This vegetable is so useful that there is no doubt that many did not like it in childhood. But you can't argue with the fact that it is practically indispensable in cooking. That is why in our article we will tell you how to plant carrots in open ground and care for them.
To grow good carrots, planting and care in open field must be timely and correct. Need to pick up optimal location and time for planting, prepare seeds and tools.
Timing
Carrots do not need well-heated soil or air. You can plant a vegetable in the ground already at 5-6 degrees of soil temperature. For each region, the time will be slightly different depending on climatic conditions region, but usually can be planted at the end of April. Also, the choice of time depends on the variety: for late and mid-season, the period from late April to mid-May is suitable, early ones can be planted later. The root crop is not afraid of small frosts, so it is better not to be late with sowing. In autumn, the vegetable is planted in late October or early November. It is also better to sow carrots before prolonged rains.
Soil preparation
A bed for carrots must be chosen on a flat sunny place. You can plant carrots in an area with a slight slope or unevenness. Particular attention should be paid to what culture preceded. If crops that deplete the soil used to grow in the garden, and the soil remained practically without the necessary macro- and microelements, then on high yield do not have to count. It is best planted in beds where potatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage and garlic grew.
The landing site is prepared in advance so that the soil has time to settle, and the piles crumble. The sooner you prepare the soil, the better. You need to dig deep enough so that when germinating, carrots do not rest against solid ground otherwise it will start to warp. Of course, before planting it is desirable to feed the soil. Superphosphate, potash and nitrogen fertilizers, humus are optimal.
How to plant in spring
After preparing and processing the seeds, you can start sowing. It is recommended to plant seeds in rows, at a distance of at least 15 cm. The depth depends on the type of soil: light - about 3 cm, heavy - up to 2 cm. The wells must be well moistened. Some gardeners, along with the seeds, throw granules of complex fertilizers.
How to plant before winter
Autumn planting has its own characteristics. For the winter, it is recommended to plant early varieties of crops. They are not stored for a long time, but the crop ripens a few weeks earlier. Autumn sowing of carrots is carried out only in light soils. Depending on the temperature, carrots are sown from late October to mid-November.
The bed should be prepared at the end of September. After sowing, the soil is mulched with peat. In the spring, the bed should be covered with a special film until shoots appear.
Care rules
Planting carrots is just the beginning. We figured out how to plant carrots, now let's move on to agricultural technology.
Necessary conditions for growing
The following conditions are necessary for growing carrots:
- carrots can only be planted in soil with neutral acidity, otherwise the fruit will lose its magnificent sweetish taste;
- excessive waterlogging leads to increased growth and coarsening of the vegetable;
- it is also impossible to allow excessive drying of the soil - this will affect the juiciness and taste of the fruit, the carrot will be pulled together sluggish and bitter;
- the vegetable needs timely, properly done processing.
Watering mode
Before planting a carrot, the soil should be worked in such a way that moisture reaches the very bottom of the fruit. It is important not to overfill or underfill. The lack of moisture is also fraught with lateral processes, the structure becomes rigid.
And as a result of waterlogging, the fruit can crack, shoots appear. The number of irrigations, as a rule, does not change, but the volumes increase. Watering is recommended once a week. The calculation is done per m². After planting and before the second thinning - about 3 liters, then the volume triples, and during the period of active growth of root crops, it doubles. A month before harvesting, the amount of moisture is reduced to 10 liters, and 2 weeks later it stops altogether.
fertilizers
The soil was already fed before planting the carrots. However, this is not enough, so it is recommended to feed the vegetable 2 more times. The first feeding is carried out a few weeks after germination, the second - about a month after the first. Top dressing is best applied in liquid form along with watering. To do this, mix wood ash, nitrophoska, potassium nitrate, superphosphate and urea. You can also use yeast top dressing, which is prepared from ordinary yeast.
Treatment
With the help of thinning, the density of crops is regulated. The first time you need to thin out after the appearance of real tops, the second - a month after the first. If the inputs are not dense, thinning the carrots is not necessary. As a result, there should be approximately 10 cm between seedlings.
Disease and pest control
Most often, carrots are affected by phomosis, bacteriosis, septoria, various types of rot.
