[Gimme3]

Mark...can answer from experience on both. It's not true that carrots cant be properly (meaning yielding correct tuber form) transplanted...but theres a trick to doing it, and i actually think your peat pot suggestion will work..as well.

The main reason it is considered a taboo to transplant a carrot is because the roots will be damaged, and the tuber will fork or otherwise grow mis-shapened. In my experience, i have transplanted them w/no ill effects both from out of a pot, as well as when thinning, in fact, i have some nice ones now in -ground, that were transplanted from thinning endeavors. The keys to transplanting them are this...before dis-rupting their potted or planted state...insure that the medium the roots are in, is in a good...loose condition, easily flaking, friable. This may mean it needs to dry out some, or get wetter...depending upon it's composition. You want the roots to extract very easy from it. Most importantly, they need to be very young seedlings, an inch or 1.5 inches high is perfect, older..an the roots are startin to get longer than manageable for the task. Simply pull or lift them straight up , then re-insert where desired, in a finger-sized hole where desired...by dropping them straight down in it, an use a hole deeper than the root is long. I use a very fine potting-type layer of soil for placing them into, i also get it a little moist to start with. Firm soil as you place the root in, allowing the soil to control how far the root-drop is placed, just be sure to keep the root straight. Water in..gently, an you done it...)))

Beets are a lot more forgiving, and easy to grow from transplants,...in fact, they survive a lot better if grown to second true-leaf stage prior to transplant. Follow carrot technique above, for fine results. Beets at this stage have a 4-5 inch root some-times, so its good to start them in a 8-10 inch deep pot of loose soil, to extract them easily with good root intact.

I think your peat pot, bottom-removal idea is a great idea for transplanting a carrot, but i'd think a more vertical, deeper cell would be desirable, or else very quick transplant soon after germination (say a week at most), due to the root hitting the bottom in a typical 2-3 inch cell.

Good Luck with em...)))