Carrots are a valuable source of carotene, second only to pepper. Also, carrots include vitamins B1, B2, K, C, folic acid, calcium salts, phosphorus, iron, iodine. Carrot juice is widely used in folk medicine. For example, it is indicated for drinking in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the liver and kidneys.
If you decide to start a garden in the country, then do not forget to plant carrots. Growing and caring for it is simple, but the harvest is sure to come in handy. Carrots can be eaten raw, fried, boiled, added to salads, soups, etc.
The technology for growing carrots allows you to grow it in open ground and in greenhouses. True, in summer cottages it is easiest to plant carrots on the beds.
Carrots, cultivation and care
This type of vegetable is somewhat demanding in terms of growth. Carrots love sunny places and, most importantly, loose earth. Thanks to the last property, it grows long and even. The fact that a particular type of soil is not suitable for growing a crop is evidenced by its ugly appearance. Soil preparation for planting is carried out in the fall. It must be dug up, after which fertilizers and humus are applied.
Particular attention should be paid to preparing seeds for planting. The fact is that carrot seeds contain essential oils that delay and do not allow moisture to pass, thereby inhibiting the germination of the culture. To avoid this, the seeds are soaked in water until sprouts appear. This usually takes about 10 days.
Growing carrots in open ground should begin as early as possible, especially if its seeds have not been germinated before. Tentative numbers: April 20-25 for early varieties and April 25-May 5 for late varieties.
Before planting the beds must be loosened, while removing roots, weeds and large stones. Sowing can occur in two ways. You can just pour the seeds into the grooves, without monitoring the distance between them. In this case, when the carrots grow up, it will be necessary to thin out so that between each plant there is a distance of 20-22 cm. The distance between the rows is about 12 cm. The second way is when the seeds are already sown at a given distance, while subsequently they will not need thinning. Before laying the seeds, the grooves must be watered (you can use a solution of potassium permanganate in red), making humus in them is not worth it. If possible, the bed with carrots should be covered with a film so that there is a small distance between the ground and the material. The film can be removed when the first real leaflets appear.
Caring for sprouted carrots comes down to watering, removing weeds, thinning (if necessary), feeding and pest control. Carrots, the cultivation and care of which were correct, gives a good harvest. That is why it is important to ensure that it does not overgrow, does not need moisture and nutrients. Watering is moderate, depending on weather conditions. It is necessary to ensure that carrots do not overgrow with grass, otherwise the yield will be extremely low. Loosening the earth, and it’s better to do it after watering, enriches the carrots with oxygen. If we talk about top dressing, then it should be done twice a season. The first top dressing is carried out approximately a month after germination, and the second top dressing is approximately two weeks after the first. The nutrient solution may be as follows: for 10 liters of water, 1 tbsp of nitroammofoski or nitrofoski. Watering at the rate of 5 liters per 1 m2. Closer to fall, you can begin to harvest. Carrots, the cultivation and care of which were correct, while all the necessary conditions were observed, will give a good harvest even from a small plot. If something does not like this culture, then all the “roots” will be crooked and small, devoid of nutrients and vitamins.