Carrots are a storehouse of vitamins and beneficial microelements. Every gardener tries to plant it. Getting a good harvest is not so difficult. The main thing is to observe the sowing dates and know some of the nuances. We'll talk about them now.
Carrot planting dates
To begin with, it must be said that carrots differ from each other in terms of ripening. There are early, middle and late varieties.
Depending on this, the period when carrots can be sown in open ground will change.
- Early varieties of carrots can be sown after relatively positive temperatures have established outside (about +3 degrees). Typically this period falls at the end of April - beginning of May. Carrots planted in this way ripen in the summer.
- Middle and late varieties of carrots are planted at approximately the same period - from May 1 to May 20. Sometimes this period is extended until the beginning of June. These carrots are suitable for long-term storage.
Some experienced gardeners They practice planting carrots in late autumn. This allows you to harvest much earlier - about two weeks. Optimal planting times in in this case end of October beginning of November. The main thing is that there are no return temperatures above zero. Otherwise, the seeds may germinate. Let us add that this method has one big drawback. If the winter turns out to be very harsh, there is a high probability that the seeds will freeze and will not sprout in the spring.
The process of preparing for sowing carrots
Before you start sowing carrots, you need to take care of. This crop does not grow well on heavy loamy soil. Therefore, it is better to have a bed with light soil for carrots (it is good if the soil is mixed with a small amount of sand).
You cannot apply fresh manure under the carrot bed. This will negatively affect the development of this agricultural crop - the root crop will most likely grow weak and will be very poorly stored.
Preparation of seed material
Novice gardeners usually do not attach much importance to this point, but in vain. Thanks to proper seed treatment, the plant develops much better and produces a bountiful harvest. There are many ways to process seed material. Perhaps the most effective of them is soaking the seeds in potassium permanganate (a weak solution). This method allows you to protect future root crops from pests and all kinds of diseases.
Some gardeners soak seeds in various growth stimulants to get an early harvest. In this case, the question of how to sow carrots so that they sprout quickly disappears.
The optimal bed size is 1 meter wide and 5 meters long. Of course, these are just approximate parameters. The final option depends on the preferences of the gardener. Before planting carrots in the spring, using, for example, a shovel handle, you need to make furrows. It is in them that the seeds are sown.
The width of such a groove is approximately 6 cm. The distance between them is 20 cm. Before you start planting carrots, the grooves are thoroughly watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. This is done so that the root crops are less sick.
Planting carrots
Carrot seeds are sown in pre-prepared furrows at a distance of 1-1.5 cm. The crops are sprinkled with peat on top (sand can be added). It would seem, why do this? The answer is quite simple: if the soil is dense, then the seeds germinate very poorly, but if, on the contrary, then you can count on friendly shoots. After the seeds are planted, all that remains is to water them well (use cold water) garden bed.
Acceleration of seed germination process
Of course, any gardener always wants seedlings to appear as early as possible. There are quite a few ways to speed up this process. We will talk about a method that is based on the use of ordinary polyethylene. Everything is very simple. You need to take the film and cover the bed with it so that there is an air gap of about 12 cm between the plastic covering and the ground. After this, you need to give time for the seeds to germinate. Using this method Usually one week is enough. When the shoots appear, the polyethylene is removed. If this is not done, the seedlings that have not yet gained strength may die.
Choosing “neighbors” for carrots
As we have already said, in order to get a good carrot harvest, you need to know about some nuances. One of them is right choice“neighbors” (those plants with which a given crop grows well). In fact, carrots can get along quite well with many plants. The list of the most successful “neighbors” includes: garlic, tomatoes, radishes, lettuce, and peas.
And one more little trick: to prevent the plantings from being affected by the carrot fly, experienced gardeners recommend surrounding them with tobacco, rosemary or sage. Plants that negatively affect the development of carrots include dill and anise.
In this article we answered many questions. After reading it, it will become clear when to plant carrots in open ground, how to sow this crop, and also how to speed up the rate of seed germination. Using the above recommendations, you can easily grow on your own personal plot, to the envy of your neighbors and to your delight, a rich harvest of carrots. The main thing is to be patient and everything will definitely work out.
It’s very easy to sow carrots without thinning - video
The well-known method of growing carrots involves several thinnings. This is done so that the strongest plants have free space and can develop normally. If dense plantings are not thinned out, this will cause the root crops to grow small and weak. However, in order for the gardener to get rid of additional hassle, you can use a method that includes sowing carrots without thinning or significantly simplifying the procedure for removing weak plants.
How to plant carrots without thinning
Carrot seedlings have to be thinned out because the plants are located too close to each other. Dense plantings negatively affect the harvest.
The usual planting method, when seeds are sown in the holes a pinch at a time, produces dense shoots. They need to be thinned out. This is done twice: the first - as soon as the plants have stretched 3 cm out of the ground. This happens approximately a month after planting is completed. Then visually weak shoots are removed. As a result, the distance between the bushes should be 3-4 cm. The second time the procedure is performed 2 months after planting. By this point, the carrot tops will have stretched to 10-13 cm. Frail plants are removed again. The remaining ones should be at a distance of 6-8 cm from each other.
Note! Large, vitamin-rich root vegetables are produced only when they have enough free space, and they can take all the necessary nutrients from the soil.
Both processes are quite labor-intensive. A gardener may accidentally pull a strong plant out of the ground or damage the roots of the sprouts. It is best to use a trick and immediately plant the seeds at a distance from each other. This is not easy to do in normal mode. That is, it is difficult to take one seed at a time and place it in shallow trenches at a distance of 3-6 cm. Carrot seeds are tiny, fiddling with them is problematic. In order to facilitate the process, there are 10 ways to plant carrots with seeds in open ground without thinning out:
- Granules;
- With paste;
- On paper ribbons;
- In fabric bags;
- In egg cells;
- Along with sand;
- With water;
- Salt shaker;
- Industrial tape with seeds;
- Seeder.
Granules
This method is the easiest and fastest. In specialized stores you can purchase bags containing granules with carrot seeds. Typically the color of the granules is burgundy. The shell contains nutrients, growth stimulants, and fungicide. The granules are several times larger than the seeds. One granule has a diameter of 2-3 mm. It is easy to place such a product in the grooves. The distance between the granules is 6-7 cm. Usually all the seeds should sprout together. There is no need to thin them out. The disadvantages of such planting are that granules are more expensive than regular seeds, they take longer to germinate, and they require daily watering.
