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How to grow carrots the right way. Growing carrots using new technologies. How to get a bountiful harvest

Not a single household plot can be imagined without tufts of feathery carrot leaves above the beds. This is one of the most sought after root crops. But even experienced gardeners sometimes cannot get a crop of even large carrots, the cultivation and care of which, it would seem, have long been mastered. What are the reasons for failures, and how to grow good carrot?

Site selection for carrots

How to grow carrots open field? A popular root crop requires attention not only during cultivation, care for the crop begins with the selection of a site. Carrots, like all root crops, are very demanding on conditions, especially on the site where the beds are laid out.

If in autumn ugly, underdeveloped, branched or bursting roots appear from the soil, then there may be several reasons:

  • application of fertilizers containing chlorine for crops;
  • spring deoxidation of the soil;
  • poor digging of beds, as well as clods, stones and large organic remains left in the soil;
  • lack of lighting;
  • excessively dry soil or excessive watering of carrots;
  • excess nitrogen fertilizers;
  • rough uneven weeding or thick plantings.

Moreover, many factors negatively affect both the appearance of root crops and their taste. Therefore, the plot for carrots is chosen especially carefully. To get high-quality carrots, and planting and caring for them were not in vain:

  • the soil should be light, loose and fertile;
  • landings should not lack light;
  • preparation for sowing begins in the fall.

Soil preparation for carrots

Before the onset of cold weather, the soil is carefully dug up, roots and stones are removed. If necessary, dolomite flour, lime, a complex of potash and phosphate fertilizers are added. In the spring, the area under the carrots is fertilized again and deeply loosened.

Often gardeners, sharing their experience on how to grow carrots in the open field, are advised to pay attention to. It’s good if zucchini or pumpkins, legumes, onions, potatoes or other nightshades grew in the garden before carrots. If carrots, parsley or celery were already growing on the site last season, then this year the yield may decrease, and the crops may be subject to carrot diseases or pests. It is possible to return the planting of carrots to their original place only after four years.

Planting dates for carrots

No less important than the choice of landing site are the sowing dates. Wanting to grow good carrots as early as possible, gardeners try to use the frost resistance of the plant:

  • Seeds begin to germinate already at +3°C.
  • Seedlings are not afraid of frosts down to -2 ° C.
  • Well-developed plants tolerate frost down to -4°C.
  • The optimal temperature regime is considered to be the range from 18–24 ° C.
  • At temperatures above +25 ° C, the vegetation of carrots slows down.

And although the return of the cold adversely affects the shelf life of root crops, this does not prevent gardeners from leading, if the climate allows, pre-winter or spring crops of carrots for an early harvest. For such crops, early-ripening carrots are chosen.

Planting and caring for root crops intended for storage is carried out after the daytime temperature has been established at about 15 ° C.

Carrot planting and seedling care

Only high-quality seeds, carefully sorted and disinfected, can give a bountiful harvest. For ease of sowing experienced gardeners offer some simple tricks.

carrot seeds:

  • in equal proportions mixed with washed dry sand;
  • add to the seeds of fast-growing crops, for example, lettuce or radish, in order to notice the planting as early as possible and carry out the first weeding;
  • mixed with flour or starch paste, which is poured in a stream into prepared furrows;
  • stick on narrow paper tapes.

These measures, as well as pelleted seeds, make it easier to sow carrots, grow and care for the plantation, as thinning and weeding become less burdensome.

Before sowing, the beds are loosened to the depth of the bayonet, leveled, and moistened furrows 2 cm deep are prepared after 25 cm from each other. When the carrots are sown, the furrows are covered with a mixture of sand and peat or loose soil, and landing, without watering, cover with a film.

Film:

  • will not allow the moisture needed by the seeds to evaporate;
  • prevent attack on seedlings of dangerous pests of carrots;
  • will not allow a crust to form on the surface of the soil;
  • will increase, which is important for early sowing, soil temperature and accelerate germination.

The film is removed only after the emergence of carrot shoots, the cultivation and care of which now involves regular loosening of the soil, watering and weeding the beds.

Care

Answering the question: “How to grow carrots in open ground?”, Experts necessarily dwell on the need for thinning seedlings. But summer residents, sometimes, it is so difficult to part with only sprouts that open leaves. As a result, the number of grown carrots is large, but its quality does not please summer residents at all.