Diseases caused by bacteria are most often spread by seeds. fungal diseases appear as a result of improper cultivation of planting soil and improper care. That is why it is important Preliminary processing seeds, liming the soil, removing weeds and rationing the application of nitrogen and organic fertilizers.
Bordeaux liquid will also help to cope with fungal diseases. In order to prevent the appearance of pests (carrot flies, aphids, wireworms, scoops, slugs), you can scatter ash, needles over the area, plant onions. Slugs must be collected by hand. Also, do not forget about the desirable disinfection of the soil, timely harvesting of spoiled fruits and digging up the soil. Treat not only carrots, but also crops that pose a possible threat to them. Follow these simple tips and harvest a bountiful harvest.
Video "Planting carrots"
From this video you will learn how to properly plant carrots in open ground.
Carrot is a herbaceous plant of small stature, belonging to the biennial group. During the first year of its "life" culture strengthens its root system, the vegetative part, a thickening occurs, which contains great amount substances. During the second year, the generative part is formed. She is responsible for reproduction. The yield of this root crop depends on many factors: the right variety, climate conditions, proper fit and care.
About what they are, indicated in this article.
Planting process
When fertilizers have been applied to the intended site for planting seeds, it is worth digging grooves of not great depth. It will be 2 cm. A distance of at least 20 cm must be observed between these grooves. Seeds should be crushed before sowing. Thanks to such actions, you will be able to clean them of bristles. Sprinkle the sifted seeds with earth, and then tamp.
If the seed ripening process takes place at an air temperature of 16-18 degrees, then it will be possible to get the first result in 14 days. The main advantage of this planting material what remains is that, while in the ground, they are able to tolerate minor frosts. If the thermometer reads 4 degrees, then the seeds will be able to survive. If it becomes known that a long cold is approaching, it will lead to intensive flowering of the root crop.
Mentioned in this article.
On the video - growing carrots in the open field:
Carrot belongs to a plant that loves light very much. By planting seeds in a shaded area, you risk lower yields and taste qualities finished vegetable.
care process
In order to receive excellent harvest carrots, you need to correctly draw up a plan for caring for root crops. This process involves a set of activities: preparatory stage soil and planting, watering, loosening, subcorking, pest control.
Watering
Upon completion of planting carrots, it is necessary to saturate the kidney with water 2 times a week. Such actions should be performed until the planting material appears from under the ground. Further watering is carried out once a week.
Watering the soil at an early stage is carried out to a depth of 10 cm. As the root crops grow, the depth reaches 20 cm. Due to abundant watering, carrots will begin to grow deeper, consuming moisture from there. At surface watering the fruit will begin to acquire processes on the sides. This will lead to worse appearance root crop, and also it will not be able to be stored for a long time. It is not recommended to water the plant 3 weeks before harvesting, as this will lead to cracking.
thinning
In order for the root crop to turn out normal sizes, was not ugly, then it is worth performing such a type of care as thinning out. You can start such actions after 2-3 leaves appear from under the ground. It is advisable to thin out once in one season.
loosening
After thinning has been carried out, you can begin to loosen the earth. Thanks to such measures, the formation of a green head in the product can be eliminated. 
Mulching
So that the root crop is not damaged during loosening, the soil must be mulched with fine grass, chopped on a grass cutter. The thickness of the mulch layer will be 1.5 cm. As the length of the root increases, the thickness of the layer increases. If everything is done correctly, then you can be sure that a crust will not appear on the surface of the earth, water will evaporate less, weeds will not grow, and root crops will constantly receive the right portion of oxygen.
top dressing
It is impossible to get a high yield of carrots without top dressing. For these purposes, you can use ash, mullein and chicken manure. Dilute mullein with water in a ratio of 1:10, chicken manure - 1:30. Add 250 g of ash to the resulting solution. Fertilize 2 times throughout the season. The first time - after 2 weeks after the emergence of the plant, and the second - 14 days after the first feeding.
Pest Elimination
Root crops have one important and terrible enemy, the carrot fly. To prevent its occurrence, it is necessary to remove all existing vegetation after thinning. As a preventive measure, plant onions around the perimeter and leave dill umbrellas. To prevent rotting of carrots, it is worth constantly monitoring watering. In this case, it is better not to add than to overfill.
