Preparing the soil for carrots
If you want to grow a carrot crop on your plot that will please you, then you need to know that soil for carrots plays a key role in this matter. Carrots produce high yields only on loose loamy and sandy loam soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. When clay soils dry out, they form a dense crust, which will subsequently prevent seed germination. As a result, the seedlings will be uneven and sparse.
The soil for planting carrots should contain a lot of organic matter (humus) and have good drainage, and should not be very heavy. But you need to know that fresh manure and excessive amounts of mineral fertilizers cannot be added to it, as this will have a detrimental effect on the growth and development of root crops. An excess of organic and mineral fertilizers can cause gnarled and “horned” carrots, and this will also contribute to the appearance of its worst enemy, the carrot fly, on the plantings.
When to Apply Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers are applied no later than a year before growing carrots.
What predecessors should there be?
The best predecessors are considered to be onions, cucumbers, potatoes, under which manure was applied. After their cultivation, a lot of decomposed organic matter remains, which is easily accessible for carrot shoots. In addition, the soil after these plants is usually free of weeds.
This is important because weeds in initial period they overtake carrots in growth and inhibit them. In areas poor in nutrients, rotted manure and wood ash are added before digging. On fertile soils- only a small amount of mineral fertilizers.
What needs to be added to the soil
If the soil is peaty, add coarse river sand, turf soil, rotted manure. If the soil is clayey, add coarse river sand, humus, small sawdust, peat. If the soil is sandy, add turf soil, peat, humus, sawdust. In addition to listed above, complex mineral fertilizer is also added to these soils. If the soil is chernozem and fertile, sawdust and coarse river sand and superphosphate are added. Carrots can be returned to their old place no earlier than after 4 years. This will serve as a good prevention for the development of diseases.
How to prepare a garden bed
The bed intended for carrots must be dug up in the fall to the depth of a bayonet shovel. If the soil is acidic, then before digging, add 100 g of dolomite flour or chalk per 1 m2, and in the spring add organic and mineral fertilizers.In the spring, 2 - 3 days before sowing, dig up the bed to a depth of 25 - 30 cm, level and compact the soil surface, then spill with water and cover with film. Before sowing, loosen the bed to a depth of 1 - 2 cm, make grooves at a distance of 20 cm from each other friend. Spill them with water or a solution of potassium permanganate and scatter the seeds evenly. Mulch the furrows with peat and cover with film so that there is a distance of 15 cm between it and the bed. After this method of sowing, seedlings should appear in 7 - 10 days. After germination of the seeds, remove the film.
Lighting requirements
When choosing a place for planting, it is important to remember that carrots are a light-loving crop. If you plant it in a shaded place, you won’t get a good harvest. The yield in this case, even if all other conditions are met, is reduced by 2–3 times. Read a separate article on the website about “How to grow carrots.”
How to properly sow carrots and care for them
Carrots are grown without seedlings. In this case, the timing of its sowing in open ground is as follows:
- in winter: 2nd half of October - 1st ten days of November; in spring: 3rd ten days in April - 1st ten days in May and 1st ten days in June.
Scheme for the joint cultivation of carrots and marjoramCarrots have small seeds, which makes it quite difficult to sow them. In order to prevent thickening of crops, a little trick is used.
A level teaspoon of seeds is mixed with a glass of sand and 10 square meters are sown with this mixture. m.Carrots grow better in narrow beds with no more than 4 stripes. If you plan to grow only carrots in the garden bed, the sowing technology is as follows.
Before spring sowing, grooves are cut on a previously prepared ridge. The distance between them for middle and early varieties is 15 cm, for late ones? 20 cm. The grooves are watered.
In colder climatic zones, hot water heated to +50°C is used for this. Then the beds are dusted with ash and prepared seeds are sown on them at a distance of 1.5-2 cm. The depth of sowing and the condition of the seeds depend on the season: For summer and spring sowing, swollen seeds are used.
They are planted at a soil depth of 3-4 cm. After sowing, the furrows are carefully sprinkled with soil and mulch (humus or peat).
Having finished sowing, the beds are covered with a film, which is raised on bricks by about 5 cm. Before winter, carrot seeds of early varieties are sown to a depth of approximately 2 cm. They should be dry, and the thickness of the mulch layer is 3-4 cm. Before winter, carrots are sown when the temperature in the soil drops below +5°C.
If the winters have little snow, the beds with crops are additionally covered with snow, with a layer thickness of 40-50 cm. This technology allows you to harvest the crop 14-20 days earlier.
Caring for carrots requires the following conditions:
- temperature regime;
For carrot seeds to germinate, a temperature of +3...+5°C is sufficient. The optimal air temperature for normal growth and formation of high-quality root crops is +20…+22°C. At the same time, carrots are resistant to cold, its shoots can withstand frosts down to -3-4°C and die only when the temperature remains below -6°C for a long time. The tops of adult plants die when the temperature remains below -8°C.
- watering mode;
The volume and frequency of irrigation directly depend on weather conditions and plant age. Basically, carrots need to be watered once every 7 days according to the following scheme: Approximate scheme for sowing carrots using drip irrigation.
- 3 liters of water per 1 sq. m of land at the very beginning of the growing season. 10 liters per 1 sq. m after secondary thinning. 20 l per 1 sq. m during the period of root crop growth.