To get a good harvest, you need to break through seedlings in a timely manner:

  • When the first pair of true leaves open on the seedlings, the carrots are subjected to the first thinning, leaving a gap of 3 cm.
  • With two pairs of leaves, excess shoots are again removed, leveling the formed holes.

Thinning is carried out after watering in the evening, so that the sun does not harm injured sprouts, and the smell of greenery does not attract carrot pests. Removed plants are pulled gently, without loosening in the ground.

An obstacle to the growth of good carrots can be a crust on the surface of the bed, after watering it is regularly destroyed by carefully loosening the soil, or the soil is covered with peat mulch. To top part root crops growing and protruding above the soil level did not turn green, carrots are spudded from time to time.

Watering and feeding carrots

The duration of the growing season for carrots is 4-5 months. In the first half of the term, the plant builds up a lot of greenery, requiring abundant, and then the growth of the root crop begins, which reacts negatively to waterlogging.

  • One square meter of young plants requires up to 4 liters of water three times a week.
  • As carrots grow, up to the middle of the growing season, watering is increased.
  • After two months, carrots are watered once a week, using 8–10 liters per square meter.

When thinking about how to grow good carrots, we must not forget about protecting plants from pests. It is also important to prevent diseases of carrots, which can seriously affect the quality of the crop and its safety.

Complex top dressing for carrots is applied twice. The first is carried out a month after the appearance of sprouts, and the second two months later.

Sowing carrots in open ground - video

Carrot is a biennial (rarely annual or perennial) plant from the genus of plants of the family Umbelliferae. The genus includes about 30 species. Widely distributed, including in the Mediterranean countries, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and America.

Among the vitamin composition of the root crop, vitamins C, E, K, B can be distinguished. But most of all in the orange vegetable is beta-carotene, which, after entering the human body, is transformed into vitamin A. It is thanks to him that carrots are known for their ability to maintain vision at the required level.

People who have a garden or cottage, be sure to provide a small garden bed for carrots. It would seem that it’s easier - sow seeds in the ground and wait for the harvest. However, in the cultivation of carrots, there are some nuances that must be taken into account.

The content of the article:

Soil preparation for planting carrots

Site location and lighting . For growing carrots, choose a well-lit area - direct sunlight throughout the day is good for the plant. When grown in the shade, the yield decreases, the taste qualities.

The basis of a great harvest is proper preparation soil for planting carrots in spring and autumn. Preparation activities include digging the earth and fertilizing it. To understand what exactly your soil needs, you need to distinguish between its type. All your further actions will depend on this.

The first stage of land preparation for carrots begins in the fall, after harvesting. During this period, the earth is dug up and fertilized, depending on the type - deep digging for a full bayonet of a shovel with the addition of sawdust and ventilated peat. The amount of sawdust and peat depends on the severity of your soil, but on average three kilograms of the above mixture per square meter is used.

And if the soil has high acidity, then in the fall, during digging, lime or chalk is added at the rate of one glass per square meter. During the winter, all these additives will be absorbed and act as efficiently as possible. Spring rains and melting snow will evenly distribute and absorb the necessary elements.

For chernozem, two tablespoons of sperphosphates are enough. Organic fertilizers can be applied already in the spring, when it is time to re-till the soil before planting.

Soil types . Carrots, although an unpretentious plant, love loose loamy and sandy soil. Such soil gives carrots the sweet and juicy taste that we all appreciate so much. The soil should not be acidic, the ideal acidity (pH) is 5.6-7.

The best composition is achieved by adding the missing elements. First you need to determine the type of soil, for this we recall a simple rule: we take a handful of earth and soak it. Further, from the resulting slurry, we are trying to mold a ball. If the mass crumbles in the hands, then such soil is considered sandy.

Sandy loamy soil does not roll into a ball, but it can be rolled out in the palms to the state of a cord. Clay soil with this method of determination becomes very plastic and lends itself to “sculpting”. The loam also turns into a ball, but no more.

How to make soil suitable for growing carrots . When the type of soil is determined, it becomes clear what needs to be done next. If your site consists of fertile black soil, you don’t need to do anything other than ordinary fertilizers. Peaty soil will require sand, clay soil - sand with peat.

