Sprout

When they first come up, carrots are fragile. Don't over water them or they'll flop over and get stuck in the dirt. Don't under water them or they'll die. Be careful where you step or you'll crush them. During this stage, clumsy or inattentive people may be banned from the garden. After they've grown for a while, the carrots are much more robust. You still don't want to step on them, but they can put up with a lot more abuse. This isn't really about carrots though and I don't know if the seeds I'm planting will sprout or not, but there's still lots of time to find out.