When there are approximately 2 months left before harvesting, it is necessary to water once every 10-14 days with 10 liters of water per 1 square meter. m of soil. When there are 2-3 weeks left before harvesting root crops, watering is stopped. When growing, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture.
There should be no excess or lack of moisture in the soil. Carrots, even for a short time, cannot tolerate excessive moisture, which causes root crops to rot, and during prolonged drought, their root crops stop developing, which negatively affects the quality of the crop.
- weeding;
Carrots grow slowly, and the beds with them quickly sprout with weeds. To avoid the growth of weeds that inhibit the development of carrot shoots, you need to get rid of them.
The carrots are weeded for the first time 10-12 days after the first true leaf appears on the plant. The second - 8-10 days after the next true leaf appears. Weeding is combined with loosening the soil and thinning out the seedlings and is carried out after heavy rain or regular watering.
- feeding;
3-4 weeks after the seeds have hatched and the first shoots have appeared, the plants are first fertilized with an aqueous solution of chicken manure, mullein, humus or ash (1:10). If necessary, fertilizing is repeated during the formation of root crops and plant growth.
In areas where organic farming is practiced, due to which a layer of humus is formed in the soil, fertilizing is not necessary. To avoid thickening, carrots are thinned out twice: 11-12 and 19-20 days after the appearance of the first shoots. After the first thinning, the interval between adjacent shoots should be approximately 3 cm, after the next thinning - 5 cm.
It is better to carry out this procedure in the morning; after it is completed, the bed must be watered. Experienced gardeners treat the soil on which carrots grow with ground red pepper (hot, hot or bitter).
This will muffle the smell characteristic of carrots and protect it from carrot flies. Another effective method protection from this pest? combined planting of carrots and onions. You should not neglect mulching, which significantly saves the energy and time necessary to obtain a good harvest.
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What affects the quality and quantity of carrot harvest
To get good healthy carrot roots, you need to follow the agricultural practices of this garden crop. The quality of the crop during its growth is influenced by many factors. Here are some of them:
- with a lack of light, carrots produce small root crops; root crops cannot develop normally on dense, rocky and heavy clay soils. On such soils, they take on an ugly shape and have a rough taste; carrots growing on acidic soils are not sweet enough; too sparse sowing and excessive moisture lead to increased growth of root crops, which become coarse and deformed. Therefore, you should not chase carrots that are too large; with insufficient watering, carrots lose their juiciness and become coarser; with prolonged rains or excessive watering, carrot roots crack and become deformed; damage to plant roots during thinning and the introduction of fresh manure into the soil leads to branching and curvature of root crops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaBUvKFUF2UGrowing carrots on your own garden plot does not cause any particular difficulties. The main thing is to follow the above rules, create conditions to avoid factors that negatively affect the quality of its growth, and you will have every chance for the harvest you grow to consist of beautiful, juicy and sweet sunny root crops.
Preparing a plot for carrots
Author: Valery | Category: carrots | 2012-10-10
When growing carrots, bed preparation is of great importance to obtain rich harvests.
When growing carrots, you need to remember that this crop is demanding on the composition of the soil. Good carrot yields can be obtained on light and medium loamy soils, or on cultivated peat lands with pH = 7.0 (neutral), free from weeds, and well drained.
Do not add fresh manure to the soil under carrots. Carrots grow well on lands where predecessors grew last year - cabbage, green and legumes, potatoes, tomatoes. It is better to dig up the carrot bed in the fall to the depth of a bayonet shovel and leave it until spring.
There is no need to break the lumps. This way it will freeze better and in the spring there will be no such lumps; the frozen moisture will break them into small particles.
If you have acidic soil, then before digging, add one glass of dolomite flour, fluff lime or chalk to each square meter of bed. The bed for planting carrots is prepared 2-3 days before sowing.
Depending on the composition and fertility of the soil, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied in the spring. For each square meter of beds on peaty soils, add 5 kg of coarse-grained river sand, 3-5 kg of manure humus, and one bucket of turf soil (clayey or loamy).
Mineral fertilizers are also added: one teaspoon of sodium nitrate or urea (carbamide), one tablespoon of powdered superphosphate and potassium chloride or potassium sulfate. Then, after adding all these components, the bed is dug to a depth of 20-25 cm (because the main varieties of carrots have long roots).
The bed is well developed, the surface is leveled and compacted. After which the ridge is watered with the following solution: dilute one teaspoon (at the level) in a bucket of warm water copper sulfate and one glass of mushy mullein, stir well and water at the rate of two liters for each square meter of bed.
Then, to avoid moisture evaporation and to preserve heat, the bed is covered plastic film. On clay and podzolic soils, for each square meter of bed add 1-2 buckets of peat and coarse sand, one bucket of humus, half a bucket (3-5 kg) of small (processed) sawdust (preferably not fresh, rotted).
Mineral fertilizers: add crushed superphosphate - one tablespoon and nitrophoska - two tablespoons. In the spring you need to liming with chalk or dolomite flour, if you didn’t do it in the fall (which is preferable): two to three tablespoons for each square meter. m. For light loamy soils (they consist of clay and sand), fertilizer is produced in the same way as for clay soils, but sand is not added.
On sandy soils, add two buckets of peat, turf soil and one bucket of processed sawdust and humus. Mineral fertilizers are applied the same as for clay soils.
If granular fertilizers are used, there is no need to grind them into powder. On chernozem fertile soils, add half a bucket of small old or fresh processed sawdust and a bucket of sand.