Predecessors - good and bad

It is better to sow carrots in those areas where they were previously grown:

  • potato;
  • tomatoes;
  • salad.

What antecedents should be avoided? The least suitable area for growing carrots is the bed after parsley. This is due to the fact that parsley during its growing season creates comfortable conditions in the soil for the appearance and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. As a result, root crops begin to hurt, grow small, crooked, with dry pulp, and become defenseless against pests.

Landing dates

Before sowing seeds in open ground, the gardener must decide why he grows carrots and when he wants to get a crop.

Sowing dates:

  1. Early spring sowing from April 15 to May 15. Throughout June, you can already collect carrots in a bunch, and with the advent of August, enjoy sweet root crops.
  2. Summer sowing from May 15 to June 10. Harvesting will take place at the end of September, these carrots are laid in the cellar for winter storage.
  3. Podzimny sowing from October 20 to November 15 allows you to use a young root crop before the main harvest. The main thing is to choose right place for beds - it should be on a hill so that the spring melting of snow does not drown the seeds.

If you sow at all possible times, then fresh vegetables will be on the table all year round.

During winter sowing, the formation of root crops occurs at a time when the carrot fly is just beginning its life activity. She is not yet able to harm the crop in the garden, the vegetables will be better.

Purchase of seed material

When choosing carrot seeds, preference should be given to zoned ones, they are adapted to local conditions, give a stable harvest in a particular area. planting material foreign selection has good germination and gives beautiful, even root crops. Domestic varieties have advantages in terms of carotene content and taste.

Go for the purchase of seeds, having formulated clear requirements for the variety, buy them in specialized stores, where the percentage of fakes is minimized. Pay attention to the manufacturer, do not purchase seeds in homemade bags.

Be sure to look at the expiration date, germination lasts for 2-3 years. Carrot seeds are small, so it is convenient to sow coated ones.

Pre-sowing preparation of seeds

Pre-sowing preparation allows you to immediately identify "defective" seeds and accelerates germination. Therefore, this step should not be neglected. Moreover, the procedure requires almost no effort.

  • To begin, the seeds must be poured warm water. After 10 hours, all the "illiquid assets" will surface.
  • To speed up germination by a week or even more, it is necessary to carry out one more simple manipulation. Seeds are placed on a damp piece of cloth or cotton wool and kept for several days. The air temperature should range from +20 °С to +24 °С. In such conditions, after three days the seeds will hatch - fragile roots will appear.

Sowing of seed material in open UAH

Since the seeds are very small and difficult to plant, gardeners have come up with some ways to ensure that small seeds lie flat and do not fall all in one place.

Planting carrots in open ground with seeds is as follows:

  • most often the seeds are mixed with sand, they do not stick together and fall more evenly in rows;
  • each seed is glued to a roll of toilet paper with a paste at the right distance, in the spring such tapes are simply dropped into the garden;
  • jelly is prepared from potato starch, seeds are placed in it and poured through the spout of the kettle into prepared rows;
  • if the carrot seeds are coated, they are simply sown in the grooves.

In any case, the seeds are planted at a distance of 3–5 cm from each other in rows, and a distance of 15–20 cm should be maintained between the rows (grooves) themselves.

So that the weeds do not crush the tender shoots, and the moisture does not erode and a crust does not appear on the soil, the crops are covered with a film. Shoots appear at a temperature of 18 degrees in two weeks. Moreover, young shoots are not afraid of short-term frosts, but after a long cold, the plant stops growing roots and gives out flowering.

Outdoor carrot care

Growing carrots and caring for them in the open field requires a certain systematic approach. This is especially true for irrigation. It is very important to know how to water carrots in the open field. After all, with a lack of watering, young roots may not reach the water, and the seedlings will die, and overflow threatens to turn tasty and juicy carrots into livestock feed. Watering should be plentiful, but not often.

When the carrots already form long roots, some gardeners stop watering it altogether. In this case, the roots rush straight down, forming straight and long roots.

