Planting carrots in the spring is a simple, easy task, but requires special knowledge. Every practicing gardener knows that carrots alone will not grow, it must be not only planted correctly, but also taken care of. In this article, we introduce the rules for planting carrots and caring for it.
How to speed up the shoot?
In order not to wait for the long-awaited seedlings for a long time, it is recommended to prepare the seed before planting carrots in the open ground. Experienced gardeners never plant dry seeds and do not recommend this to anyone. Preliminary need:
- Prepare a small rag bag, pour seeds into it.
- Bury this bag for ten days in moist, cool ground. Depth - 20 centimeters.
During this period, the seeds will give small sprouts, it will be easier to plant them, and the crop will turn out to be better, since you can immediately sift out small, weak or non-sprouted specimens.
Seed preparation in urban environments
If it is not possible to dig in seeds for germination, especially for urban residents, then you can prepare them in apartment conditions. It is done like this:
- We wash the seed in warm water.
- We spread it in a deep container, fill it with a nutrient solution, which is sold in specialized stores for gardeners. If you do not want to purchase a store composition, prepare it yourself: in a liter of water, stir a large spoonful of ash (wood).
- Leave the seeds in this mixture until they swell.
- After this, the seed is washed, dried for half an hour, planted.
- Planting carrots in the ground should be done immediately after drying, otherwise all work will be wasted.
Planting granular seeds
Now in stores everything is sold that can make life easier for gardeners, and one of these products is granular seeds. They are sold in loose form, as well as glued on a tape, where the distance between them is perfect. Then you do not have to thin out the garden. Planting carrots in the open ground is as follows:
- Make grooves. Depth depends on soil quality. If it is light, 3 centimeters is enough, if heavy - 1.5.
- The distance between the grooves should be 10-15 centimeters.
- Pellets should be placed at a distance of 5 centimeters from each other.
- Sprinkle with earth.
If planting carrots is done not in simple seeds, but in the form of granules, then the first time you have to keep the soil stable moist, this is very important to accelerate seedlings.
Planting ordinary seeds
If you have already purchased simple seeds or if you prefer only such seeds, then the recommendations change a little. It will be a little more difficult to plant them than granular ones, because they are very small.
- We prepare the grooves as described above.
- We place the seeds with a distance of 3 centimeters from each other - to increase germination, if some do not germinate. If all ascend, we will thin out. How to do this - we will tell further.
- We dig in the crop, water abundantly.
When to plant carrots?
Planting carrots can be made both in spring and late autumn. Let's look at the timing more accurately.
Planting carrot seeds in spring is the preferred option for all gardeners. In the middle lane of our country, culture should be planted immediately, as the snow melts, the earth thaws. The fact is that the seeds germinate for a rather long time, the first shoots appear when the shoots of later planted vegetables, such as beets, appear. Late frosts will not be scary at this time - carrots will survive them steadily. If planted later, then you can be very late with the crop. If you plant root crops at a later time, there is a risk that the seeds will simply devour the awakened pests, and you will be left without a crop.
If you decide to make an autumn planting of carrots, then you should do it in late October or early November, when it is already cold and the soil has cooled down to three degrees. Why so? If seeds are planted earlier, they can sprout before the cold, and then simply freeze. Carrots planted at the right time in the spring will rise, as by the hour, because the seeds are abundantly saturated with moisture from the melted snow.
Thinning
This is a mandatory procedure, because even carrots planted with pellets due to watering and rain can sprout too close to each other, and vice versa. We need to align the plantings so that the size of the crop matches the variety. If the carrots grow too close to each other, they will not grow large - the root crops will interfere with each other.
When thinning, you need to slightly loosen the ground so as not to tear the leaves from the root that is tied. Thinning is performed when the third sheet has already appeared, it is also called the "first real".
Throw away small and weak sprouts without pity, so that the stronger ones can grow at full strength. Leave a distance of 5 centimeters between carrots - this is the optimal “territory” for good growth.
The second thinning is performed at a time when root crops can already be used as food. Dig carrots not from one but from several places.
Watering
We must not forget about abundant watering. Carrots love moisture very much, it needs a lot.
In the period before the first shoots and when they appear, you need to irrigate twice a week. In this case, the water flow should be about four liters per square meter.
After the shoots are larger, a real carrot will start to be tied from the root (this can be checked by digging one), watering is reduced to once a week. But more water is used in this case - from 10 to 15 liters per square meter (it all depends on how much the soil will take).
Weeding and cultivation
Mandatory procedures that should not be missed. It is necessary to remove weed grass as it appears, because it so quickly clogs carrots, especially still very small ones, which, if we miss the weeding, simply cannot be found. Yes, and the roots of weeds are able to get tangled in carrots, and when weeding you will simply pull it out.
About once a week you need to loosen the soil. This is done carefully so as not to damage the roots. Loosen not only between the rows, but also between the stands themselves, around them. The result of loosening will be soil saturated with oxygen and moisture, easier growth of carrots and their collection (no need to dig in to remove the root crop from the ground).
Top dressing
Like any cultivated plant, carrots love fertilizers, so you need to feed it. How to do it right?
Immediately after planting carrots, dressing is not necessary. The first procedure is performed a month after the emergence of seedlings. It is necessary to mix one tablespoon of nitrophoska in ten liters of water (nitroammophoski is also possible). Water the plants at a rate of five liters per square meter.
After three weeks, repeat complementary foods, but using a larger amount of solution - 8 liters per square.
Pest control
In early May and late April, root crops are attacked by pests. At this time, the soil is already warm - up to 10 degrees, which is enough for the parasites to wake up and get hungry.
Particularly dangerous carrot fly. It is very harmful, penetrating under the skin of the root, gnaws inside the aisles. After such attacks, carrots are unfit for food: the form becomes ugly, the root crop itself will be tasteless, numb. Such a crop is not stored in the winter, and there is no reason to store it.
Umbrella leaf flaps are also quite dangerous pests. They do not touch the root, but drink all the juices from the leaves. The tops are becoming stale, falling, the culture may simply perish.
Methods of struggle:
- early planting of seeds;
- timely thinning, weeding;
- spraying with infusion of garlic, onion husks, tobacco and dandelion;
- adding sand mixed with naphthalene (1 part naphthalene and 10 sand);
- do not scare away birds, they fight pests, ladybugs, riders and lacewings will also benefit in the fight;
- sprinkle the tops with ash.
When to harvest?
Carrots need to be removed from the beds after September 20. Two weeks before this, you need to stop watering so that the soil dries out.
Dry the roots in a dry and cool place, but not in the sun, otherwise they will fade. The tops can not be cut, only tear off, tightening, otherwise carrots will not lie for a long time.