If you're growing carrots this season, now is the time to thin them. While it's a tedious job, it's also a very necessary one because you will be rewarded with full-sized, normal-looking carrots.
I used to broadcast my seeds - meaning I grew carrots in a big block - but thinning them was my least favorite gardening task. At my husband's suggestion, I now seed 4 rows that are spaced a few inches apart. That way, I only have to thin within each row and it goes much more quickly. Once the seedlings are about 3" tall, thin them so there is 3" or so in between them. I gave the thinned seedlings to my chickens as a treat.
Here are today's "before" and "after" pictures...
I'm also growing parsnips in the same bed. They're pretty cool-looking plants and we are crazy about the sweet, nutty taste of the roots that get harvested in the fall. As you can see, they got the same treatment:
