you only have a trough, depth belongs on the carrot seeds for pots page. Water a dry drill before you sow, then sow thinly.

Depth is about 1 cm

Cover the seed with about 1 cm of soil. That is the RHS figure, and Gardeners’ World describes a 1 cm drill. Suttons gives 13 mm for Early Nantes 5. Kings describes drills of about 2 cm. Several Meldon bullets say to cover the seed with about 3 cm. One Early Nantes reviewer blamed depth when the row failed. Three centimetres can bury small seed under a cap that crusts after rain. If the bullet says 3 cm and the RHS says 1 cm, follow the shallower cover. Firm the soil with the back of the rake so the seed touches damp earth. The buying guide is where you check the packet’s count before you sow it.
Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Chantenay Red Cored

Testsieger

Meldon Seeds Meldon Seeds Chantenay Red Cored
9.2/10about £2.95
View offer

Timing for a UK season

The main outdoor season in the RHS guide is April to early July. Sow a short row every three to four weeks if you want a succession rather than one glut. Early varieties can go out in February or March under fleece. If the surface is wet and cold, seed sits and rots, which looks the same as a dead packet. Wait until the top few centimetres crumble instead of smearing. Meldon wording that pairs early spring to late winter with an April-to-July line is a conflict inside the bullet. Use the RHS window.

Thin only if you need space, then cover

Seedlings in a mat will not make full-size roots. The RHS thins to about 5–7.5 cm, in rows 15–30 cm apart. Thin in the evening, when carrot fly is less active, and take the seedlings off the bed. Leaving crushed thinnings on the soil is the error that marks the row. A mesh cover from sowing, or at least before the first generation around mid-May, is the RHS approach. If you only want baby roots, leave them closer and pull them young.

If nothing shows

Give the row two to three weeks before you call it a failure. Kings says seedlings within 21 days, and Suttons quotes 15–20 days for Early Nantes 5. Those are catalogue figures for those sellers’ seed, not a germination rate for any ASIN in our comparison. Seed buried at 3 cm often never gets that far. Damp seed is a separate fault. Early Nantes reviews in this set include packets that arrived damp and rows that never appeared. Sowing the same envelope again repeats the result. Change the depth, the moisture, and the cover before you blame the variety. A purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Common questions

How deep do I sow carrot seeds?
About 1 cm, which is the depth the RHS and Gardeners’ World both describe. Several Meldon listings in this amazon.co.uk set say about 3 cm. Prefer the shallower cover when the bullet and the RHS disagree.
When do I sow carrots in the UK?
Sow the main crop from April to early July, and repeat a short row every three to four weeks if you want a succession. Early varieties can be sown in February or March under fleece. Do not read an Amazon attribute that says autumn as a UK sowing month.
How long until they come up?
Catalogue guidance is about two to three weeks: Kings says within 21 days, and Suttons says 15–20 days for Early Nantes 5. Those clocks are not a measured result for the twelve listings we compared. If nothing shows after three weeks, check whether the seed was buried nearer 3 cm, whether the packet felt damp, and whether a cap formed after rain.
Should I start them in modules and move them?
No. The RHS advises sowing carrots where they will grow, because transplanting damages the root tip and the root forks. Sow in the bed or in the final pot. The exception is not a bigger module. It is choosing a container deep enough on the day you sow, which is covered on the pots page.
Do I thin, or does thinning attract carrot fly?
Thin if you want full-size roots, to about 5–7.5 cm in the RHS method, and expect the smell of crushed leaves to attract carrot fly. Thin on a dull evening, take the seedlings away, and keep a mesh cover over the row, particularly from mid-May when the first generation is active.
Why did nothing grow?
The usual causes in these sources are seed buried too deep, soil that stayed cold and wet, a damp packet, or seedlings taken by slugs before you looked. One Early Nantes reviewer blamed depth. Wait two to three weeks, then resow shallower with fresh seed if the first envelope was damp.

Related pages

Succession sowing carrots

Stop carrot fly

Carrot seeds

Best carrot seeds: top pick, best value, and skips

Carrot seeds buying guide for shape, count and price

Carrot seeds for pots: UK depth, compost and variety

Nantes or Chantenay: blunt root or stump for UK soil

Sources

Public UK sources, checked with the amazon.co.uk listings of 15 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the figures in the display file. Specialist catalogue prices are before postage.

  1. RHS: How to grow carrots (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  2. RHS: Carrot fly (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  3. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Apply to have seeds certified (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  5. Seed Marketing Regulations 2011, explanatory memorandum (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  6. Gardeners’ World: How to grow carrots (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  7. Kings Seeds: Carrot Early Nantes 2 (retrieved 15 October 2026)
  8. Suttons: Carrot Early Nantes 5 (retrieved 15 October 2026)