Carrot seed granules
With paste
The paste is being cooked. For one liter of water, take 3 tablespoons of potato starch. Place the water in the pan on the fire and bring it to a boil. At this time, starch is mixed with warm water in an amount of 100 grams. The resulting mixture is poured into boiling water in a thin stream. The water is constantly stirred. The solution turned out to be transparent. As soon as it cools down, it becomes thick, like jelly, about 4 grams are added to the cooled paste. seed material. Any variety can be taken.
Paste
You need to pour out the seeds carefully, gradually, constantly stirring the paste. It is necessary that the seeds are evenly mixed with the liquid. In addition to carrots, you can add radish seeds. The radishes will come up first and show where the carrots should come up. As soon as the radishes appear, the bed is weeded.
Weeding
The paste with seeds should be poured into a plastic bottle or teapot, a ladle with a spout, or a watering can. Complex fertilizer is placed in the prepared furrow, 2 cm deep, and it is spilled with water. After this, the resulting solution of starch and seeds is poured into it in a thin stream. The solution must be constantly stirred so that the seeds are distributed evenly. Further into the groove thin layer the ground is laid.
Important! The main advantage of this method is its rapid germination. The downside is that the plantings may turn out to be somewhat dense and will need to be thinned out at least once.
On paper strips
How to sow carrots, so as not to thin them later, using paper tapes? It's pretty simple. You can prepare such ribbons in the winter to free up time at the beginning of the gardening season.
Taken toilet paper. It is cut into strips of equal width and length. The width is taken to be about 2-3 cm. The length is measured depending on the length of the bed. Or you can make several pieces of 100 cm each. It has been noted that toilet paper is the most optimal for preparing such tapes. This material dissolves quickly and does not slow down the germination of seeds in the ground.
Planting with toilet paper
The paste is being cooked. It can be made from starch or flour. If you choose the option with flour, then dissolve a tablespoon of flour in 1 liter of water. The container is placed on the fire and cooked for 5-7 minutes after boiling. The solution should thicken. Afterwards it is cooled. You can add complex fertilizers to the gel that stimulate crop growth, substances that protect carrots from pests and diseases.
Paper ribbons are laid out on the table. Drops of paste are applied to them using a thin stick. It is necessary to maintain a distance of 2-5 cm. Place one seed into the peas obtained from the paste. After half an hour, when the product has dried, it can be put away in a dark, dry place until spring. Or, after the paste has dried, the tapes are placed in prepared shallow trenches in the garden bed and sprinkled with soil. Afterwards, the garden bed is watered abundantly.
Planting with paste or toilet paper
In fabric bags
The seeds of each carrot variety are placed in a specially made fabric bag. The cloth for the bag is taken from natural material. You can take gauze and make a bundle out of it. The bag is buried in the ground. The hole for it is made shallow - a maximum of 10-15 cm. In order not to forget where the seed material is buried, you can stick a peg into this place or place an identifying object nearby.
After 2 weeks, the tissue with the seeds is dug out. The bag will contain swollen seeds, ready to take root. The seed material is poured into a dish. Potato starch is also added there. The amount of starch is 3-4 tablespoons. Instead of starch, you can use regular sand. Both substances stick to the seeds. In this form it is convenient to plant them.
Fabric bags for seeds
Prepared trenches 2-3 cm deep are watered. The swollen seeds are placed there. It is better to maintain a distance of 6-9 cm, so as not to remove half the plants later. The trenches are covered with garden soil. To prevent the soil from hardening, there is no need for additional watering after planting. This method produces vigorous shoots within 4-6 days.
In egg cells
Planting carrots in egg cells - original solution, which does not require special skills or additional attributes. All you need is seeds of any variety and egg containers made of thin cardboard.
Each tray is laid out on the bed in such a way that there is no free space between them. Containers will replace seed furrows. Before sowing carrots in open ground without thinning, the container cells are filled with fertile soil. The earth is laid out in a thin layer. Next, 1 seed is placed in each cell. It is better to put the seeds not in each hole, but every other hole. You can put several seeds. Afterwards, each cell is covered with earth.
Growing in egg cells
If the cardboard is thick, then before the cassette is placed on the bed, the bottom should be cut out in each cell. If it is thin, you don't have to do this.
Additional Information. Egg trays can be used to form holes in the ground. To do this, the containers are pressed into the soil and removed. After this procedure, you get even holes in the garden bed. Seed material is placed in them.
Along with the sand
Another good method How to plant carrots, so as not to thin out later, consists of mixing seeds with sand. Coarse river sand is suitable. The method is reminiscent of planting with paste.
Take 2-4 grams of seeds. They mix with sand. For 2 grams you need to take 10 grams of sand, for 4 grams - 20 grams of sand. You can moisten the resulting mixture a little or leave it dry.
Planting carrots with sand
The prepared mixture is poured into prepared trenches 2-3 cm deep, a pinch at a time. It will be better if you cover the seeds with sand not with ordinary garden soil, but with peat. It is possible to cover the bed with spunbond for several weeks. Growing root crops this way will bring a quick and high-quality harvest.
With water
This is a rather original, ancient and rare method. Many gardeners are hesitant to use it. Carrot seeds are mixed with water. You can take 2 bags of 2 grams per 0.3 liter of boiled warm water. The seed material in the water is thoroughly mixed. Pours into a glass. Water from a glass is taken into the mouth and spat out into the furrows. Thus, the seeds are distributed along the prepared grooves at a sufficient distance to save the owner of the site from thinning the seedlings.
Salt shaker
Another vintage one easy way landings. On help will come salt shaker You can use a strainer. Seeds should pass through holes in utensils, but only one at a time. Seed material is placed in the salt shaker. Then they shake it in the beards, shaking out the seeds at the required distance. Next, the grooves are sprinkled with earth and carefully moistened. You need to make sure that after watering the seeds do not end up on the surface of the ground.