Mineral fertilizers: add two tablespoons of superphosphate, crushed into powder. Humus manure can be replaced with compost, but it should not contain seeds weeds. 3-4 days before adding sawdust to the soil, they need to be processed.
This is done in this way: 5 buckets of fresh sawdust are poured onto a piece of film laid out on the ground. Bred in a bucket hot water five tablespoons of nitrogen fertilizer (ammonium sulfate or urea) are poured into a watering can and the sawdust is slowly poured with this solution.
The higher the temperature of the solution (40-50°C), the faster the sawdust will be ready for use in the garden bed. Fresh sawdust, not processed in this way, can be added to the beds only in the fall.
If you add fresh sawdust in the spring, the leaves of the carrot seedlings will have a pale color due to a lack of nitrogen (sawdust takes nitrogen from the soil when rotting). When planting carrots on newly developed lands (virgin lands), it is necessary to carefully select all rhizomes when digging, especially wheatgrass, as well as wireworm and May beetle larvae.
On these soils, in the first year of planting, the carrot harvest is usually good even without the addition of additional fertilizers. Carrots, like all vegetables, are a light-loving crop, so in the shade the root crops grow very short (up to 3-5 cm), and the yield is reduced by two to three times.
Excessive moisture in the soil contributes to diseases of carrot roots, therefore, in places where groundwater is close, the beds should be made at least 30-35 cm high. On poorly cultivated and dense soils, root crops grow in an ugly shape, branch out, and the quality of root crops and yield decrease.
"Carrots on undug soil. And...how not to dig the ground" (Part 4)
The timing of sowing is decisive for the carrot harvest. Since carrot seeds germinate slowly, they require good soil moisture and should be sown as early as possible, while there is sufficient spring moisture in the ground.
If you are late with sowing, the seeds will fall into dry soil and as a result, rare, weak seedlings will sprout, and often the seeds will not germinate at all and you will have to re-sow the bed. The most optimal times for sowing carrot seeds are: in the central and middle zone: early varieties - from April 20 to April 25; mid-season - from April 25 to May 5.
In the southern regions, sowing is carried out in two periods: to obtain products in summer time, spring - March 10-20, and for obtaining seeds (uterine roots) and winter consumption, summer sowing - June 10-15. You can sow carrots before winter, on frozen soil, in November-December.
Sowing is done with dry seeds so that they cannot germinate until spring, otherwise the seedlings will freeze. Such carrots, sown in winter, grow much earlier, but they are used mainly in summer period, because not suitable for storage.
By preparing the soil for growing carrots in this way, you will get a rich harvest.
I wish you excellent, guaranteed harvests in any weather!
- Video: seminar on growing carrots and other root vegetables
Carrots are a vegetable that can be found in gardens all over the world. Root vegetables contain a lot of useful substances, such as carotenoids, phytoenes, lycopene, pantothenic and ascorbic acids, and essential oils.
Growing carrots on summer cottage will ensure the supply of vitamins to the table all year round. This crop is unpretentious, but requires adherence to agricultural technology, otherwise the harvest will not be the best High Quality. Carrots need light, they do not tolerate shading, but at the same time, they tolerate frost well., and continues to grow even at low positive temperatures.
Where to plant?
The technology for growing carrots involves placing them in beds with good solar lighting. Thin, hard, and completely tasteless root vegetables grow in shaded places.
Carrots are grown mainly in open ground, in early spring covering the plantings with film to protect them from frost. This vegetable belongs to the umbrella or celery family, therefore Carrots should not be planted after parsley, parsnips, celery, dill, caraway, anise and fennel., hungry pests after hibernation that have settled there since last season may be waiting for her in the ground. Potatoes are considered the best predecessor for carrots, after which the soil remains loose.
This sequence provides normal conditions to form even large root crops, they do not branch or bend, but have a harmonious shape of an elongated cylinder. These crops have practically no common diseases (the exception is wireworm), but to protect against it, you can plant calendula officinalis (marigold) around the beds. The next year, after using the bed for carrots, legumes are planted in its place.
Which varieties to choose?
The choice of variety depends on what goals the gardener sets for himself. If you need carrots for fresh summer consumption, then it is best to plant the Vitamin-6 variety. She is growing quickly and has pleasant taste and high juiciness, but at the same time poorly stored.
Therefore, for winter reserves, root crops with an average length of the growing season are planted, for example, Losinoostrovskaya -13, Nantes (without core). Carrots are great for winter storage. late dates ripening, for example Queen of Autumn, Moscow Winter, Incomparable, Golden Autumn. Often the choice of variety depends on the soil structure.
The technology for growing carrots involves the use of loose, sandy soils rich in organic matter. If the site has heavy alumina or black soil, it is best to use short-fruited varieties - Karotinka, Paris Karotel and Parmex.
How to prepare a garden bed?
Every gardener has his own secrets on how to prepare a garden bed for carrots. For example, some people cover the ground with film two weeks before the intended planting in order to create comfortable conditions for the growth of...weeds!!!
There is logic in this - everything unnecessary can be removed immediately, and the carrots can be planted in relatively clean soil. After harvesting weed The soil is dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, loosening it as much as possible. If the soil structure is very heavy, then it makes sense to add sand to improve its structure.
By the way, for the same purpose you can add ground eggshells, it decomposes poorly, and serves as a loosening agent for the soil for many years. Organic fertilizers are applied - humus or well-rotted compost. The acidic reaction must be neutralized with chalk, dolomite flour or ash.
