Many varieties are genetically short. What variety did you plant? They need to be 2-3 inches apart

" I bought the best garden soil I could find"

That's what snagged my attention. No soil in containers. Soil-less, peat-based mixes only. Any mix with soil in it compacts in a container and causes all sorts of problems. Since carrots are a long tap root plant that soil compaction will almost guarantee you stunted carrots.

Plus be sure to feed anything growing in a container on a regular basis since the nutrients wash out.

Dave

about the wood chips! how big of chip should I use? can get plenty of wood chips from the town that grinds up tree limbs, but they are green.

I use the free wood chips as I get them from our county. They range in size from about dust to 2 or 3 inches. Most are under an inch. They are mostly fresh when I get them. On a rare occasion a carrot will be deformed by hitting a larger piece of wood; usually it is still fine to eat. After a harvest I mix more wood chips into the growing medium and use it again. I've been using some growing medium since 1994 without issues.

Renais

Use potting MIX, not potting "soil". Add a little perlite to it.

I use red cored chantenay carrots in containers. Nice sturdy 6" long carrot that has a blunt end so it grows straight.

I do carrots in containers because my New England soil is too clay/rocky to grow them in the ground. I use the Fafard container mix, and I've grown Atlas, Adelaide, Danvers Half-Long, and Rainbow carrots pretty successfully.

Where does one find pelleted carrot seeds? Willing to swap hot and mild pepper seeds if anyone is interested.

If you want to space them evenly, you can use a thin paper towel and put dots of glue where you want the carrot seeds. Then drop a seed on each glue dot. Use Elmer's school glue, which is washable and will dissolve. You can do this indoors at a table with plenty of light so you can see what you are doing. The carrot seeds are also easy to see on a white paper towel; not so much in garden soil. When you are done, place the paper towel where you want to grow carrots and cover it with a fine layer of your potting mix.

Great suggestion!

Interesting on the wood chips. I just tried refreshing some of last year's container soil by mixing in fine pine shavings (maybe 4-5%). When I mentioned that in one of these forums, I got a number "Don't use uncomposted wood chips" responses. By "mostly fresh" I assume that means uncomposted. Sounds like that works OK though, eh?

I'd like to grow carrots indoors in containers, but they take so long to grow to size, and take up a lot of space, that I don't think I want them using up that much of my limited grow rack.

I've heard that wood shavings are actually more problematic than chunkier chips. Wood chips have a low ratio of surface area. Shavings have such a high ratio of surface area that they start demanding too much nitrogen too quickly and causing a deficiency.

Also it is said the wood robs some nitrogen in the soil.

Just to set the record straight... and this is the most current understanding of the wood chip issue - according to my, and other people's extensive research into reliable sources...

Without going into extensive detail, keep in mind that fresh wood chips are extremely heavy in 'bound' carbon. They also contain high amounts of lignin. These substances do not breakdown without lots of fungal, and biologic activity. To support that decomposition process, the organisms involved need other nutrients to thrive. Chief among their needs is nitrogen. During the time that the fresh chips are decomposing (many factors are involved in the speed and effectiveness of that degradation process,) any N in close proximity to the wood is quickly put to use by the organisms feeding on it. Up to a point, any N added to the situation will help those natural decomposers reproduce and thrive. They will use the N in their life cycle and reproduction. As the wood decomposes (rots,) and the food source for those lifeforms begins to diminish, their numbers will decline. As they die off (and also get eaten) and they too decompose, the N is slowly made available again to any other life that may wish to make use of it in whatever process follows.

So, in the case of gardening, fresh chips are flush with carbon. Fungi, and other soil life make use of that carbon and they need nitrogen. The N becomes temporarily tied up until the carbon is chemically redistributed into the environment. The N is then also slowly released back into the environment. This is extremely simplistic (there are also some very rot-resistant chemicals in wood - such as lignin - as well as other minerals and molecular structures,) but you get the idea. The further along the decomposition process is, the less the material can act as a host to the organisms which feed on the fresh wood. Eventually, the organic matter in wood chips is broken down into its chemical and mineral constituents forming new chemicals and continuing the process of carbon-based life.

As mentioned - also generally speaking - the smaller the size, the faster this process completes.

Another factor... if the wood is on the surface of the ground, the reduction of available N is limited to that close proximity. The deeper the wood is immersed into the soil, the more extensive the N is 'tied up' in that area. Think 5mm to 10 mm away from any surface area. So if wood chips are dispersed throughout that soil, the less N will be available to any growing plants until that wood reaches the apex of the decomposition cycle.

You'll notice that many bagged 'soil' brands use 'partially decomposed forest products' as their main ingredient. What does this mean? That they are composting wood chips (and other constituents - such as shavings, bark, and saw dust) for a time, before adding it as an ingredient to their mix. It's not a 'bad' thing to do at all. It's just that knowing what it is, and the process it undergoes, helps the gardener make good decisions on amendment choices.

That is why in hugulkultur you use rotting logs if you have them rather than fresh cut.