Frequent, shallow watering promotes hair growth in carrots and the fact that the fruit grows crooked. But weaning the plant from watering is also risky. If the carrots are on water starvation for a long time, and then suddenly a rainy period comes, all the fruits will crack. Watering carrots in open ground should not be frequent, but systematic. Already from the moment of the first shoots, carrots can be fed, she will gratefully accept this.

In addition to watering, thinning is necessary. Small seeds, when planted, sometimes fall so close to each other that they do not allow the fruits to fully develop. If thinning is neglected, carrots will grow thin, frail, which will quickly rot during storage, and it will not be suitable for the table.

Carrot care in the open field contains another very important stage - loosening. Carrots without this procedure grow crooked, small and ugly. Very often, loosening is combined with weeding or thinning. Weeding is also needed so that strong weeds do not obscure the sprouts.

Growing carrots (Video)

Disease and pest control

Phomosis of carrots, or dry rot. Dry rot, or phomosis, can be recognized by small black dots on the top of the roots. Brownish spots with black patches appear on the leaves.

You can reduce the likelihood of dry rot on carrot crops by seed dressing with potassium permanganate. Plowing the soil after harvesting to a greater depth, and applying potash fertilizers can also help.

Sclerotinia, or white rot. Sclerotinia or white rot manifests itself even at the growth stage, but the mass death of the crop from this disease occurs during storage. Affected root crops are first covered with small spots. white color with cotton pad. Within a few days, the plaque thickens and turns black. Over time, oily drops begin to stand out from the spots.

It is almost impossible to eliminate an already existing carrot disease. You can avoid the spread of infection by reducing watering and removing diseased plants from the garden. An important role is played by the correct preparation of the soil before sowing. If it is heavy and sour, from autumn you can add 150-200 g of dolomite flour or fluffy lime for each sq.m.

To prevent the spread of sclerotinia during storage of carrots, it is recommended to observe temperature regime(not higher than 10°С) and optimal humidity air.

Alternaria, or black rot. Alternariosis or black rot affects the ground part of carrots: brown spots appear on the surface of the leaves. Further, the infection spreads, the leaf plates die off completely, after which the fungus passes to the upper part of the root crop, causing it to rot.

Most often, alternariosis affects carrots in wet and humid summers. Plant residues and weeds serve as the source of infection. To avoid the spread of the disease, it is important to burn all carrot tops after harvesting and thoroughly clean the area from weeds.

Botrytiosis, or gray rot. Botrytiosis affects exclusively root crops and develops both at the stage of their growth and during storage. At the beginning of the development of the disease, brown spots appear on carrots, which eventually grow and become covered with a gray-green moldy coating. The causative agent of carrot botrytiosis persists in the soil, so crop rotation is important to prevent crop death.

Bacteriosis, or wet rot. Wet rot or bacteriosis of carrots begins to manifest itself even during the growth of the crop in the garden. First, small yellowish spots appear on the leaves, then the infection passes to the root crop. At its tip, rounded watery sores form, quickly spreading over the entire surface. From the carrot comes a sharp and bad smell, it becomes slimy.

Bacteriosis of carrots most often affects plants in hot, humid weather. To avoid crop loss, you can disinfect the storage areas of root crops with sulfur checkers. It also helps to cope with the disease crop rotation and cleaning from the beds of plant residues and weeds.

It is possible to destroy the infections listed above in the soil by introducing Trichodermin, Gamair and Fitosporin-M biological products into it before planting.

Carrot fly. The activity of carrot pests can be determined by the characteristic damage to roots and tops.

Rodents (voles and moles) leave deep cavities on their surface.

Insects and their larvae, on the contrary, they make small moves in carrots. Despite the small size of damage, root crops lose their marketable appearance and taste, and become unfit for consumption. Pests also contribute to the spread of viral and bacterial infections of carrots.

The carrot fly begins to lay its eggs in the soil near the plants as early as the end of May. The larvae hatched from them sink into the root of the plant, often reaching its core. Damaged carrots are characterized by an irregular shape, an unpleasant taste and smell. It is stored for a short time, as it rots in the first months after laying.

There are several ways to deal with carrot fly.