Carrots have the following characteristics - they do not gain sweetness in such soils, and the root vegetables turn out tasteless. If organic matter is not used, and the land is obviously poor (depleted by intensive farming), mineral fertilizers are applied to it.
To “refuel” the soil, either complex mineral fertilizers are used - ammophoska, azofoska (in accordance with the instructions for use), or a mixture of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (potassium is added later, in the form of liquid root dressing). You can also go an alternative way, using modern innovation. For example, a few weeks before planting carrots in open ground, add vermicompost to it, and a few days later treat the ground with humates.
Planting methods
- Seeds. This is the simplest method, but at the same time the least economical. Seeds are poured into the grooves by the handful. With such agricultural technology, seedlings are uneven and have to be thinned out. Dragee. Seeds enclosed in a bright shell of useful macro- and microelements are the most convenient for planting. Despite the fact that they are more expensive than simple ones, they are often more profitable. Seeds in a shell produce very strong and friendly shoots. Accordingly, they are required several times less, since they are easy to plant point by point, without subsequent thinning. Soaked and sprouted seeds. With this method, seedlings appear much earlier, but the bed will have to be watered all the time, otherwise the sprouts will not have enough strength to break through the thickness of the earth. Paper strips with seeds glued on. You can buy them ready-made or make your own from toilet paper and paste. The biggest advantage of this method of growing carrots is the uniformity of germination, although they appear a little later than with simple planting. Paste. This method appeared relatively recently. A liquid paste is boiled from flour, cooled until room temperature and dissolve complex mineral fertilizers in it. Then the seeds are added, mixed, and using a syringe (you can use a confectionery syringe, it has a wider nozzle), squeeze this suspension into pre-prepared grooves. The seeds are distributed more or less evenly, and the paste plays the role of a nutritious hydrogel. Mixed method. In open ground, you can simultaneously grow two crops - radishes and carrots. The seeds are mixed in equal parts before planting and scattered into previously prepared grooves that have been spilled with water. Radish has short term the growing season is about 20-30 days, so it is pulled out as it grows and frees up space for the development of carrot roots.
"Carrots on undug soil. And...how not to dig the ground" (Part 2)
Planting schemes
In rows
This is the most common method for growing carrots. In this case, it is best to form the bed with a “trough” (the edges are high, the middle is lower), and no more than one meter wide, it will be convenient to weed. The rows should be 20 cm apart from each other.
The distance between seeds in a row should be at least 7-10cm.
grooves
With this method, it is necessary to make the bed high and narrow, about 1 m in diameter. Along the entire length, keeping a distance of at least 15 cm from the edges, long strips are drawn with a hoe or a narrow hoe into which the seeds are sown. It is rational to use this method of planting when the land is in an inconvenient area, where there is little sun, in order to expose the longer side of the bed to the sun.
in bulk
This is the worst way to plant this crop, but some gardeners still use it. It has more minuses than pluses. In principle, the only plus is the speed of sowing. Everything else is cons.
For example, seeds are difficult to plant in the ground; some of them will remain on the surface and form ugly, bent plants. It will also be difficult to weed this bed when the first shoots appear. The cotyledonous leaves of the vegetable are easily confused with the shoots of many types of grass.
And since weeds grow very quickly, they will either “kill” the young carrots, slowing down its growth at the very first stage, or there is a high probability of destroying most of the plants with your own hands when weeding.
What and when to feed?
During the season, carrots need to be fed at least twice. There are many fertilizer schemes for carrots. Some gardeners feed carrots with organic matter, others with mineral fertilizers, others combine them, each with their own secrets. You can fertilize this root crop with mineral fertilizers, following the following scheme:
- First feeding. Carry out three weeks after appearance. For 10 liters of water take 1 tbsp. potassium sulfate, 1.5 double superphosphate, 1 tsp. urea. Second feeding. It is recommended to apply two weeks after the first to maintain active plant development. The recipe is as follows: for 10 liters of water – 1 tbsp. potassium sulfate, 1 tbsp. azofoski. Organics are used to feed carrots even more often than mineral agrochemicals. Our summer residents have a prejudice against chemistry. Although it has no scientifically proven basis. Nitrates, which everyone is afraid of, can form in vegetables and with excessive use of natural fertilizers. And for carrots, organic matter is generally recommended to be used in small quantities, since its use can cause rotting of the root crop.
Organic fertilizers for carrots can be used in diluted form, so they will retain their beneficial qualities and will not harm the root crops.
- Diluted chicken droppings. Since it cannot be used fresh, an infusion is made from it (1 part manure to 10 parts water), which is further diluted 10 times. This liquid is poured between the rows. Slurry diluted in a ratio of 1:10. Just like bird droppings, it is poured into the furrows between the rows.
Humates can be used for foliar feeding of carrots. Three weeks before harvesting, the tops are sprayed with a solution diluted in a proportion of 1 g per 10 liters, adding nitrogen fertilizer. This is one of the secrets of growing sweet carrots.
Under the influence of this treatment, all nutrients from the leaves are transferred to the root of the plant.
Thinning
This procedure may be necessary if carrots were planted with simple seeds, scattered in rows. A distance of at least 7-10 cm must be left between plants, otherwise the carrots will have nowhere to “grow fat”. For 1 sq.m. There should be about 50 plants left.