On the video - carrots: cultivation and care in the open field:
Necessary agricultural technology
Agricultural technology to obtain High Quality carrot harvest is simple. Soil requirements are not high. It is worth sowing planting material in the fall, since carrots are not intended for long-term storage, or in the spring after the snow melts.
No matter what time was chosen for sowing, the soil for cultivation is prepared in the fall. Deep digging is carried out in the selected area. Humus is introduced and lumps of earth are thoroughly crushed. Fresh litter is allowed to be added after 6 months before sowing. It allowed to accumulate nitrates and reduce the keeping quality of the crop.
The video tells how to properly grow carrots in the open field:
When non-granular planting material is used during sowing, it is advisable to carry out preparation here. Seeds can very often contain pacifiers. In order to prevent them from falling into the ground, it is worth using some methods to extract them:
- With an ebonite stick. To do this, it is enough to move it over the seeds and those that are spoiled will simply stick to it.
- Place the planting material in water, and seeds suitable for sowing will fall to the bottom. After this check, dry the seeds.
Before planting, you need to soak the seed in water. Keep it there for half an hour. The presented culture is very fond of sunlight. The process of growing carrots can occur along the perimeter of the beds with onions and garlic. It is allowed to plant cabbage near it. But after harvesting, planting cabbage is not recommended, as it will become oppressed.
Varieties
When choosing suitable variety carrots must be taken into account that they are divided according to ripening time into early, medium and late.
Early
This variety is worth choosing for a quick harvest. The resulting root crop is not intended for long storage. It must be eaten immediately.
To the most the best varieties worth considering:
- Amsterdam;
- Lenochka;
- Darling;
- Nantes;
- Orange Muscat;
- Parisian cartel;
- Shantenay 2461;
Late
The duration of storage of the crop depends on the timing of ripening. The later the harvest occurs, the longer it can be stored. This collection includes the following varieties:
- Alenka;
- Berlicum Royal;
- Dolyanka;
- Gold autumn;
- Emperor;
- Red giant.
Varieties of long-term storage
If you are going to store carrots in the winter, then you need to pay attention to the following varieties:
- Biryuchekutskaya;
- Vitamin-6;
- Gueranda;
- Gross;
- Cardinal;
- Queen of autumn;
- Losinoostrovskaya 13.
The sweetest varieties
The presented varieties are grown for the preparation of baby food. Carrots contain a large amount of carotene and sugar. Such a root crop should also be consumed by people who are at the computer for a very long time. To get the sweetest carrots, you should buy these varieties:
- Children's sweetness;
- Children's joy;
- Emperor;
- Carotan;
- Beauty girl;
- Darling;
- Nastena;
- Orange friend.
Varieties for Siberia
To plant carrots in Siberia, it is necessary to focus on those varieties that are not afraid of the harsh climate. This should include:
- Shantane. Planting material refers to late-ripening. The finished crop can weigh 250 g, has a conical shape. At proper care and cultivation manages to get an even and beautiful root crop. It does not crack, is able to be stored for a long time, resists various ailments.
- Nantes. This variety is included in the group of mid-season. It has a cone-shaped handicap. Before ripening, the top of the carrot turns green or purple. Ready carrots are even and smooth, have an orange tint. variety can resist different types rot, perfectly stored.
- Losinoostrovskaya 13. Also belongs to the group of mid-season. The mass of the finished root crop is 180 g. The shape of the carrot has the form of a cylinder with a pointed or blunt tip. The core and pulp are presented in one color scheme. The taste of the product is very juicy, tender and sweet.
On the video - the secrets of growing carrots in the open field:
secrets
If you decide to start growing carrots in open buds, then in order to get a good result, it is important to know a few tricks. They will help you get the highest quality and fastest results:
- Manure should not be used as fertilizer. In this case, you will get branchy and tasteless root crops.
- For more uniform sowing of planting material, it is necessary to mix it with sand in a ratio of 1: 1.
- To reduce the consumption of seeds, it is worth sticking them with a cluster of starch on thin pieces of paper. Keep a distance of 5 cm between the seeds. During planting, you just need to roll out the tape in the furrow and sprinkle it with earth.