  • Firstly, the early planting of this crop helps.
  • Secondly, it is important not to thicken the crops, since when thinning carrots, the pest flies to the smell that has appeared.
  • Thirdly, you can scare away the insect with the help of irritating substances: pepper and mustard. They must be scattered between crops immediately after germination and periodically add new portions. T
  • Fourth, it helps to get rid of the carrot fly by spraying the beds with special preparations (Spark, Spark BIO, etc.).

Carrot leaf and aphids. Carrot psyllids and aphids can damage crops. They settle on the leaves and stems of the plant. You can notice their appearance by the characteristic yellowish spots on the leaf plates and a sticky coating on them. At the same time, carrots stop growing, the root crop is bent.

Methods for dealing with fleas and aphids the same as in the defeat of carrots by a fly. You can fight all of the above pests with the help of insecticides Fas, Fitoverm, Aktellik and Iskra-BIO. They must be used according to the instructions.

Harvest and storage

Harvesting . Carrots should be harvested when the root crop is fully formed. For processing and quick consumption, you can collect earlier.

Harvesting carrots is not a matter of one day and takes place in several stages:

  1. Root crops are dug up with a shovel and pulled out by the tops.
  2. The tops are cut off or cut off, leaving a tail of 2-3 cm.
  3. Carrots are allowed to dry for several hours, but not in the sun, but in a light shade.
  4. After drying, the ground is cleaned from the fruits.
  5. It is not recommended to wash carrots intended for winter storage, although some gardeners practice this.

Storing carrots in the winter in the sand . Carrots are stored for a long time in cellars and caissons, placed in wooden, cardboard or plastic boxes with holes for air circulation.

Preparing storage boxes:

  1. Prepare or buy 2-3 bags of dry sawdust, sand or peat.
  2. Prior to storage, carrots are sorted out, dry, rotten, diseased, small fruits are rejected.
  3. Root crops are placed in boxes, sprinkled with sand so that they do not touch each other.

Before cleaning in the cellar, boxes with carrots are placed in a room with an air temperature of 6-10 degrees. After a few days, it is already possible to thoroughly determine the boxes for wintering in the cellar.

General rules for winter storage of carrots:

  • It is not recommended to store carrots in winter with apples - such a neighborhood reduces the taste of orange fruits.
  • It is desirable to store carrots at a temperature of 0-1 degrees Celsius and an average humidity of 90%. The higher the temperature, the shorter the shelf life of carrots.
  • It is preferable to divide vegetables into varieties and hybrids during winter storage - this will reduce the risk of decay. Do not neglect this rule, because each variety or hybrid has its own shelf life. Some specimens can lie until March, other, less keeping varieties, will begin to rot and infect healthy ones.
  • During the entire storage period, it is necessary to check if there are any rotten fruits in the boxes. If there are too many of them, sand or sawdust must be changed. To do this, it is always good to have dry filler in stock.
  • And do not forget to ventilate the storage area

Popular varieties of carrots

NANDRIN F1. One of the most popular hybrids with early ripening - up to 90 days. Its roots have the correct cylindrical shape. They have an orange-red surface and bright orange flesh. The length of a mature carrot will be no more than 20 cm, and the weight will not exceed 170 grams.

Nantes. This root crop of Soviet selection was obtained during the war years, but despite this, its popularity is only growing every year. Carrot Nantes is mid-season, that is, from the first shoots to harvesting, no more than 100 days will pass. The cylindrical obtuse shape of the carrot is colored orange. Its length will be up to 14 cm, and the weight will not exceed 100 grams.

The pulp of the root crop is particularly tender and juicy. It is ideal for all culinary ideas, as well as for processing into juice. The average yield will be up to 6.5 kg with square meter.

SHANTANE. Shantane carrots are the second most popular after Nantes. It is also mid-season and is characterized by even and smooth roots of a bright orange color. In their shape, they resemble a cone with a rounded and blunt bottom. Their maximum length will be about 15 cm. At the same time, they are immersed in the ground for the entire length. Only its sprawling green rosette is visible. The orange pulp of Shantane is quite dense and sweet with a barely noticeable core.

High yield will allow you to collect up to 9 kg per square meter. In addition, Shantane is resistant to cracking and can be stored for a long time.

