Starting root crops indoors?

[Ariel301]

I have to start just about all my plants indoors regardless of the weather, because I have a big issue with wild animals digging them up and eating them. Birds and chipmunks will literally come right behind me digging up every seed I plant in the ground! I have tried putting netting or plastic over where I planted, and they chew it up to get the seeds. I put plastic bottles with the bottoms cut out over some seeds and young plants, and that works better, but there is still a bird that knows how to dig them out of the ground and toss them aside to get what's in there. Once the plants have a few leaves on them, they are left alone, it is really just the seeds and tender new sprouts the animals want.

So, what about carrots, radishes, turnips, etc? Is it possible to start those inside and transplant them in say, paper cups that will disintegrate around them so I don't have to damage the roots? Yes, it will be a pain to start a hundred radishes and a hundred carrots, and so on inside, but I think that may be the only way I can get any...I've sown about a half pound of radish seeds this year and gotten NOTHING! I planted a 40 foot row of carrots, and only got maybe 2 feet worth of harvest. Eliminating the pest animals is not an option, unfortunately, I'm not allowed by my landlords to shoot/poison, and I'm not allowed by the coyotes and bobcats to keep an outdoor mousing cat.

 

[lesa]

Those root crops really resent being transplanted. If it were me, I would try a hoop house arrangement. There is a fabric that you place over seeds and tender plants to keep bugs off, etc. At the moment my mind won't come up with it's name...I'm sure someone else will have some ideas.

 

[Ariel301]

I'm afraid the chipmunks would just chew up the fabric to get inside. They are monsters here, they even chewed through chicken wire to get at my poultry feeders!

 

[yardfarmer]

I started carrots once indoors and transplanted after they had a few leaves. I used several 12- 18 inch sections of plastic gutter with cut up plastic milk jugs taped over the ends to contain the potting soil. After they sprouted and grew a little I dug a small trench, took the ends of the gutter sections and slid the soil out of the gutter into the trench.

It worked ok except just about all the carrots were shaped like a Z, because the roots were disturbed when transplanted. It was a little difficult to pull them out intact.

The gutter sections were about 5 inches deep. Radishes may do better since they form near the surface.

 

[ducks4you]

I would try using TP rolls, like in the thread last winter:
http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24592

 

[Ariel301]

Oh, the toilet paper rolls would be great! We throw away a bunch of those lol, my husband has bad allergies and uses that for his nose instead of tissues. I guess I will give it a try, it can't be any worse than throwing bags of seed into the ground for the critters to eat up.

I have some homemade plastic row covers for growing winter plants and starting seeds, and between the wind, the sun, and the animals, I have to re-plastic them every couple of months. :/ Awful chipmunks, I can't wait until we can afford to move so I can dispose of those and the rabbits!