After thinning, the soil around the plants must be compressed; this can be done using a narrow hoe. When thinning, there is a danger of root crops being damaged by a pest - the carrot fly. She is attracted by the smell of root vegetables.
Therefore, it needs to be quickly suppressed by dusting the beds with ground pepper or ash; this is a mandatory procedure for caring for plantings.
What to do with carrots after thinning?
By ignoring thinning, you can end up with skinny carrots with excess green mass. There are several ways to “dispose” of excess carrots. It can be:
- Eat. Well-washed root vegetables are peeled like new potatoes, in a bag with coarse salt, and added to any dishes to taste. You can also make winter preparations from this vegetable at home. The recipe is simple - well-washed carrots, with their “tails” and “butts” cut off, are placed in a three-liter jar as tightly as possible. Add greens (horseradish, currant leaves, garlic, dill stems), pour in brine (1 liter of boiling water, 1 tablespoon of salt). Feed to pets. Everyone will be happy with fresh carrots, but they will bring the most benefit to rabbits - the carotene contained in this root vegetable actively strengthens their immunity. The most important thing is to wash the vegetables well before planting, as the soil can cause intestinal disorder in animals. Place in compost. This is the easiest way to recycle. But do not forget that the smell of fresh root vegetables attracts carrot flies, so the pile should be located at least 10 meters from the garden bed. Replant. That is, use torn root crops as seedlings. To prevent them from wilting, after being removed from the ground, they are immediately placed in a bucket of water. Before transplanting, the tops are partially trimmed, leaving a bunch of greenery 7-10 cm long, so the root crop will take root better.
Mulching beds
This method of leaving has both supporters and opponents. In some cases, mulching is beneficial, and in others it is harmful. Therefore, this method of agricultural technology must be approached very carefully. Why is such treatment of the beds carried out?
Mulch suppresses almost all weeds; they rot. At the same time, thanks to the porous structure of covering and bulk materials, oxygen and water reach the roots.
By the way, mulch retains moisture in the soil, so plantings are watered much less frequently. Mulch does not breed mole crickets, a pest that gnaws huge holes in root crops, significantly reducing the food suitability of the product. At the same time, according to reviews from gardeners who used this treatment method in their dachas, field mice and ants settle under a layer of mulch.
To cover the beds, dry grass, tops, shavings, sawdust, peat, and non-woven covering material are used. Shavings and sawdust are used only a year after receiving, otherwise they will be pulled out of the soil very important element– nitrogen.
These materials are poured in a layer of about 3-5 cm, between the rows and on garden paths, leaving the soil around the root crop free. When forcing carrots from seeds, it is necessary to sprinkle the moistened bed thin layer river sand, which will prevent the earth from becoming crusty. This growing technology allows you to get stronger and stronger seedlings.
There is another one, very original way mulching beds. But it will suit only the most patient.
This is the use of dried, sleepy tea leaves, which will have to be saved all winter. Non-woven covering material perfectly protects root crops from pests and weeds. It can be used in the following way: after planting the seeds, the bed is covered with a cloth until shoots emerge.
When the carrots grow, make a cross-shaped cut over each root crop and spread the edges apart different sides, forming a square. This method is labor-intensive, but once you prepare a template from agrotextiles, you can continue to use it for many years if you plant carrots according to the scheme.
Carrots are a very useful vegetable in the kitchen! All year round we add it to hot dishes, eat it fresh and mix it into salads. The cost of carrots in the store is low, so maybe it would be more convenient to just buy root vegetables as needed, without spending time growing them? However, closer to spring, store-bought carrots begin to rise in price significantly, their quality noticeably deteriorates, and those who did not stock up on time have a hard time.
That is why every garden must have a bed for this beloved plant. vegetable crop, A seasoned gardeners exchange experiences with beginners on how to properly plant carrots in order to obtain a rich harvest of healthy root crops.
If you have never had to grow vegetables before, and you have no idea how to plant carrots, or you just can’t grow normal, tasty root vegetables, our article will definitely be useful to you. We will talk about how to plant carrots with seeds, how to care for young seedlings, and how to protect the garden bed from...
Video about preparing carrot seeds for planting
Depending on what variety of seeds you bought, the timing of their sowing will vary. So, in the twentieth of April you can start sowing early ripening varieties; from April 25 to approximately May 5 they begin to sow mid-season varieties, and planting carrots intended for winter storage is carried out on June 10-15.
For a carrot bed, it is recommended to choose an area where there are not too many weeds, since the weeds will sprout before the carrots and prevent them from growing. The soil should be loose, preferably containing sand. In heavy soil, root crops can turn out curved, clumsy, and small. If there is constant increased level moisture, the root crops will rot, and in dry soil the carrots will turn out “wooden”.
Also consider after what crops you will sow carrots. It is best to choose those areas where cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, cabbage, potatoes or greens (except lettuce) grew last year. It is better not to plant carrots after parsley, as pests that are dangerous for carrots may remain in the soil.
In heavy soil, root crops can turn out curved, clumsy, and small
Dig up the soil in the garden bed in the fall, and in the spring, go over the ground with a flat cutter. There is no need to dig additionally - settled soil is preferable for carrots. The most important thing is not to apply fresh manure to the soil, since carrots do not tolerate its acidity. The bed can be fertilized with mineral fertilizers a couple of weeks before planting carrots.