ANASTASIA F1. The carrots of this mid-season popular hybrid are quite large with strong dark green tops. It is cylindrical in shape and bright orange in color. The length will not exceed 22 cm, and the weight will be 160 grams. They are all perfectly aligned in size, which makes it possible to grow them for sale. Carrot Anastasia F1 has excellent taste characteristics. Its orange flesh is juicy and very sweet.

The yield of this hybrid will be about 6 kg per square meter. At the same time, it can be stored without loss of taste and commercial qualities for 8 months.

DOLYANKA. An upright rosette of leaves from this popular variety hides orange carrots. She has a conical shape with a convex top and a slightly pointed bottom. The length of Dolyanka will not exceed 28 cm and weigh up to 200 grams. Orange pulp has a large core and excellent taste. Distinctive qualities are good plant immunity, the absence of premature flowering and excellent preservation.

Due to its late ripeness, a rich harvest will have to wait up to 150 days. From one square meter it will be possible to collect up to 8 kg of carrots.

EMPEROR. This late-ripening popular variety is one of the record holders for length and weight. The maximum weight will be 200 grams, and the length is 30 cm. At the same time, they have an excellent presentation: all are large, smooth and even. The surface and flesh of the Emperor are orange-red in color. Against the background of dense pulp, a small core stands out a little.

She has excellent taste. It is juicy and moderately sweet. In addition, it has a pleasant aroma. It is perfect for use in cooking and for processing into juice.

VITAMIN 6. One of the best popular mid-season root crops. Orange carrots can be harvested after 110 days from germination. Vitamin 6 has a semi-erect rosette of green leaves and a blunt cylindrical root crop.

The length of a ripened carrot will be about 15 cm, and the weight will be 160 grams. The orange flesh of this carrot in cross section has a diameter of 5 cm. It has a small core and excellent taste. It is perfect for both fresh consumption and canning.

The yield of Vitamin 6 can reach up to 10 kg of carrots per square meter.

CANADA F1. This mid-season hybrid has a powerful semi-spreading rosette of dark green leaves. It closes a smooth semi-conical root crop with a blunt tip. Its length will not exceed 23 cm, and the weight will be in the range from 120 to 160 grams. The rich orange surface of this carrot has an orange pulp with a diameter of 5 cm. Against its background, a small orange core practically does not stand out. Carrot Canada F1 is juicy and has sweet taste. In addition, it is very rich in carotene - up to 21 mg.

On average, the yield of carrots will be 7 kg per square meter. But under favorable growing conditions, it can reach up to 10 kg.

FLACKE. Mid-season popular variety from Polish breeders. It is characterized by fruit orange red in the shape of a cone. Its length can reach 30 cm, but most often it is 25 cm, and its weight does not exceed 220 grams.

Flakke has orange flesh with an orange small core. Its commercial quality is quite high. In addition to being used for culinary purposes, it is also perfect for winter storage.

The yield of carrots will be up to 10 kg per square meter.

Conclusion

To get a crop of carrots, you need to properly plant the seeds and thin out the seedlings once. Be sure to keep the soil moist and prevent the formation of a hard crust. Mulch the soil in time and save yourself from frequent loosening, watering and fighting carrot flies. And, most importantly, plant as much as you can process so that your work is not in vain.

On our table is constantly present - a root crop, which is a source of carotene, our orange miracle. It is one of our favorite and most important vegetables.

No other vegetable is able to replace, because it contains many substances useful for our body: a large amount of vitamins, essential oils, phospholipids, sterols, mineral salts, trace elements.

And even, the middle of the root crop, which many gardeners dislike, contains apigenin, a substance that has a beneficial effect on the work of the heart. Finely grated carrots can heal burns, purulent wounds.

In Russia, carrot juice was used to treat inflammation of the nasopharynx, heart and liver diseases. Also, carrot juice relieves fatigue, spring beriberi, if you drink it in half a glass 3 times a day.

And almost everyone knows that it is very useful for people with vision problems.

Carrots are widely used in cooking, both raw and in the preparation of a wide variety of dishes, as well as for juice.

A bit of history

According to pundits, carrots were first grown in Afghanistan, where the most big number its types. Initially, carrots were grown not for the sake of the root crop, but for the fragrant leaves and seeds.

The first mention of eating carrot root is found in ancient sources in the 1st century BC. AD

Archaeological studies show that carrots were grown much earlier - almost 2 thousand years BC.