Planting carrots with a salt shaker
Industrial tape with seeds
How to plant carrots in the spring without thinning? You can buy industrial tape with seeds in the store. This is a ready-made piece for planting. Such a purchase will save time spent in the garden and eliminate the need to thin out plantings. There are disadvantages, for example, the high cost of the product. Regular seeds are several times cheaper. In addition, there is a possibility that the seeds in the tape are expired. The harvest in this case will be minimal.
Seeder
You can purchase a special seeder. Manual fixture quickly plants seeds at a given distance and depth. The only disadvantage of such a device is its high cost. The cost starts from 2 thousand rubles.
Manual carrot seeder
It is not so important which of the proposed methods the gardener will use. It is important to do this correctly and carefully. Then care for the crop will be minimal, and the harvest will be decent.
Video
Planting carrots in spring period carried out using seeds. Today there are a huge variety of varieties. When choosing seeds, pay attention to the shape of the root crop, its size, ripening time, resistance to weather conditions, color, taste characteristics, and marketability.
If you have dense soil, pay attention to the seeds of the Nantes-4 variety. This culture is distinguished by juicy and sweet root vegetables. The length of carrots reaches 15 centimeters.
The ripening of root crops occurs on the 80-90th day.
An early harvest can be obtained from Alenka seeds. Root crops grow already on the 50th day of the growing season. Carrots are quite large - up to 145 grams.
Another early ripening variety is called Tushon.
About 60 days after planting, you can start digging for the roots, which by this time can reach a length of 20 centimeters.
For winter storage, it is best to sow seeds of late varieties, for example, Queen of Autumn. These carrots take about 125-135 days to grow.
Its roots are elongated and have a rich orange hue. Another late giant is Flakke.
One carrot can reach 30 centimeters in length and gain 160 grams of weight.
Preparing the site
Planting carrots in spring requires correct selection and site preparation. This crop feels best on well-lit soil, so the beds need to be laid out where the sun will shine on them all the time.
Pay attention to what grew in this area last year. Carrots should not be planted after celery, parsley, dill and parsnips. The best predecessors are tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, onions, cabbage, and garlic.
The soil for carrots should be loose. Otherwise, large piles of soil and crust will lead to deformation of the root crops. Land preparation must be carried out in the fall.
When digging a garden, it is customary to add humus and wood ash to the soil. Never use fresh manure. It will attract pests and can damage root crops. WITH nitrogen fertilizers you should be careful.
Sowing
Although carrots are frost-resistant plants, you need to plant their seeds in the firm belief that winter frosts have completely passed.
If you want to sow early variety, then focus on the second week of April.
For late varieties, carrots should be planted in the spring in the second half of April.
In order to get good germination, it is necessary to properly prepare the seeds before sowing. First of all, the seeds are checked for suitability. To do this, fill the material with warm water and wait 10 hours.
Bad seeds will remain on the surface, while good ones will fall to the bottom of the container.
When the weather is still cool, but not frosty, and you want to get quick shoots, we recommend germinating the seeds on a damp cloth for 2-3 days.
Immediately before planting the seeds, make beds. The depth of the furrow must be sufficient to prevent the seed from being blown away by the wind.
For better adhesion of seeds to the soil, water the beds with water before planting them. The distance between the ridges should be at least 20-30 centimeters.
When the seeds are planted, cover the beds with film. This manipulation will help you get fast shoots. Dry seed should not be planted in dry soil. Both need to be soaked in water.
A good harvest can be obtained with careful mulching and loosening of the soil.
To ensure that large, regularly shaped root crops are formed in the row in the future, do not forget to thin out the ridges in places where the seeds have sprouted too densely.
Care and pest control
When the first young shoots appear above the surface of the earth, you need to start caring for them.
First of all, you need to ensure the timely destruction of weeds. Also, do not allow the soil to dry out and form a hard crust.
To ensure that the root vegetables are sweet and juicy, spare no effort and resources for watering.
It is necessary to water the crop at all times of the growing season. When the root crops begin to fill, moisture should penetrate to a depth of 30 centimeters.
As for fertilizing, they are carried out 2 times if you decide to plant carrots in the spring.
The first dose of fertilizer is applied 3-4 weeks after the first shoots, and the second dose after 2 months.
To protect your crop from the main pest, carrot fly, we recommend planting carrots between the rows onion. The insect cannot stand its smell. It is also important to monitor the growth of tops and weeds. Pests breed in unkempt areas and lay eggs in the ground.
As a result, the larvae spoil root crops. They will also help drive away uninvited guests wood ash, ground hot pepper and tobacco. This mixture is sprinkled between the rows. Chemicals used include Actellik and Intavir.
Source: https://moyadacha.temaretik.com/886813135414757686/sovety-po-posadke-morkovi-vesnoj/
Planting carrots in spring: timing and methods of sowing
Carrots belong to the group of cold-resistant crops, which are one of the first to be sown, as soon as the April sun dries and warms the soil sufficiently. For gardeners, planting carrots in the spring begins the countdown of the period when, according to an apt popular expression, the day feeds the year.
Unpretentious, at first glance, the plant has a number of features. It germinates slowly, unevenly, and requires patience and labor, especially during sowing and early growth.
Answering questions about when, where and how to plant carrots, we offer a set of agrotechnical techniques that allow you to get an excellent harvest of the sweet root vegetable without much hassle.
When? Sowing dates
Many people are accustomed to planting carrots as soon as the snow melts and keeping them in the garden until autumn harvesting. Practice shows that this is not entirely rational.
Early varieties ripen by August, and being in the ground for an extra month, the root crops crack, begin to grow roots, and their taste deteriorates.
Therefore, it is more correct to spread the timing of planting carrots over time, depending on the variety and purpose.
in spring
According to long-term observations, soil ripeness occurs in the Central European part - from April 20 to 30, in the Urals - on May 2, in Siberia and the Northern regions - after May 10. If the soil does not stick to your hands, and the clods crumble easily, then it is time for sowing.
Most suitable month spring planting early ripening varieties of carrots - April, approximately the 20th.
There is no point in rushing - in cold soil the seeds can lie for a month, in warm soil they will emerge in a week.
The first harvest will ripen by mid-summer and will be used for salads, fresh consumption, juice preparation, and winter preparations.
Note! When planning areas for carrots, you should remember that from 1 linear meter 7–8 kg of root crops are collected. Seed consumption per 10 m² is 4–6 grams.
in autumn
You can speed up the ripening of early vegetables by at least two weeks if you use winter sowing. In this case, the bed is prepared in advance, when it is warm.
The soil is loosened, complex fertilizers are applied, and lime is applied if necessary.
They make rows on the leveled surface so that the rains do not wash them away, cover them with a piece of covering material, and leave them in this form until the cold weather.
When to plant carrots in the fall depends on the time of frosty weather. This could be the end of October, the beginning, or even the middle of November. They sow “one shard at a time.”
Dry seeds are laid out in frost-bound furrows, covered with pre-prepared loose soil, and mulched with a layer of foliage, straw, and hay up to 10 cm thick.
In the spring, with the onset of stable warmth, the bed is cleared of mulch and early shoots are obtained.
Note! To avoid getting into trouble when planting carrots before winter, choose suitable varieties. The Russian giant, Shantane 2461, Samson, and the hybrid Nantes Semko will definitely not let you down.
In summer
To obtain root crops intended for storage, it is practiced to sow carrots in late May - early June. Mid-season, and in the southern regions, late varieties are suitable for these purposes. IN warm earth the seeds will quickly hatch and sprout vigorously.
In addition, summer plantings have other advantages. For them, you can use beds cleared of early crops - radishes, lettuce.
By this time, the activity of the carrot fly is significantly reduced, and accordingly, the risk of damage to the root crop by the pest is reduced.
Interesting! Gives good result planting carrots in compacted (mixed) beds. The main crop is sown in the center, compactors along the edges. Salad, peas, and chives are friends with carrots. They practice joint sowing with cucumbers and tomatoes.
Such joint garden bed not only saves landing space, but also pleases the eye
Where? Soil and crop rotation requirements
Root vegetables prefer light, crumbly soil. Carrots are no exception, because they work best on loamy and sandy loam soils. Planting carrots in heavy, clay soils is undesirable.
Poor aeration leads to stagnation of moisture, the appearance of horned specimens, and the intensification of diseases. Fresh manure has the same negative impact.
In addition, it promotes the accumulation of nitrates in the root pulp.
The best predecessors for carrots are: vegetable crops, like cucumber, cabbage, potatoes, zucchini. Onions and tomatoes are acceptable. What can be planted after carrots is based on the rules of crop rotation. These are potatoes, tomatoes, onions and garlic grow well.
Note! If you are unlucky with the site, its structure can and should be improved by introducing all kinds of loosening agents - peat, compost, organic residues, humus.
How? Landing Features
There are two difficulties in growing small-seeded crops. Firstly, they are difficult to sow evenly.
Secondly, after germination they require thinning - a monotonous and labor-intensive process.
So they invent all sorts of ways to sow carrots to eliminate or minimize these problems. Each of them has its own pros and cons.
Normal way
- Lowercase. In the garden bed, with the help of a hoe or a wooden plank, rows are marked at intervals of 20 cm, with a depth of 1.5–2 cm. The furrow is shed with water, the bottom is compacted so that the seeds are at the same level and germinate at the same time. In addition, dense soil stimulates the formation of capillary moisture, which will nourish the seed even in the absence of watering. Distribute the seeds as evenly as possible, sprinkle with soil, and press lightly.
- The tape method involves a slightly different scheme for planting carrots. Three rows with an interval of 7–8 cm are combined into wide ridges, with a passage 15–40 cm wide.
Pros: quick sowing, optimal number of roots after thinning, breaking through roots for summer consumption.
Cons: requires 2-fold thinning.
Scheme for planting carrots in a wide ridge
Sparse seeding
If there is no desire to work without straightening your back, the question arises of how to sow carrots so as not to thin them later. There are several options.
- With paste. You will need dishes with a narrow spout - a teapot, a container with a dispenser, cream injector and a viscous liquid in which the seeds are mixed. It is best prepared using potato starch (3 tbsp/l). For 1 liter of jelly take 4–6 g of seeds and 4–5 g of fertilizers for vegetables (AVA, Agricola, Sudarushka). The solution is thoroughly mixed, poured into a dosing container and the rows are slowly watered. After this, they are covered with a thin layer of soil and compacted.
- With sand. The seeds are mixed with coarse sand in a ratio of 1:10, 1 part of fertilizer is added, and the mixture is distributed along the furrow. For this technology, a wide-row method is used. Lying down randomly, the seeds form a ribbon 12–15 cm wide.
Pros: does not require thinning.
Disadvantages: with poor seed germination, you will get rare shoots, non-standard root crops, and a higher risk of side shoots and cracking.
Precision seeding
Many gardeners liked precision sowing methods.
- Landing tape. Regardless of whether the tape is purchased or made by yourself, initially the seeds are located at a distance of 4–5 cm from each other, the seedlings do not need thinning, and the root crop is formed in the place designated for it. It is popular to plant carrots on toilet paper, which quickly breaks down when wet in the soil and does not prevent growth. The achenes are glued using a paste, which is applied with a disposable syringe.
- Marking with a marker. For this method, it is necessary to make a device with which we will mark the bed. Its essence is that when pressing on the soil, point depressions of a given size are formed. The distance between the notches for the seed depends on your desire - 2–3 cm if you plan on one thinning, 4–6 cm – without breaking through. Granulated seeds are best suited for precision sowing, as they have increased germination - there will be no empty holes in the garden bed. The following is used as a marker:
- a lath with teeth cut along the edge;
- wooden die with fixed in in a certain order teeth;
- improvised items, for example, a corrugated egg tray.
Markings for precision sowing
Pros: thinning is unnecessary, root crops are not injured from pulling.
Cons: if some of the seeds do not sprout, the bed will be sparse, which will lead to uneven ripening and forking of some of the root crops.
Planting carrots using the liquid method:
Source: https://MirOgorodov.ru/posadka-morkovi-vesnoy.html
Proper planting of carrots in spring in open ground
Every gardener has his own secret to growing carrots. To get a good harvest of orange root vegetables, you need to follow certain rules.
Qualitative planting material, timely and correctly prepared ridge, competent sowing of seeds in required deadline give good results when planting carrots in spring in open ground at the dacha and in Belarus, Ukraine, Siberia and the Moscow region.
Today, there are different varieties of carrots available to grow, and you can get a harvest of them in the garden if you properly care for them and fertilize them. We will describe below what method of planting and growing you can choose for a productive vegetable garden.
Second term - end of May, beginning of June. At the beginning of summer they plant late varieties. Carrots with a growing season of 120-130 days will fill with juice by the end of September, ripen and be ready for storage in the cellar.
Late varieties planted during these periods are stored well in winter.
If late varieties are planted at the end of May, they store well in spring
Preparing the soil so that carrots can quickly sprout and germinate is no less important than correct timing landings.
A good harvest is achieved by gardeners who know the structure and acidity of the soil in their summer cottage.
High yields are obtained by sowing seeds on the soil well dug and without stones, accordingly, you need to process it well.
To improve the structure add:
- Peat for loosening clay soil.
- Organic matter is added to sandy loam soil in the spring, and to heavy loam soil in the fall.
- Once every 5 years, acidic soil deoxidize, this can be done by adding at least 30 g/m2 of lime.
- In the spring, apply to the carrot bed before digging. mineral fertilizers.
The norm of the amount of mineral fertilizers per 1 m²: superphosphate - 20 g, potassium sulfate - 20 g.
Fertilizing a carrot bed in spring
Table of optimal acidity for different types of soil, where you need to strictly follow the diagram.
In the soil behind summer season harmful microorganisms, eggs and insect larvae accumulate. You cannot sow a vegetable in one place every year. The harvest will 100% suffer from onion fly.
Way out - crop rotation. The following are considered good predecessors:
- beet
- salad;
- tomatoes;
- potato.
Potatoes are a good predecessor to carrots
Preparations for sowing begin in advance. You can check the germination rate before planting if you decide to use regular seeds rather than coated seeds. The procedure is not complicated. Plant a few seeds (20 pcs.) in a flower pot.
If free time allows at the end of winter prepare planting tapes, toilet paper and paste made from potato starch and flour are used.
Cut strips no wider than 1 cm. Their length should be equal to the width of the future ridge. Glue the seeds at intervals of 3 cm. It is convenient to do this with a wooden toothpick or skewer.
Do the math required amount ribbons according to the formula: divide the length of the ridge by 30 and add 1. Here 30 is the distance between the rows.
You can buy ready-made planting tape or make it yourself
Prepare a 1 m wide bed after the soil has matured.
Signs of a topsoil ready for planting - clods of earth crumbling from a light blow. Mark furrows across the ridge with a block at intervals of 30 cm.
Sprinkle them with water and let them stand. When the ground settles, start sowing.
It is better to sprinkle the seeds not with soil, but with humus or a mixture of peat and sand.
Friendly shoots are obtained if the depth of seeding is observed 1-1.5 cm. Winds are not uncommon in spring.
You can avoid blowing out the seeds by using a film cover. You can remove it after the first panicles appear.
Advice for gardeners with a small plot. When sowing use radishes as a sealing plant.
Its growing season is 3 times shorter and when the panicles are 5-7 cm, the radish can be harvested for food.
With combined plantings, carrots are friends with radishes, garlic and lettuce.
Another recommendation that will make it easier to sow small carrot seeds. Those who sow carrots with dry seeds can use it. Crush the chalk and mix with the seeds. The seeds will turn white, they will be clearly visible against the background of black soil, then they can be planted according to technology.
Carrot seeds in chalk crumbs
Light green panicles emerge into the light in two weeks or a little later. If you want to speed up germination, you can take the advice of an experienced gardener.
Will need a small amount of vodka. The seeds need to be soaked in it for no more than 15 minutes. Then rinse the seeds running water and dry. Sow less often.
Most gardeners prefer to soak seeds in cold water for a day, dry them and sow.
As soon as the shoots appear, the usual care of the ridge begins:
- weeding;
- watering;
- thinning;
- hilling;
- cleaning.
Proper watering of carrots is one of the components of care
Weeding is needed throughout the summer. Weeds do not have a break, they grow on the ridges from spring to autumn, they need to be thinned out.
Watering is a simple task, but it must be done according to the rules. The plant does not like surface watering; it is better to water less often, but more abundantly. Moderately moist soil at the depth of root growth is what the root crop needs.
Causes of cracking carrots: excessive watering, sudden changes in soil moisture levels.
Hilling is carried out at the end of summer raking root crops sticking out of the ground. If this is not done, the top of the carrots will turn green and their flavor will deteriorate.
Many gardeners like to loosen the soil between carrot rows. This gets rid of the crust that appears after the next watering. The best option retain moisture in the soil and prevent crust formation - mulch.
Use humus as mulch. You need a layer no thicker than 3 cm. A thicker layer provokes carrots to grow “horns”.
Harvesting root crops for storage is a responsible task. It also has its own rules. This is how short root crops are pulled out of the ground by the tops. Long carrot digging with pitchforks. The tops are cut off at a distance of 1 cm from the root.
It is most convenient to dig up long carrots with a pitchfork.
Inexperienced gardeners do not know that carrots need to be thinned. The result of this illiteracy is small carrots. Thinning is pulling out densely growing carrot shoots.
Thinning begins when the tops tighten up to 5 cm. Remove frail shoots. A gap of 3-5 cm is left if varieties with short root crops grow on the ridge. For long root crops of large diameter, a 10 cm interval must be maintained.
Excess sprouts are removed a second time when the tops reach 10 cm. Work better evening, pre-watering. Leave 6 cm gaps between sprouts. Thinning is carried out until mid-June.
In the fall, the carrot harvest will delight the eye with its orange splendor and is easy to grow if planting instructions are followed. simple rules and during the summer the carrot ridge will receive the necessary care.
Source: http://profermu.com/ogorod/morkov/posadka-m.html
Planting carrots in open ground in spring - planting a big harvest
Preface
Carrot tops spread out on the beds - best decoration vegetable garden! But what is hidden in the ground will decorate your cellar in the fall.
But sometimes gardeners are disappointed - the tops are large, but the carrots themselves are small.
Planting carrots in the spring is where a truly good harvest begins.
Big secrets in good harvest no - carrots will grow almost by themselves to impressive sizes in light, loose and nutritious loams and sandy loams, but on heavy clay and waterlogged soils you will get pale and gnarled roots. Stagnation of moisture is generally destructive for it! But drought will not turn out to be anything good - the root crops will be fibrous and rough.
So look for a middle ground - the ground should be normally moistened with groundwater at a decent depth.
As in the case of beets, planting carrots in the spring in a garden freshly fertilized with manure is extremely undesirable, since root crops tend to accumulate nitrates, and they can become toxic.
The level of acid balance is also important, so it is necessary to ensure that the soil in which the seeds will be planted does not contain too much nitrogen, lime or ash.
The most optimal would be preliminary preparation soil on the future carrot plot since the fall. If the soil on the site is heavy, add sand and peat to it, half a bucket per square meter.
If the soil is poor, fertilize it: for each square meter you should add 2 kg of humus (rotted compost), 10-12 g of potassium salt (half a matchbox), 20-23 g of simple superphosphate (full matchbox).
Everyone has their own requirements for carrots, as for other gifts from our gardens.
Some people want to pamper themselves and their loved ones with sweet and healthy carrots as soon as possible, others are more concerned about the abundance of the harvest, and for others the most important thing is to provide themselves with vitamins from the garden for the long, long winter.
There are early-ripening, mid-ripening, as well as mid-late and late varieties. For those who can’t wait to harvest, it’s better to plant carrots before winter or in early spring. For this, the best varieties will be:
- Incomparable,
- Nantes-4,
- Callisto.
Varieties planted in spring
- Vitamin-6,
- Losinoostrovskaya-13,
- Shantane-2461,
- NIOOX-336
Perfect for canning, autumn salads and baby purees.
The highest yields and keeping quality are demonstrated by late varieties:
- Queen of autumn
- Yellowstone,
- Perfection.
How to prepare seeds for planting
And finally, the variety has been chosen, it’s getting warmer outside and the question arises: how to prepare the future carrots for planting and is it necessary to do this at all? It is well known that carrot seeds are distinguished by a certain resistance to germination, since they contain a fairly large amount essential oils. You can, of course, just sow them in the ground and wait for shoots, but if you prepare them correctly, then joyful green bushes will appear much earlier, and the red-haired beauty will be more beautiful and stronger.
However, it is worth mentioning right away that some varieties (hybrid, granular, treated with disinfectants, imported) have no additional training are not subject to For everyone else, preparation seems appropriate, and you can choose the option that suits you best.
- Germination test. Sometimes just smelling the seeds you are about to plant is enough. Good ones, suitable for planting, should smell like... carrots. You can also use the floating method: pour water into a suitable container, pour the seeds into it and wait. Catch and discard those that float, and continue to work with those that have settled to the bottom.
- Soak. Place the selected seeds in a gauze bag and soak in warm water for about a day. Every 5-7 hours, wash the seeds and soak them again, not allowing the fabric to dry out. If it is not possible to plant the seeds in the ground after a day, then you should transfer them to a damp cloth, wrap them in plastic and place them in the fresh zone of the refrigerator.
- It is possible to plant pre-germinated seeds in the soil. To do this, after soaking, they are left on a constantly moistened material, covered with polyethylene to create a greenhouse effect. As soon as the seeds begin to germinate, they require immediate planting. The soil should already be warm and well moistened.
- In regions characterized by spring frosts, it is advisable to harden the seeds. We return to the very first preparation option - soaking, after which a wet bag of seeds, wrapped plastic film, kept alternately for 12 hours in the freshness zone of the refrigerator and at room temperature for 5-7 days. Be sure to ensure that the fabric of the bag does not dry out.
- Not the most common, but also very effective, is an option for preparing seeds such as bubbling, that is, saturating them with oxygen. In this case, the seeds are poured into a container with warm water in which the aquarium compressor is located. The process should continue throughout the day, and after 12 hours the water must be changed. Then the seeds are dried and sown in the garden bed.
- Seed preparation options such as pelleting, granulating and gelatinizing are more related to convenience during planting than to processing the seeds themselves. In the first and second cases, the seeds are placed in a container with complex mineral fertilizers, natural adhesive (for example, sugar syrup, starch paste, etc.) and filler (humus, peat), tightly close the container with a lid and gently shake it, rolling the seeds, turning them into dragees or granules.
In the third case, a natural adhesive base is applied to strips of paper, on which seeds are then placed at equal distances from each other, dried and rolled into rolls until the time comes to sow.
An alternative option can also be used. Bury the same gauze bag with wet seeds in the ground for 7-10 days (can be in a box at home, or outside if the snow is already melting) to a depth of 20-30 cm.
Then the bag is removed, the swollen seeds are dried and planted directly in the ground.
Some gardeners prefer not just to soak the seeds, but also to stimulate them by adding complex fertilizers to the water, such as sodium humate or potassium humate or “Effecton O” (1 teaspoon per liter of warm water), aloe juice (20 drops per liter of warm water ).
Biostimulation with vodka is unusual, but quite effective. The seeds are still placed in a fabric bag and dipped in vodka for 7-10 minutes. Then the bag is washed in water at room temperature, the seeds are dried and sown in the ground.
When to plant - timing
Traditionally, gardeners sow carrots in April or even May for more northern regions, however, it is also possible to sow carrots for the winter in November, because the plant itself is frost-resistant.
Favorable days for landing in the spring of 2018 lunar calendar are the following:
- March: 20, 21;
- April: 1, 3, 12, 13, 17, 18;
- May: 4, 14, 15, 19, 24, 31.
Planting carrots in spring: options and instructions for them
So, it’s a suitable day outside according to the calendar and weather, the seeds and soil are properly prepared and you can start sowing.
You should choose well-lit places for carrot beds that will literally bathe in the sun throughout the day.
If the soil on the site is heavy, add sand and peat to it, half a bucket per square meter; if the soil is poor, fertilize it with peat, turf soil, humus and mineral fertilizers.
Sow the seeds in narrow furrows, which should be made at a distance of at least 10 cm from each other. It is recommended to water them hot water and sprinkle with ash or chalk.
Seeds should be sown at a distance of about a centimeter. There is no point in sowing more densely, since you will still have to leave only the strongest plants and pull out the rest.
If the plants are located at too close a distance, then when thinning you can damage the roots of the remaining ones, which is why it is recommended to sow carrots not densely.
In order to carrot beds subsequently it was convenient to approach; you should not sow more than four furrows in a row.
To plant carrots evenly, you can use one of the seed preparation methods discussed above - you can buy or make paper tape with seeds glued with starch glue. All that needs to be done in the spring is to spread the tape along the furrow and cover it with soil. This is the smoothest method, although you will need to spend a lot of time on it.
An alternative “adhesive” option is also used, in which a paste is boiled (2 liters of water, 6 tablespoons of potato starch, cook over low heat, cool, add carrot seeds, stir) and poured into the furrow.
You can also use the option of planting 1-2 seeds in each recess of egg containers made of loose cardboard, previously laid in the ground.
Sowing example on video
It is much easier to place the seeds in a salt shaker with large holes and shake over the prepared grooves. Whatever method you choose, sowing carrots in the spring will still end with thinning!
When the seeds are already placed in a furrow in any way, which then needs to be sprinkled with earth (1-1.5 cm), lightly patted on top, if desired, sprinkled with peat crumbs and covered with polyethylene, which is removed at the first shoots.
And finally, you can not bother with any furrows at all, but simply mix carrot seeds with sand and fertilizer, which are then sown directly on the dug up soil, lightly sprinkled with earth and patted down. The author of the method, Galina Kizima, claims that with this planting method, simply wonderful carrots grow.
from the author of the method
First shoots and thinning
Carrots like to sit in the ground for a long time - sometimes shoots appear almost a month later.
At this time, weeds are already rampant in the beds, so some gardeners sow lettuce or spinach seeds along with carrots, which serve as beacons for the gardener.
When planning your garden, keep in mind that the best predecessors for root vegetables are tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes.
As soon as the first leaves appear, you should begin thinning. Many gardeners take their time, waiting for the roots to become edible.
However, this is a mistake that will reduce your harvest significantly - the root crops will interfere with each other, become deformed and be delayed in development.
Therefore, after the first thinning, leave 3-4 cm between plants; after three weeks, double the distance. Each thinning should be completed with abundant watering.
In principle, you need to water the beds with this root crop regularly, in warm sunny weather at least once a week with a bucket of water per square meter of beds.
About the features of cultivation (video)
Material supplemented and updated 02/06/2018
- nasotke
Carrots are included in the mandatory diet of flamingos kept in Russian zoos. In nature, bird feathers are colored by pigments from the crustaceans they eat. Their shells are reddish.
Carrots help out. The carotene it contains colors flamingos, like the shells of crustaceans. So, growing carrots a question of interest not only to agronomists and summer residents, but also to zoologists. Let's find out how, when and what root crops to plant.
When to plant carrots?
Planting carrots carried out in winter, early spring, or early summer. The choice from 3 options is made in accordance with the purpose of the crop. If it will be stored and consumed during the cold season, summer planting is needed.
They will bear fruit by autumn, and the rhizomes will be able to survive for another 6-9 months. If an early harvest is needed, the crop is sown in early spring. Planting before winter is done to harden the seeds.
After waiting out the cold underground, they become more viable than usual. Such carrot growing method produces frost-resistant seedlings that are immune to most pests.
How to plant carrots?
Carrot growing technology before winter suggests autumn sowing. The beds are sown at higher elevations. Required condition– protection from winds. They sweep away snow, which can lead to the death of seeds. The height of the bed is needed to prevent flooding. Under its conditions, the seeds will rot, which, again, will lead to their death.
Before autumn sowing of carrots, the beds are cleaned. Must not be weeds and remnants of vegetation. The soil needs to be loose. Therefore, the ground is dug up to a depth of about 5 centimeters.
The photo shows an option for marking places for planting carrots, so as not to dig through them in the future.
Afterwards, the soil. It is necessary to add both organic and mineral mixtures. Ready-made complexes are offered in stores. If previously the beds are abundant, additional fertilizing is not needed.
Having prepared the ground, they wait for the first frosts. With their onset, the soil is leveled and holes are made. Deepen by 2.5-5 centimeters. We fill one of them with humus, sand or compost. They should not be waterlogged or frozen.
When daytime temperatures do not rise above +5, we sow. We lay the material dry. Seeds are required a third more than usual. The crops are sprinkled with the same compost, sand or humus. The final layer is . This is the name given to any material covering the soil. It can be fabric, paper, sand, film.
In regions where there are winter thaws, the beds with crops are covered with spruce branches. It is laid when the soil is covered with snowdrifts. The spruce branches will prevent premature melting of the snow. When the time is right for it, seedlings will appear 1-2 weeks earlier than seeds planted in the spring.
For spring growing carrots in open ground It is enough to warm the top layer of soil to +5 degrees. You need to have time to sow before the soil begins to actively evaporate moisture.
Carrots love water and are tolerant of cold weather. Most agronomists sow the crop in mid-April. In the southern regions of Russia, plantings take place in March.
The beds for spring planting of carrots are usually dug up in the fall. In the spring they only go through it with a flat cutter. If fertilizer is required, avoid manure. It increases the acidity of the soil. Carrots can't stand it.
The furrows for seeds are deepened by 3-5 centimeters, spaced 15-20 centimeters apart. The bottom of the pits, as with autumn planting, sprinkle with humus, peat or sand. An additional action is watering the sprinkles.
The photo shows carrots planted using ribbons in which the seeds are evenly distributed
The seeds are pressed into the moistened soil, falling asleep and pressing down. Afterwards, the surface of the ridges is sprayed and mulched with sand. Polyethylene can be placed on top of it. It will increase the temperature near the ground and speed up germination. As soon as they appear, remove the film.
Ways to grow carrots in summer they are no different from in spring. The same algorithm, but with more generous watering. Carrot varieties you need to choose late ripening ones. They take longer to ripen than early and mid-ripening ones.
The parameters for choosing a variety also include its taste, the aesthetics of the fruit, their tendency to crack, and their richness in vitamins. We will discuss these parameters in the next chapter.
What varieties of carrots are best to grow?
Late-ripening varieties for cold storage do not dry out or rot for about 7 months. True, you need to comply temperature regime from -2 to +1 degrees and air humidity around 96%.
Such conditions are unacceptable in a residential area. We need a cellar. You can store “Queen of Autumn”, “Sweet Winter”, “Olympus”, “Flakoro” or “Red Giant” in it.
