Judy, to answer your question you should not separate the carrots if there were multiple seeds planted in the same pot. The roots get stressed very easy. You should have left one carrot and cut off the tops of the others. As said, this is not a very good way to grow good carrots, planting seeds in the garden is best. Nursery sell these since some people will buy them, certainly not cost effective either. They sell bush beans in pots too, which is ridiculous on many levels, but they will grow even if not very healthy looking. Good that you saved the carrots, once they got established again. The transplanted carrot roots may look like anything except what you expect a carrot root to look like. Twisted. Multi rooted like a tooth. In a knot. A fist shape.

I too have been losing carrot seedlings, as fast as they come up. I was keeping the carrot bed free of debris to give the seedlings every chance to grow well. I have ruled out animals, slugs, cutworms, earwigs etc. I now believe it is the dew worms eating them. They consume HUGE amounts of vegetation every night. The two photos give evidence. I find these food stashes in worm holes all over my gardens and grounds. The worms come out at night, need to eat, no debris, so they grab the carrot seedlings. These worms are quite strong, which you will know if you've ever gone picking them to use as bait. They can really hang on. The green leaf is a birch leaf which had fallen to the ground. They grab the vegetation and twist it into the ground. The lower photo is of a pile of debris gathered into a hole, including the stick, which is about 1/8" in dia. These worms can stretch out to about 10" long. I have been having some success saving my seedlings buy spreading a thin layer of grass clippings on the carrot bed. It only takes a few days and the clippings are almost totally consumed. Notice how the earth around the hole is almost devoid of debris... it's all in the hole.

Another who grates the carrots....and even at the risk of over exposure, I'll post my carrot cake again....well not really MY recipe...came from Julie Trussler's cook book. and I will repeat what the others have said....be very very sure the cake is done. I think the cake needs all the moisture form the carrots. anyhow...here's the recipe....always a keeper. Carrot cake Julie TÂs 3 eggs 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup buttermilk 2 cups sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tsps cinnamon 1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour Buttermilk glaze 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup butter 1 Tblsp light corn syrup 1 tsp vanilla Orange Cream Cheese Frosting 1/2 cup softened butter 4 oz softened cream cheese 1 tsp vanilla 3 cups powdered sugar 1 tsp orange juice 1 tsp grated orange rind Preheat oven to 350 With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins. Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting. Buttermilk glaze: In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake Cream cheese frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

The one in the first two pics looks like Crassula arborescens undulatifolia. Not sure about the ID for the other two photos, but the plant on the left looks dead. Does it still have some life in it that's not readily apparent in the pics?