Modern carrots were brought to Europe in the 10th-13th centuries, and in our country it appeared during the time of Kievan Rus.

At first, yellow and white root crops were grown, and only at the beginning of the 18th century did mention of orange carrots appear.

And the legends also say that in the Middle Ages, carrots were considered a delicacy of the dwarves and they exchanged this root crop for gold bars...

carrot requirements

Carrots are quite a demanding crop, and especially to the soil. It likes to grow in fertile, light, loose, permeable and weed-free soil.

The best site for planting carrots will be the one on which manure was applied 1-2 years ago, since carrots react very poorly to fresh manure. In this case, many ugly, branchy root crops grow with very poor taste.

Also, non-standard carrots can grow under the following conditions:

    if fertilizers containing chlorine are applied, the roots will bend or branch;

    if you deoxidize the soil on the eve of planting, the carrot becomes multi-tailed;

    if there are any obstacles in the soil, for example, pebbles, organic residues and the like;

    if there is excess moisture in the soil, the root crop becomes hairy or cracks, the tops grow excessively;

    if you apply and feed unnecessarily with nitrogen fertilizers, carrots begin to branch;

    if we thin out seedlings incorrectly;

    if during the growth of carrots there is not enough moisture - at the same time, carrots, trying to take the moisture it lacks from the soil, release lateral roots, which badly affects its taste and appearance(the pulp becomes rough, the root crop is short and "horned").

Based on this, it is necessary to approach the preparation of the soil for planting carrots with all responsibility.

Firstly , it is better to prepare it in the fall: carefully dig; if it is necessary to deoxidize the soil, then add lime or dolomite flour for digging; you can also add phosphate and potash fertilizers. But, in general, it is best to make all kinds of additives in the soil for carrots, given what type of soil is in your area.

If you have peat soil, then it would be good to add river sand, humus and clay soil to it.

If the soil is clayey - river sand, peat, humus, and with fertile chernozem soil, we only add sand in the spring.

Secondly , in the spring, the plot for carrots, prepared in the fall, must be loosened deep enough, adding a pre-complex mineral fertilizer; try to select all the pebbles so that nothing interferes with the growth of the plant.

Another important condition for the growth of carrots is good illumination of crops. Shading has a very negative effect on plant growth, especially in the initial stages.

If our plantings are thickened and there are a lot of weeds, then the carrots stretch out, the formation of root crops slows down and a lot of small root crops (the so-called undercut) are formed.

Carrots are relatively cold hardy and drought tolerant plants. Its seedlings can tolerate frosts down to minus 2 about C, and already adult plants and up to minus 4 about FROM.

But in those root crops that have suffered frosts, the keeping quality is still reduced.

Carrot seeds germinate at temperatures above 3 about C, a optimum temperature for her height around 18-25 about C. If the temperature rises above 25 about Plant growth slows down.

When choosing a site for planting carrots, it is also desirable to take into account the fact that the best predecessors for it are plants such as: tomatoes, legumes, cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers, green crops.

Sowing dates for carrots

There are several dates for sowing carrot seeds and they depend on when and for what purposes we want to get a crop.

So, for example, to get an early harvest, carrots must be sown from mid-April to early May ( early spring sowing). Carrots sown during these periods can be harvested in a bunch from the end of June to the end of July, and from August we already get a real root crop for summer consumption.

The next sowing date is from mid-May to early June ( summer sowing). This is the main period for sowing carrots, which we will lay for winter storage.

If we want to get young carrots in the fall, then short-fruited varieties can be sown as early as mid-July.

BUT winter sowing seeds (from October 20 to November 15) can provide us with an even earlier harvest. But not every site is suitable for these purposes. For winter sowing we must choose such a place on our suburban area, where in spring the snow melts earlier and the soil should be light, sandy loam, so that in spring there is no flooding of crops.

When sowing seeds before winter, they are only disinfected, and then dried. In the spring, they will pick up moisture, swell and germinate naturally. It is not recommended to germinate seeds, as the sprouts will freeze. Using these sowing dates, we will be able to have fresh carrots from summer to next spring.