The latter has large and elongated root vegetables weighing about 140 grams. A square of crops yields 3 kilos of harvest. “Giant” can be stored until May; it is resistant to diseases even with standard sowing.
The “Flakoro” carrot is longer than the “Giant”, by an average of 3 centimeters, reaching 28 centimeters. The weight of one fruit is approximately 200 grams. At the same time, carrots do not crack, are sweet and rich in carotene.
In the body it is converted into vitamin A. They say that one carrot a day is enough to ensure a healthy heart and blood vessels. Fruit juice increases calcium levels in the blood and neutralizes cholesterol. Actually, this is what doctors’ recommendations are related to.
"Olympus" is an exceptionally sweet variety with thick 20-centimeter fruits. They last until summer without losing their taste. Growing carrots in the country simplifies its monolithic nature.
Olympus fruits do not crack. Typically, this phenomenon is associated with irregular watering. So, Olympus is suitable for those who cannot provide anything else.
« Sweet winter» differs in productivity. WITH square meter 10 kilograms of fruit are collected. Therefore, the variety is chosen for industrial growing of carrots.
“Winter” is ideal in all respects: it is rich in carotene, does not shoot, does not crack, and is stored until July. Like other late-ripening carrots, the variety matures in about 140 days.
From mid-season varieties For carrots, you should pay attention to “Vitamin 6”, “Vita Longa”, “Moscow Winter”, “Nante” and “Samson”. The latter, like other varieties of the group, ripens for about 110 days.
“Samson” is distinguished by its crispy flesh, high sugar content and lack of color. The phenomenon involves the release of a peduncle on which the plant spends all its energy. As a result, the fruits turn out weak and tasteless.
“Nante” carrots are blunt-ended, cylindrical, but shortened. The length of the fruit is about 16 centimeters. The variety is almost red, which indicates a high carotene content. But “Nante” is stored only until March, or even February. Afterwards, the fruits lose their taste and visual appeal.
“Moscow Winter” is quite watery. The fruits are short, about 10 centimeters. By the way, the ancestors of carrots had almost round and purple ones. Among modern varieties there are curiosities reminiscent of the history of the root vegetable, for example, “Dragon”. It's deep purple. Only the core is orange.
Secrets of growing carrots Vita Longo is simple. Like others, this variety loves abundant and regular watering. The fruits of "Vita Longo" are resistant to black and gray rot, are easily transported, and are suitable for preservation and juice production. The harvest will be stored until the next harvest.
“Vitamin 6” is conical and weighs about 150 grams. The yield is average, but the keeping quality of the fruit is excellent. They begin to lose their taste and presentation only in the summer.
Early ripening varieties of carrots include “Alenka”, “Artek” and “Nandrin”. The last one is imported. Foreign varieties are distinguished by aesthetics, but are low in vitamins.
This is a sales orientation, where the main thing is the external attractiveness of the product. “Nandrin” is smooth, deep orange, blunt-pointed. The length of the root vegetables is 20 centimeters, and their weight is approximately 150 grams.
When the soil is dense and hard, carrots grow thin and twisted.
"Artek", as the name suggests, is a domestic variety. It contains a lot of carotene and sugars. The fruits are crisp, conical, almost red. The length of "Artek" does not exceed 16 centimeters. “Alenka” has even less - 10-12 centimeters with a weight of 90 grams.
The variety is also domestic, resistant to gray rot, does not crack, is not prone to flowering and ripens in only 70 days. The previous early ripening ones need 90 days.
Caring for carrots
Growing carrot seedlings requires thinning. If the soil is overloaded with root crops, they grow unsightly, crooked and small. During the growing season, as a rule, the rows are cleaned twice.
The first one is at the stage of the second leaf, and the next one is when the 5th leaf grows. The beds are watered first. This makes it easier to pull out. By the way, it is done upwards, not sideways.
If you cut a carrot and put it in water, it will sprout
The empty holes are sprinkled, and the pulled out plants are taken away and also covered with earth. Manipulations are associated with carrot flies. The pest flies to the smell of tops. When pulled out, the aroma intensifies. Another precaution is evening thinning. By nightfall the carrot fly falls asleep.
Although culture loves moisture, cultivation and care behind carrots require a period of drought. Watering is reduced to nothing during active growth of the tops. Give her extra water, everything will go to the tops, not the roots. In order to further maintain the green mass of the plant, subsequent watering will again be spent on massive tops. The fruits will grow underdeveloped.
The space between the rows of carrots requires loosening. The culture loves breathing soil. We take a narrow rake and go deeper with it 3-4 centimeters. If you use a hand cultivator, loosening will be combined with weeding.
When the tops of the carrot fruits appear above the ground, we begin hilling. On fresh air The “butts” lose moisture, become bitter, crack and turn green.
Fertilizing will also help support the formation of root crops. The first is applied at the stage of the 5th leaf simultaneously with thinning. The second feeding is done a month before harvest.
There is no need to rush with the latter. Carrots gain weight up to subzero temperatures. Adult plants tolerate even -4 degrees. This is not a legend, but the same cannot be said about the Royal Air Force carrot diet.
During World War II, the British government spread a rumor that the country's troops had a special diet. Carrots were declared its basis. It was rumored to improve pilots' vision, allowing them to see better in the dark. This is how the British hid their invention of night vision radar.
Good day everyone!
Let's talk about carrots today. Planting carrots in spring, what could be easier, you say. Maybe so, but not everyone grows well. Why? Let's take a closer look at the intricacies of planting and caring for carrots in the spring. To get good shoots and a rich harvest.
From this article you will learn how to choose the right variety, prepare seeds and soil, and how to care for crops.
How to plant carrots in spring
Choosing a variety
- Take your time - wait until the soil warms up a little.
- Do not sow dry seeds in dry soil!
- Cover the bed to improve germination.
- Don't delay thinning, the sooner the better.
- Use protective measures against carrot flies. Make onion beds nearby, do not leave the tops after thinning near the bed.
- and loosening will help to grow a good harvest.
Video about planting carrots in spring
How to grow long, juicy carrots.
I think you know all the secrets to successfully planting and growing carrots in the spring. You can read. This method gives an early harvest in June!
