In almost every suburban area, gardeners plant carrots. This culture is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and ease of cultivation. Carrots contain a huge amount of useful trace elements and vitamins necessary for both a growing and an adult human body.
Today, there are a huge number of varieties and varieties of this vegetable crop. Among them, lagoon carrots are very popular. This variety belongs to the hybrid, so it has an index of F1. Consider the main characteristics of this species and the features of its cultivation.
Carrot "lagoon" F1: description
This hybrid was introduced relatively recently. The main feature of the variety is its fruits. They grow even and uniform in size. In addition, root vegetables have excellent taste and high carotene content.
Carrots "lagoon" F1 evenly painted in bright orange color. At the same time, it has a very small core, therefore, after processing root crops, there is practically no waste. The length of the fruit is usually about 18 cm. In this case, part of the crop can be harvested already on the 65th day after planting the seeds. After 2.5 months, you can remove up to 90% of the grown root crops.
Carrot "lagoon" F1: when to plant, air temperature and other conditions
In order to harvest the summer crop, root crops need to be planted in the spring. This event is recommended to be carried out immediately after the snow has melted, and the earth will dry out a little. The air temperature should be positive. Before planting the seeds of carrots "lagoon", you must first spill the soil well with warm water. Watering after the seeds have been lowered into the ground is not recommended, as in this case they can be washed off and it will be more difficult to thin out.
To get an earlier crop, it is better to plant before winter. Thanks to this, the first seedlings of root crops will appear immediately after the air temperature is about +3 degrees.
At the same time, it is recommended to plant lagoon carrot seeds in an illuminated place that is not blown by a cold wind. The soil must be well loosened and organic fertilizer applied. If the land is very poor, it is recommended to fertilize the soil with nitrogen substances per 15 g / m 2 .
If we talk about the opinion of gardeners when planting F1 lagoon carrots, then, as a rule, they prefer laying seeds before the start of winter to get an earlier harvest. However, it all depends on the climatic features of a particular region.
Seed preparation
To get healthy seedlings as quickly as possible, the following measures must be taken:
- Place the seeds in bags of natural fabric material and drop them on the ground for 10 days. Dig out the seed and dry it. After this, you can land in the ground.
- Bubbling. To do this, place the seeds in a glass filled with warm water for 24 hours. After that, you need to wrap them in fabric material and put in the refrigerator for 4 days. Then it remains only to dry and plant the seeds.
- Perform panning. To implement this procedure, you need to mix one glass of cow manure, powder peat and humus. After that, the seeds are placed in the resulting mass for 2-3 minutes. This is enough to ensure that they are covered with a nutrient membrane. After that, you can dry the seed material and plant it.
How to prepare the ground
According to the recommendations of experienced gardeners, it is not necessary to plant this variety in the place where potatoes, tomatoes or cabbage used to grow before. After these plants, the soil becomes very barren for carrots.
In order to sow root crops before winter, it is necessary to prepare the soil in early autumn. Dig the soil and add organic fertilizer to it.
Carrots "lagoon" planted with furrows. At the same time, it is necessary to deepen the seeds by only a few centimeters, after which it is enough to sprinkle them with soil.
How and when to thin out carrots
This procedure is recommended twice a season. Tweezers are commonly used to thin out carrots. The first time the procedure is performed, as soon as the first 2 leaves appear on the sprout. It is necessary to pull out shoots strictly upward. In this case, young seedlings must be removed so that between the remaining plants a distance of about 3 cm remains.
Re-carrots “lagoon” is thinned out when the height of the sprouts reaches 10 cm. In this case, a distance of about 7 cm between seedlings must be left.
Watering
Carrots are recommended to be moistened regularly. Under the conditions of hot weather, watering is carried out at least 3 times a week. At the same time, at least half a bucket should be poured on 1 m 2 . When the plants become larger, the volume of water needs to be increased.
Top dressing
When the third leaf is formed on the sprouts, you need to start fertilizing the F1 lagoon carrots. Reviews of gardeners argue that it is best to use a solution of ammonium nitrate for this. To prepare it, it is necessary to dilute 30 g of this product in a bucket of water.
Some time after this, it is recommended to fertilize the plants with superphosphate. To prepare the solution, the same proportions are used as in the previous “recipe”.
According to the reviews of gardeners, this variety of carrots does not require too frequent care, therefore, it is recommended to make top dressing no more than 3 times per season.
Harvesting
Harvesting root vegetables is recommended in the fall before the rainy season begins. In that case, the crop will be stored longer. If the root crops are saturated with moisture, then they can quickly begin to rot.
Store carrots in a cool, dry place (cellar or basement). Before you remove the root crops, you need to remove the tops. If any fruit is deformed, damaged by insects or does not look quite “attractive”, then it is better to throw it away. Otherwise, the entire crop may suffer.
Diseases
This variety of carrots is quite resistant to most ailments. However, sometimes a plant may begin to suffer from the following diseases:
- Red rot. In this case, brown or purple spots appear on the root crops, which disappear with time, however, a fungus appears in their place. Such a disease occurs solely due to the introduction of manure into the soil, therefore it is recommended to abandon this type of fertilizing.
- Black rot. In that case, very dark spots appear on the root crops. This ailment is extremely dangerous for the testes of the plant. Therefore, when the first signs of black rot are detected, it is necessary to immediately get rid of the infected cultures. To prevent the occurrence of this disease, it is recommended to treat the seeds with a special solution of Tigama.
- Septoria In this case, chlorotic small spots appear on the carrot tops, which gradually change their color to brown. Around the affected areas a reddish edging is formed. If the air is sufficiently moist, then this ailment begins to progress very quickly. Therefore, when the first signs of the disease appear, it is necessary to treat the plants with Bordeaux liquid. The procedure is repeated 10 days after the first treatment. If the plants are severely affected by the disease, then it is recommended to remove them so that the rest of the crop does not die. To prevent the occurrence of this ailment, it is recommended to quickly lower the seeds first in hot and then in cold water before sowing.
- Fomosa. From this disease, the testes suffer, as well as the inflorescences of the culture. At the next stage, the lesion extends to the upper part of the root crops, as a result of which dark brown spots appear. As a result, the entire fetus dies. This disease develops best in the lungs. To prevent the development of this ailment, it is necessary to treat the seeds with Tigama solution before planting them.
Pests
Most often, carrots suffer from slugs. To get rid of this type of pests, it is enough to scatter hay around the plants, as unpleasant parasites will not be able to move on it. Or you can delete them manually.
Root crops can also be threatened by wireworms. These are small bugs that lay a huge number of eggs. To get rid of them, you need to dig small holes near the carrots and lay in them the grass that has begun to sprinkle with pieces of raw potato. After this, the trap must be buried in the ground and remember its location. After 2-3 days, in this hole you can find the larvae of beetles that need to be destroyed. You should also be wary of carrot flies and winter scoops.