- To receive early harvest it is worth sowing seeds before winter. Then the harvest will be stored for a long time.
- To obtain large root crops, it is necessary to make the distance between plants large.
- During harvesting, clean the strip gently with your hands, do not hit the ground or each other.
- The product should be stored in a dark, cool place, and the tops should be trimmed.
If you follow all the recommendations presented for the care and cultivation of carrots in an open bud, you can be guaranteed to get a tasty and juicy root crop, which will be stored for a long time. In addition, you can sow not one variety, but several, which will allow you to get a varied harvest.
Growing carrots in the garden is easy. But in order to get stable, high and high-quality crops year after year, you will have to work hard, because not every year can be called "carrot".
The beds for planting carrots are prepared in the fall. Compost is scattered over the surface (4 kg per sq.m.) and dug up in the spring before sowing. On the square meter add a spoonful of ammonium sulfate, 2 tablespoons of superphosphate and 1 glass of ash.
Carrot seeds germinate slowly, besides, out of a hundred seeds, it’s good if at least 70 sprout. To speed up germination, carrots are processed before planting. Seeds are wrapped in cloth and dipped in cold water for a day. During these 24 hours, the water must be changed at least 6 times. Finally, the seeds can be filled not with water, but with a solution of trace elements.
Carrot seeds often contain spores of microorganisms, disease-causing. You can get rid of the infection by soaking the seeds in water with a temperature of 40-45 degrees for 5 minutes. Then the seeds are rinsed in cold water.
It is best to plant carrots in open ground early, while the ground is saturated with spring moisture. On clay soil, carrot seeds are planted at a depth of one and a half to two centimeters, on sandy loam a little deeper. Early varieties are sown with intervals between rows of 12-15 cm, mid-season and late-ripening 25-30 cm.
Carrots grow well on sandy loam and light loam with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. On heavy soil, it is better to sow short-fruited carrots; on loose soil, any variety works well, even long-fruited ones.
Planting carrots in the ground will be easier if you mix the seeds in half with sand, and then pour the mixture into the grooves. In order not to perform the difficult and painstaking work of thinning, bending over the garden bed, many gardeners prefer to comfortable conditions at home, sitting at the table, stick the seeds with flour paste on paper ribbons made of toilet paper. Before planting, you will only need to make grooves, spread ribbons, cover with soil and water.
When the head of the root crop appears on the surface, hilling is carried out. Reception protects plants from overheating, sunburn and greenery. Hilling is repeated twice more during the season. The result of the final hilling should be a 4-5 cm layer of earth covering the heads of root crops.
On acidic soils, the beds have to be limed, as carrots prefer slightly acidic and neutral soil. It is enough to make 300 g of fluff per square meter. m., but you can’t lime for carrots - you need to dig a bed with lime even under the previous crop. Therefore, it is convenient to grow carrots in a crop rotation after cabbage, because a lot of organic matter is introduced under cabbage, and (like carrots) it prefers soils with a neutral reaction.
Neighborhood features
Carrots should not be sown after celery and parsnips. You can not sow it in the beds, where carrots also grew last year. The plant feels good in the beds after vegetables, under which humus was introduced a year earlier.
Growing carrots
Agrotechnics for growing carrots includes crop rotation. Growing carrots in the old place is possible no earlier than three country season. This protects plants from pests and diseases.
Carrots are one of the main crops that gardeners plant every year on their plots. It is used in the summer-autumn period, and they also make preparations for the winter. With the right agricultural technology, getting a rich harvest of root crops is not difficult. Learn how to prepare the beds, plant carrots outdoors in the spring, and take care of the plants during their growing season. If you are new to vegetable growing, these tips will be especially helpful.
To grow a beautiful, even, large carrot, the soil for planting it is prepared in the fall. This vegetable, like any garden culture, has its own requirements for the site on which it will grow. Under carrots, areas well-lit by the sun are taken away; in shading, plants bear fruit poorly. They are strongly elongated, give a lot of green mass, but at the same time Bottom part turns out small and thin.
It also matters after which crops to place carrots in your garden. The best predecessors for her are potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage. The vegetable grows well in the beds where zucchini or cucumbers used to be. You can plant carrots after crops such as onions and garlic.