Carrots are planted with seeds directly into open ground. Prepare the seeds in advance:
- soak for two hours in clean water room temperature;
- scatter the seeds on a damp cloth and cover with another damp cloth on top;
- keep the seeds in the room, stirring them gently from time to time;
- soak the fabric when dry;
- When the seeds are completely swollen and begin to hatch, move them to the refrigerator for 10 days for hardening.
Simple and accessible information on how to plant carrots correctly
It is enough to maintain a distance between seeds of 1.5 cm
Sprinkle the bed reserved for carrots with ash, cut each groove in it up to 2.5 cm deep, leaving row spacing of 20 cm, and 12 cm along the edges of the bed. Sprinkle the grooves with water and sow the prepared seeds. It is enough to maintain a distance of 1.5 cm between seeds. Level the furrows with earth. It is recommended to stretch the film on top of the bed at a height of 15 cm so that seedlings appear faster, and when greenery appears, the film can be removed.
Experienced gardeners, in an effort to simplify the process of sowing seeds, sometimes come up with quite unusual methods how to plant carrots: some people mix the seed material with sand before sowing, while others first stick one seed at a time onto thin paper strips (you can use toilet paper). Pick up a carrot seed with a toothpick and dip it in paper glue or in a paste and applied every 5 cm on paper. Such paper strips are laid in furrows and sprinkled with soil on top.
Video about growing carrots
Plant radishes along the edges of the bed; they will sprout quite quickly, marking the carrot rows, and you can start loosening the rows earlier (carrots really like frequent loosening). It is also very useful to plant in a carrot bed onion, since its smell drives away carrot flies - the most dangerous pest of carrots.
At first, the garden bed should be watered abundantly, and when the first shoots turn green, reduce watering to twice a week. Although not all of the seed material will sprout, the seedlings will still need to be thinned out after the formation of the first leaf, leaving the strongest plants.
Carrots are a very popular root crop among summer residents, but high yields largely depend on proper preparation of both seeds and beds. If you select right place for planting, taking into account compatibility with the previous “owners”, high-quality fertilization of the soil and carrying out other necessary measures, you will be able to achieve outstanding results.
Peculiarities
Preparing areas for spring sowing actually begins in the fall. It is then that a site is selected, beds are formed and some fertilizers are applied. There is a point of view that if you fertilize immediately before planting, this will negatively affect the condition of the carrots. In addition, soil cultivation occurs during the autumn months. The soil is dug up, and the shovel must go about 40 cm deep. This is done in the fall so that the soil has time to subside by the time of planting. If the soil's heaviness is average, then it is dug up with dried peat or sawdust.
All pebbles are removed, and if possible, the soil is also sifted. It should be remembered that if during the growth process the carrots come across some obstacle, then it will begin to bifurcate and spoil its neat shape. Therefore, everything must be done to prevent such a situation.
The beds are fertilized with organic fertilizers a year before planting carrots. As a rule, humus and wood ash play their role. In the fall, the compliance of the carrots with the predecessors that lived in the given bed last year is also checked. Where this root crop can or cannot be planted is determined by the crop rotation table.
Finally, in the fall, if necessary, the acidic soil is enriched. For this, dolomite flour is used, 30 g of which is enough to process 1 square meter. m of land. In the spring, after such treatment, it will need to be disinfected with a solution of copper sulfate and dug up again.
What kind of soil does he like?
All varieties of carrots have certain requirements for soil conditions. There should be no pebbles, roots or other solid debris in it. Soil acidity should be normal. If the soil is clayey or black soil, then to normalize it you will have to add sand - 1 kg per 1 sq. m. m beds. If you are planting in sand, then you need to fertilize the soil with a mixture of manure, peat and potato peels.
Sandy soil is considered preferable to other varieties. Sand is breathable and capable of absorbing excess moisture. In addition, it has a loose consistency, which carrots especially like. In hard soil, crooked and ugly root crops usually grow.
Chernozem and clay soil will require additional measures. Otherwise, the carrots will grow either frail or deformed.
sandy soil
It is important to remember that this root vegetable will never be able to produce a rich harvest in the shade. Dry soil, sloping areas, or beds overgrown with wheatgrass are strictly excluded. As for predecessors, carrots should not be planted after tobacco and sunflowers. In general, we can say that the soil must allow oxygen and moisture to pass through, be freed from roots and weeds, and also be fertilized with nutrients.
How to prepare the land?
Preparing a bed for carrots begins with checking for the ability to pass moisture. To do this, ordinary water, about 8 liters, will have to be poured onto an area that has not yet been dug up with parameters of 50 by 70 cm. If after an hour spots are found on the surface, it means that the condition of the soil is unsatisfactory - it is dry and contains a high salt content. If no spots are found, and you can make a ball out of the soil, everything is in order, and the carrots will take root here just fine.
In the spring, work on open ground should begin about 2 weeks before planting begins. However, you will first need to rid the bed of weeds and let it rest for 14 days. Next, the area is dug up 2-3 times, and it will have to be periodically fed with useful substances. The clods are broken and small pebbles are thrown out.
Poor soil will need to be fertilized with humus and dug thoroughly, although organic fertilizing is best done in the fall. If mineral fertilizers are applied, the earth is dug up again. It is important that the beneficial substances are at a depth of 15 cm, otherwise they will burn the roots of the plants. After digging, you have to go through the ground with a rake and form neat beds.
