Propagating From Seed

Carrots
SOW JAN, FEB, MAR, SEP harvest MAY, DEC
Baby carrots are a sweet addition to salads and are great cooked, too. You won't get huge roots under cover, but they are worth having. They're best in soil borders, or early crops can be grown under cold frames and cloches in the garden.

Cultivation
DIFFICULTY Easy; average input.
SOW Thinly in shallow drills in greenhouse borders or under cover in the garden. Cultivate the soil well beforehand so it is not lumpy. Avoid areas that have had manure added in the last year. Allow 10-15cm (4-6in) between rows.
CARE Water well and regularly. Thin if necessary as the plants develop. Remove weeds carefully to avoid disturbing the developing roots.
HARVEST Pull baby or salad carrots as soon as the first ones are big enough to use. Take alternate roots — this gives the remainder a little more space to grow. STORAGE Best pulled and eaten immediately. If necessary, store them in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few days.

Catch crops
Catch crops are a very popular notion out in the vegetable garden and there is no reason why they can't be equally successful in the greenhouse. Basically, they consist of fast-growing vegetables or those that can be eaten when still quite young or small, often called baby, or mini, veg. You plant them early or late in the year to get an extra crop, or squeeze them in any space that appears among other longer-term plants to get a quick crop during the main growing season. Because they are not there for long, they don't need much room and don't restrict the growing activities of their bedfellows. You do need to be well organized to get the seeds in whenever and wherever there is a space, and then be patient to allow them to do their thing. Beetroot, carrots, radishes, a huge variety of salad leaves and turnips are all proven (see under the individual entries), but you could try others.

Look out for...
Very early crops, especially those under cover, should not suffer from carrot fly, the biggest pest of carrots, which is active from late spring. If you find it is a problem, avoid thinning, as the smell attracts the females, or thin just before shutting up the greenhouse for the day. The smell will dissipate overnight.

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