Root crops of the highest quality are obtained on light, cultivated, fertile soils, with a good layer of humus and breathability, with neutral or weak acidity. For planting carrots in the spring, the ground in the beds is well prepared. On the clay soils add baking powder. They can be peat, hardwood sawdust, sunflower husks, sand. On sandy soils, where useful nutrients are quickly washed out by moisture in deep layers, the addition of clay and peat gives a good result. The soil is not lime before growing carrots; it is performed in the previous season. In the same way, fresh manure is not added to this crop, but it is allowed to apply it under predecessors.
For every m 2 of vegetable beds, 2-3 kg of humus and mineral phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added. For example, 25-30 g (1.5 matchbox) of superphosphate and 15 g (slightly less than 1 tablespoon) of potassium sulfate. With a lack of organic nitrogen fertilizers for carrots, additionally add 15-20 g of saltpeter or urea (1 Matchbox). Next, the earth is deeply dug. The clods are left without leveling in the layers, in the spring they are well loosened before planting.
When to plant carrots
Spring planting of carrots in vegetable growing is considered traditional. In addition, it can be sown in the ground in summer and autumn before winter. The vegetable belongs to cold-resistant crops, the seeds germinate and sprout at a soil temperature of + 3 ° C (preferably 5-7 ° C). But this is possible only if there is enough moisture; in dry land, carrots may not start growing for a month or more.
Depending on the climatic features of the region and weather conditions in each particular season, the timing of planting carrots in open ground will be different. Generally speaking, seeds can be planted from the end of March to June. In the southern regions, the earliest sowing of seeds is possible, in the north favorable conditions need to wait a little longer.
Since each garden season is different in its own way, the date is not strongly oriented. The following indicators are adhered to: soil temperature from 5 ° C, the absence of forecasts for cooling and especially severe frosts, the presence of natural moisture in the soil.
In addition, it is worth considering the ripening time of the selected carrot variety. The seeds of late-ripening plants are sown first. They have a long growing season (more than 120 days), so they must not only grow, but also grow root crops before the fall. Often, with early planting, such beds are additionally covered with a film from frost. If the seedlings fall under frost, some plants throw out flower stalks in the summer to the detriment of the formation of root crops.
Seeds of mid-season varieties of carrots grow from 90 to 120 days. They are sown in terms from about mid-April to mid-May. Further, only early-ripening species are used for planting. At the same time, in most cases, soaking the seeds and additional irrigation of the beds is required. The deadline for planting carrots in a private household is before Trinity.
Pre-sowing preparation of carrots
Carrot seeds remain viable for 3-4 years. But at the same time, the best germination rates are observed in the freshest seed. Then the germination drops sharply. The gardener has to either use large quantity seeds for planting, or observe bald rows in the garden. Therefore, when buying a carrot variety you like in a store, you should pay attention Special attention on the packing date. When using your own seeds, it is best to sow those that are 1 or 2 years old.
How exactly to prepare carrot seeds for planting is up to everyone to decide. The minimum that can be done is to calibrate the seed, immediately removing bad specimens. It is also advisable to pickle the seeds in fungicides or soak in potassium permanganate for disinfection. Next, they must be dried to a loose state.
Carrot seeds are sown in the ground both in dry form and after pre-soaking. The first option is chosen for the most early landings when there is a possibility of cold weather. Such seeds germinate longer, but do not die with a decrease in temperature. When the soil warms up again optimal values, they quickly start growing.
For fast germination, carrots are soaked or germinated before planting. For soaking, choose any of the options:
- Carrot seeds are aged clean water with a temperature of 30 ° C throughout the day. The fluid is replaced several times with a new one. If desired, ash is added to the solution. After the seeds are washed with clean water.
- Seeds before planting are placed in a solution of growth stimulants. The manufacturer indicates the amount of substance and soaking time in the instructions. For carrots, you can use sodium humate, Silk, Epin, etc.
- Seeds are wrapped in cloth and immersed in water at 50 °C for 20 minutes. After that, the carrots are cooled in cold liquid for 2-3 minutes.
In all cases, before planting in the ground, the seeds are dried a little for the convenience of working with them.
For germination, the seed is first kept in water for 2 hours. Then the seeds are laid out in one layer on a cloth, covered with a napkin or the same piece of cloth on top. Keep moist all the time. After swelling and spitting of part of the seeds, they are placed in the refrigerator for 10 days. So carrots undergo additional hardening.
Methods for sowing carrots
To get a rich harvest of root crops in the fall, the seeds must be planted correctly. On private plots, gardeners usually use a row planting pattern for carrots and narrow, long beds that are easy to care for. If we talk about the distance that should be followed when planting, then 20, 25 or 30 cm are left between the rows (depending on the variety, soil fertility, free land area on the site). There should be 3-5 cm between plants.
From how correctly the carrots will be sown in the spring, its yield, and in some cases, germination, directly depends. This is a small-seeded crop, therefore it is not worth burying sowing material in the ground. It is necessary to sow carrot seeds to a depth of only 1-1.5 cm. On light sandy soils, up to 2 cm is permissible. A deeper planting may cause the sprouts to not be able to break out. They just don't have the strength to do it.
Used in amateur vegetable growing various ways planting carrots in open ground. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Try and choose the one that is convenient for you.
Sowing seeds
The easiest and easiest way to plant carrots is from seeds. To do this, it is enough to mark the rows on the bed and make shallow furrows in the ground. To make the lines even, you will need twine and a couple of pegs. With their help, it is easy to maintain the required distance between the rows.
In order to properly observe the seeding depth when sowing, many gardeners use a long wooden lath. It is pressed with an edge into the ground, removed and even identical furrows are obtained. If necessary, they are watered, and then seeds are sown there. Sprinkle on top with fertile soil, peat, compost and tamp a little.
With early sowing, the beds are covered with a film, which allows you to maintain more high temperature soil, retain moisture and protect seedlings from accidental frosts. With the onset of stable heat, the protective cover is removed. After the appearance of all shoots, the extra plants are thinned out.
Sowing on a toilet paper tape
This method requires some preparation, but saves time when planting and reduces the amount of seeds used. In addition, it allows you to accurately maintain the distance in a row between plants. This method is suitable for those who want to plant carrots so as not to thin them out after.
First, cut pieces of paper that correspond to the length of the rows. Starch paste is prepared or flour is kneaded in water until it becomes thick sour cream. The width of the roll is visually divided into 3 equal parts. Then the seeds are glued in the first row, they maintain a distance of 3-5 cm and repeat everything again. To exclude the loss of plants due to the fact that some seed did not sprout, they are placed in pairs. Before planting, the seed tape is cut into long narrow strips, which are simply lowered into the grooves and sprinkled with earth.
Landing with river sand
In order not to thin out carrots that have risen more often than necessary, you can use the following method. Take a large, slightly moistened river sand, mix it with seeds in a ratio of 5 to 1. This mixture is evenly scattered into the prepared furrows. From above, seeds are sprinkled with sand when planting carrots thin layer earth, tamp it a little, and then pour it on top of the peat and cover the beds with a film so that the seeds sprout faster. Such a planting of carrots will save seeds and not pull seedlings later.
Seeder use
You can plant carrots in open ground using a seeder homemade. It can be salt shakers, a strainer, or small plastic containers with a lid with holes slightly larger than carrot seeds. It remains only to pour seeds into them and sow them in the ground. Such devices for planting seeds can be used not only for carrots, but also for other crops, if you make several covers for them with holes of different diameters.
Seeds in granules
Seed granulation is a method that allows you to increase the size of carrot seeds and thus make them easier to sow. They are planted on beds at a distance of 5-7 cm from each other. Planting carrots in granules helps save seeds and does not thin out too thick seedlings in the beds.
Carrot care
Watering and soil density are what you need to pay special attention to when caring for this plant in the open field. It is necessary to water the soil abundantly only during the period of active growth of tops. When the growth of the root crop begins, watering is reduced. But it is impossible to leave plants completely without water, since it is too much to flood them after a drought. Sharp fluctuations in soil moisture are the reason that carrots will be clumsy, with cracks and numerous additional roots over the entire surface of the root crop. 2 weeks before harvest, watering is stopped altogether.
After each watering, the soil is loosened as deep as possible (near the root crops themselves carefully) so that it remains soft and airy. Carrots are fed with this fertilizer: dissolve in a bucket of water
- 15 g of saltpeter and superphosphate;
- 20 g of potassium nitrate;
- 1 st. l. nitrophoska;
- 2 cups of ash.
Rows of carrots are shed with this solution only 2 times: a month after it has risen and another 2 months after that.
Carrots are harvested in the fall, when its root crops have reached the size and shape corresponding to the variety. Dig them with a shovel on a dry, not rainy day. The collected root crops are dried a little in the beds, then put in boxes or nets and lowered into the cellar for storage.
Expert opinion
gardener
Ask an expertPlanting and growing carrots in the open field is a simple and exciting business. Follow the rules for planting and growing this crop and in the fall you can get an excellent harvest of orange root crops.
Carrots, planting and caring in the open field, which require the implementation of certain agrotechnical measures, is a small-seeded crop from the Umbelliferae family. A native of Afghanistan, where it grows today the largest number species of root, came to Europe in the X-XIII centuries.
The diversity of the genus is divided into 2 varieties - wild and sowing carrots, used in the agricultural sector. Cultivated carrots, in turn, include 2 types of varieties - fodder and table.
Among the most popular varieties, on the development of which breeders are constantly working, the following stand out:
- "Alenka" - an early variety with a ripening period of 50 days after germination. orange root vegetables up to 15 cm long average weight within 145
- "Tushon" is an early ripe variety used for food 60-65 days after germination. The mass of the root crop is 150 g with a length of 20 cm.
- "Nantes" is a mid-season variety, represented by cylindrical, blunt root crops weighing up to 165 g, which are suitable for both food and storage.
- "Vitamin" feature root crops of this mid-season variety is a high concentration of carotene, good taste, does not crack.
- "Queen of Autumn" is a mid-season variety whose root crops are great for long-term storage.
- "Flakke" is a mid-season variety that shows excellent yields even on heavy soil.
- "Mo" is a late-ripening variety, characterized by good harvests, which are stored throughout the winter. Excellent taste and juiciness.
Carrots: growing features
Carrots are not afraid of the cold, but they cannot stand the shade.
When cultivating an umbrella representative, the following features should be taken into account:
- evenness of the relief on the site;
- soil composition;
- depth of digging beds;
- bright lighting;
- abundant watering;
- compliance with crop rotation;
- timely implementation of protective measures.
Sowing seeds in open ground
To get a good harvest before you start sowing seeds on garden beds, it is necessary to study the agricultural technology of cultivating a crop, starting from the initial stage - sowing.
Choosing a place and preparing beds
carrot demonstrates best performance harvest on flat, well-lit areas, where last year nightshade (tomatoes, potatoes), pumpkin (cucumbers, zucchini) crops were cultivated, as well as garlic, onions and cabbage. If small-seeded crops (dill, fennel, carrots) grew on the site, then you should not opt for it because of the poverty of the soil and the risk of infection with specialized harmful organisms that have accumulated in the soil. Root reaches maximum dimensions on light, loose soils with a good fertile layer.
Soil is being prepared for spring sowing in the autumn season:
- The selected area is dug up to a depth of 30 cm.
- For digging, fertilizers are applied in the form of 15 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium sulfate, 20 g of ammonium nitrate and 2-3 kg of humus per 1 m².
- With the advent of spring, the site is harrowed with a rake.
Attention! If you dig only the surface layer of soil (up to 20 cm), then the roots will grow crooked, ugly.
How and when to sow?
Planting carrots in the spring is carried out in mid-April, when the earth warms up to 4-6 ° C.
However, depending on the characteristics of the site and the selected variety, the terms may vary:
- Mid-season and late varieties are sown from the end of April to May 10th.
- On light soils, sowing is permissible until the end of the spring season.
- In the southern regions, where the earth warms up earlier, seeding in open ground can be carried out in the second half of March.
It is known that good seeds- the guarantee of a high yield.
To get healthy seedlings, you must adhere to the following sowing algorithm:
- Seeds are wrapped in a cloth and placed in water heated to 50 ° C for 20 minutes, after which they are cooled for several minutes in cold water.
- Grooves are prepared with a depth of 2 cm with a distance of 30 cm.
- The distance between the seeds is kept within 2-3 cm.
- After planting the seed, the beds are mulched to prevent crusting.
You can simplify the procedure for preparing seeds: they are buried in dense tissue in moist, cold soil 10 days before sowing.
On a note! Carrot is a cold-resistant crop and easily tolerates frosts down to -4°C.
Planting carrots in autumn, before winter
Winter sowing, which makes it possible to harvest 14 days earlier than usual, is only valid for early varieties, and is carried out in light soil at the end of October according to the following scheme:
- The soil is prepared 20 days before sowing.
- After sowing, the beds are mulched with a layer of peat 3 cm thick.
- With the advent of spring, a film is stretched over the site, which is removed when shoots appear.
Carrots: outdoor care and proper watering
Successful cultivation of a vitamin-rich root crop involves the implementation of certain care measures.
Thinning and loosening
With dense sowing, after the formation of one pair of true leaves in the seedlings, thinning is carried out, as a result of which an interval of 2-3 cm should be obtained between the specimens. The second time, the crops are thinned out after the formation of two pairs of leaves. The result of the procedure is a distance between seedlings of 4-6 cm. Together with thinning, the soil is loosened and cleared of weeds.
Advice! For convenience, it is better to pull the beds after wetting.
Watering
Timely moistening, which is carried out weekly, is the key to the full development of the plant and the formation of large, juicy root crops.
When watering, in order not to overdo it, but also not to dry out the soil, you should follow the recommendations:
- In the first weeks after sowing, the beds are moistened at the rate of 3 liters per 1 m2.
- When the distance between specimens increases to 5 cm, the water consumption increases to 10 liters per 1 m2.
- After the development of thick tops, which indicates the beginning of root growth, the volume of irrigation fluid reaches 20 liters per 1 m2.
- 1.5 months before harvesting, the volume and frequency of wetting are gradually reduced.
top dressing
During the growing season, carrots are fed twice (after the second thinning and during the beginning of root growth) with a solution prepared from 400 g wood ash, 10 g of nitroammophoska, 20 g of potassium nitrate and 15 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of water.
Disease and pest control
Carrots are susceptible to damage by harmful organisms. Among the diseases, phomosis, bacteriosis, septoria, gray, white, red rot are dangerous.
To avoid their development, you must:
- carry out pre-sowing seed treatment, in which pathogens are destroyed;
- limit the application of nitrogen fertilizers that stimulate the development of gray and white rot during storage;
- do not feed carrots with manure, which provokes the development of red rot.
Of the pests on the representative of the umbrella, a carrot fly, winter scoop, wireworm and slugs are noted, which must be dealt with:
- mechanically - in the case of gastropods;
- chemical method.
The carrot fly is moisture-loving, so it is better to sow on open beds away from water bodies. Chamomile infusions scare her away.
Harvest and storage
Harvesting is carried out in several stages:
- During the second half of summer, root crops are pulled out for food, and early and mid-ripening varieties are also harvested.
- Cleaning at the end of September late varieties intended for long-term storage.
Root crops are harvested on a dry, warm day according to the following scheme:
- Carrots are pulled out by the leaves from light soil or dug up with pitchforks in case of heavy soils.
- The extracted vegetables are sorted.
- In healthy root crops, the tops are cut off, after which they are placed under a canopy.
- After a few days, the crop is sent to storage.
For storage, boxes are used that are lowered into the basement or cellar, where the root crops in containers are sprinkled with sand or sawdust.
The nuances of growing in the suburbs, in Siberia
Two main parameters depend on the climatic zone of crop cultivation:
- timing of sowing seeds in open ground;
- variety selection.
Varieties are grown in the Moscow region different terms ripening, and the sowing of seeds is carried out from the second half of April until the end of spring, while for Siberia with a colder climate, the range of varieties is rather limited and comes down to a few mid-season ones - for example, Nantesskaya, Vitaminnaya. Otherwise, the agricultural technique for cultivating carrots is no different.
So, knowing the nuances of growing carrots, even a novice gardener will be able to achieve high rates when harvesting a vitamin vegetable.