It is important to remember that sowing can only begin when the temperature upper layers the soil will reach 6 Cº - this will happen approximately in the middle of spring. If the varieties take a long time to ripen, then they need to be sown later, when the ground temperature averages 15 Cº. Some gardeners recommend additionally warming up the bed before sowing by covering it with plastic wrap for 4 days.
Fertilizer application
It is recommended to treat the soil with organic fertilizers in the fall, but in the spring you can add mineral fertilizers. This is done approximately a couple of weeks before planting the seeds, and it is important to prepare the solution in accordance with the instructions provided by the manufacturer. In the case where a vegetable is grown for home consumption in small quantities, it is better to limit natural fertilizers. They will significantly improve the condition and taste of the fruit and allow you to get your own seeds in a year.
If mineral fertilizers are used, then your own seed will have to be combined with store-bought seed.
In the spring, fertilizers based on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are applied in small quantities. Acidic soils are normalized with lime. Good decision will give preference to fertilizer complexes. It is very important to prevent frequent fertilizing with manure, otherwise you will have to forget about carrots in this garden bed for 2 years.
Peat soil will require river sand, compost and turf, as well as mineral fertilizers based on superphosphate and sodium nitrate. Alumina will also be “rejoiced” by peat with sand and humus, but in addition to this, you will have to add superphosphate and nitrophoska. Light loam receives the same feeding as alumina, with the exception of sand. Finally, the sandy soil is fertilized with turf with peat, humus and Agricola-4.
How to plant?
Making carrot beds with your own hands is not at all difficult. You just need to calculate right size, what should be the optimal width, height, and also prepare the soil in advance. The beds are usually placed on level ground or with slight slope surfaces. It is necessary to ensure an abundance of sunlight and ensure compliance with crop rotation. Carrots feel best where cabbage and nightshades used to grow, but they can only return to the former “carrot” bed after 4 years.
The width of the bed, as a rule, is 90 cm (maximum 1 m), and the height ranges from 15 to 20 cm. In the case where groundwater is located nearby, the height rises to 35 cm, with this number being the lower limit. The length is selected depending on the needs and size of the site. You will definitely need to make a wooden side or make it out of ordinary soil so that the water does not drain and erode the bed when watering.
For the seeds, grooves are formed, the depth of which reaches 3 cm. A gap of 20 cm is maintained between them, and the distance between root crops ranges from 2-4 cm. The groove cannot be too deep or superficial; in the first case, the seeds will not germinate, but in the second - they will be carried away by a gust of wind.
It is better to sow the seeds in such a way that you do not have to thin them later. Otherwise, the smell of the tops of a root crop pulled out of the soil will attract one of the main carrot pests - the carrot fly.
Secrets of gardeners
Tips and Tricks experienced gardeners and gardeners allow you to increase the efficiency of any planting. For example, vegetable growers have determined how the applied fertilizers should vary depending on the predecessor plants. So, if carrots grow after cucumbers, then 1 sq. m of beds will need to be fertilized with 1.5 kg of manure, as well as 5 kg of crushed corn leaves. If we're talking about about red beets, then 500 g of mullein and 5 kg of peat are applied to the same area. In the case of chernozem, sand and potato peels are added, 1 kg per 1 sq. m. m.
It is also important to track how the “predecessors” behaved in the garden. As an example, if the cabbage was small and frail, then the carrots will turn out the same, because the soil requires abundant fertilizing with both organic matter and mineral fertilizers. If the tomatoes turn black during development, then carrots should not be planted here. It is better to give preference to beets and parsley.
Low and limp legumes are again an indicator poor soil, requiring natural fertilizing. Tall beans, on the contrary, guarantee an outstanding carrot harvest. When potatoes grow poorly, it signals that the soil needs to rest without planting for a year. Don’t forget about the “neighbors” - the root vegetable will not be able to develop next to dill, parsnips, celery and parsley.
Another important advice gardeners talks about how to get rid of carrot flies. The trick is to plant the crop as early as possible and in the same bed as the onions. There will be a mutually beneficial exchange: carrot fly will be afraid of allicin secreted by onions, and the smell of carrots will get rid of onion pests. In addition, these two vegetables will not interfere with each other's absorption of nutrients from the soil, since the onion is placed on the surface, and the carrots are placed in the depths.
Sometimes carrot seeds are mixed with sand or flour glue before planting for even distribution. If you add mineral fertilizers to the paste and then add seed to the mixture, you will be able to combine two tasks in one. This mixture is laid out in the grooves dug with a plank and already watered using a syringe. Then everything is covered with earth, slammed down and watered again. warm water. You can sprinkle everything on top wood ash or chalk.
The following recommendations are also useful: the darker the area, the smaller the amount of harvest will be. Too wet soil will lead to carrot diseases. It is better to make the sides of the bed from some resistant material (boards or bricks) and additionally secure them. If you ignore this point, then during the rainy season the soil will begin to “wash out” from the territory. Fresh manure, unlike rotted manure, leads to the appearance of lateral roots, which is absolutely not necessary for the growth of high-quality root crops.
Growing carrots is not the easiest thing, but knowing some of the nuances of this process, you can properly prepare the bed with your own hands, plant the seeds and harvest good harvest. Experienced farmers and amateur gardeners most often sow beds in the spring (mid-April or early May). It all depends on the air temperature. The best option is the moment when the daytime temperature does not fall below +12 degrees, and the night temperature below +5. In this case, they begin to sow beds for carrots, from which large and juicy root crops can be harvested already in July.
