How do I thin my carrot seedlings and is it the right time to do it?

[Pennies]

I planted my carrot seeds very close together (just pourred them from the packet) so they need thinning.

Any tips on how to do this?

They're currently about 3cms high - is it too early to do it yet? I'm worried they'll be too fragile.

[kidowner]

A good tip from my grandad is to mix sand with the carrot seeds before sprinkling them out, one pinch at a time.

For now you can thin them, they say throw away the thinnings but I don't like to and I've successfully spaced out replanted carrot seedlings, they grow a little hairier that's all.

Good luck

[snorkle]

The danger with thinning carrots is that the smell of them that is made when the soil is disturbed attracts carrot flies.

So, the advice is:

1. do it in the evening when the flies are less active
   
   
2. water afterwards to damp down the soil & smell.
   
   
3. instead of pulling up the carrots, consider using nail scissors and snipping off the tops at ground level - this will also help the fragility issue.