Carrots are very thermophilic; they cannot tolerate temperatures below +5 degrees.
Preparing the bed
Please note that carrots are not planted randomly. In spring, seeds are sown on separate plots of land, which must be prepared and fertilized in advance. The carrot bed should not be located next to dill, celery, parsley or parsnips. The root crop does not like such a neighborhood. It is important to choose a place in the garden or near the house where Sun rays will be able to illuminate the seedlings well throughout the daylight hours.
It is better to place carrot beds in the place where potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers or tomatoes were planted last year. After harvesting, in the fall it is worth properly preparing the place, which is covered with a thick layer of mulch (a mixture of weeds with tops and mowed grass). With the onset of spring, when the snow melts, the layer of rotted grass needs to be cleaned off; it has already done its job. Mulch is used to ensure that the soil in the garden bed remains moist, loose and does not dry out.
For high-quality planting, the land allocated for carrots is sprinkled with ash in advance and dug up (loosened), because this crop germinates well and grows only in porous and loose soil. A shallow loosening of the soil with a Fokin flat cutter is enough.
When the farm has a lot of compost and physical strength, you can prepare the beds for carrots using another method. Trenches about 30 cm deep are dug and filled with compost mixed with fine sand. In this way, the land is fertilized and filled with the necessary nutrients for the active growth of root crops.
Carrots love loose soil
Sowing seeds
When spring comes the right time For sowing, the following planting scheme is used. Using a hoe, mark out the bed for carrots. The depression is made small, about 2 cm, but wide so that the seeds can be evenly distributed over the entire surface. Next, using a board, the width of which is 8-10 cm, the earth on the sides is slightly crushed. It is important to compact the soil in the garden bed with your own hands. This will ensure seed placement at the same depth and uniform germination.
Before sowing, each furrow must be well moistened. The seeds are poured out with your own hands, taking into account that they do not lie too thickly. Due to the fact that the seeds are very light, they are often mixed with sand. In places where they do lie densely, it is worth placing the contents with a brush, otherwise the shoots will be numerous, which will interfere with the active growth of the root crop.
After planting, it is advisable to fill the furrow with light material:
- compost;
- humus;
- vermicompost;
- coconut substrate.
After this, we return the removed mulch to its place until the first shoots appear. After the first shoots break through the mulch, it is removed from the bed and watering can begin. It is advisable not to water the sowing area until the seedlings appear!
Also, sowing carrots in spring differs from summer in that the sprout actively develops in cool times. root system. The growth of tops is slowed down and does not absorb a large amount of useful substances. In summer, everything happens the other way around; the wild growth of leaves negatively affects the development of the root crop.
Sowing carrots in a wet bed
Carrot planting scheme
It is advisable to make the distance between the rows in the garden bed at least 20 cm. After germination, it is necessary to thin out the sprouts so that the distance between them is at least a centimeter. Another thinning is carried out at the 5-leaf stage. Then the distance between root crops should not be less than 4 cm. It is this planting scheme that will be optimal for the good development of root crops.
For evenness and quality of seedlings in the garden, small germinated seeds of this vegetable are glued onto a strip of thin paper using a paste made from starch or flour.
The seeds are placed at a distance of 5 cm from each other. This planting scheme will result in even sprouts that will be at a normal distance from each other and will not require additional thinning.
For optimal seed consumption, they can be planted on a strip of paper.
Narrow beds
Recently, gardeners often use narrow beds for planting carrots using the Jacob Mittlider method. They differ from ordinary ones in their design, wide aisles and raised sides, which are often made from wooden boards. This design is able to protect seedlings from strong winds, protect them from excessive amounts of weeds, and from the outside such a garden bed for carrots looks simply flawless.
To build a narrow bed you will need:
- a pair of containers for mixing fertilizers;
- narrow rake with a long working part no more than 30 cm;
- shovel;
- pegs;
- wooden boards for sides;
- hoe.
We mark the beds and mark their boundaries with pegs. The optimal width of the bed is 45 cm. The length can be any and is determined by the size of the plot itself (from 3 to 9 meters). It is better to make the passages between the beds one meter long, well, in extreme cases - 75 cm (at least).
The ideal placement is from east to west so that the carrots receive the optimal amount of sunlight as they grow.
The beds according to Mitlider are very practical and aesthetic
Along the perimeter, the future carrot bed is equipped with sides made of wooden boards at least 10 cm high and 5 cm wide. Try not to raise the beds too much, so as not to create unsuitable conditions for processing and watering them.
The paths between the beds are well compacted or filled with fine gravel, which will help prevent the appearance of moles and excess weeds.
The planting pattern in a narrow bed will be as follows. A strip of fertilizer is laid in the middle from a mixture of magnesium, molybdenum, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. In the ratio of 60 g of mixture per linear meter beds. The seeds are placed in a trench at a distance of 5-7 cm from the edge of the side, and the seedlings are thinned out so that they are 3-5 cm apart. A distance of at least 10 cm should be maintained from the fertilizer strip to the root crop. This arrangement will be the most optimal and it is advisable to adhere to it exactly.
When used correctly narrow beds you can get twice as much yield as when using generally accepted methods, and by choosing the right place for sowing and adhering to all the above nuances, then you can guarantee a good and high-quality carrot harvest!