In addition, when sowing late carrots until the 20th of June, the development of plants does not coincide with the greatest activity of the carrot fly (in May), which makes it possible to grow better root crops.

How to sow carrot seeds

Essential oils found in carrot seeds in large numbers prevent rapid access of moisture to the embryo and delay germination. Therefore, before sowing, it is necessary to carry out pre-sowing preparation of seeds: disinfection, soaking, germination.

You can read about how, as well as correctly, in previously published articles.

Then the treated seeds are dried and sown. With this treatment, seedlings appear much earlier (after 6-10 days), while if sowing with dry seeds and in insufficiently moist soil, the emergence of seedlings can take up to 40 days.

It is best to grow carrots in garden beds. Before sowing, we thoroughly loosen the prepared beds to a depth of 10-15 cm, then level the surface and make narrow grooves up to 5 cm and a depth of about 2 cm. You should not make grooves deeper, as this can significantly slow down the germination of carrots. We make grooves at a distance of 25-30 cm.

In order for us to have friendly and uniform seedlings, the seeds must be planted to the same depth.

And experienced summer residents advise sowing carrot seeds so that they are soft on top and hard on the bottom.

To do this, we level the bottom of the grooves and seal them with a beam specially prepared for this purpose.

After that, we spill the grooves with water and sow the seeds in moistened soil, trying to keep the distance between them 1.5-2 cm.

Sowing small carrot seeds at such a distance is quite difficult. I want to advise several methods of sowing, with the help of which you can facilitate this process:

    Mix small seeds with sand: mix 1 tablespoon of seeds with 1 glass of sand, then divide the resulting mixture into 3 parts and use each part for 1 m 2 of beds.

    Mix carrot seeds with seeds of beacon plants (lettuce, radish). They sprout much earlier and thus show us where the carrot seedlings are. This gives us the opportunity to carry out the first weeding of the beds with carrots, without fear of damaging the plants, much earlier than usual.

    Also very convenient is the liquid sowing of carrots, in which the germinated seeds are mixed with a liquid paste made from potato starch. Then carefully "pour" them into the grooves from the kettle.

Then we cover the seeds with loose sifted soil or a mixture of peat and sand, or clean peat with a slight compaction to ensure better contact of the seeds with the soil and moisture inflow.

Watering the ground after sowing is not worth it, as the seeds can move into deeper layers of the soil and will germinate for a long time, or even may not sprout at all. To avoid drying out of the soil, the bed on top can be covered with plastic wrap.

In addition, under the film, the earth warms up much faster. The film will need to be removed after shoots appear.

How to care for carrots

Carrots need our constant attention. Caring for it is periodic loosening of the soil, timely watering, top dressing if necessary, regular weeding and pest and disease control. The most crucial moment in the cultivation of carrots is the germination of seeds and the emergence of seedlings.

At this point, the formation of a soil crust is possible, which must be carefully destroyed (preferably after watering), as it prevents the timely emergence of seedlings. To prevent the formation of a soil crust, crops can be mulched with peat.

After the first shoots appear, you can proceed to the first loosening. At the same time, we act very carefully, trying not to damage the delicate sprouts.

The best time for loosening is immediately after the rain, and if it rains for a long time no, then we first water the carrots, and only then proceed to loosening.

When the carrots have 1-2 true leaves, we thin out the crops, leaving a distance of 3-4 cm between the plants. The second thinning is done 2-3 weeks after the first and after it the distance between the plants should be 4-5 cm.

With a smaller distance, the roots will not reach normal sizes, especially late-ripening varieties.

In order not to form ugly root crops, thinning of crops must be carried out correctly.

First, the bed is watered and only after that the extra plants are pulled out. Moreover, we pull up, and not to the side, without loosening, otherwise the main root of the left carrot may break off and the lateral roots will begin to grow, forming a “horned” root crop.

Thinning is best done in the evening, as the smell of carrots when plants are damaged can attract pests. Rejected plants should preferably be taken away from the garden and covered with earth or compost to drown out the smell.

Let me remind you once again that weeding and thinning should be carried out after rains or watering, and immediately after these operations, the bed should be watered again.

At the same time, the soil around the abandoned plants must be slightly compressed, and the holes in the ground should be filled up.

An operation such as hilling is also important, because during growth the upper part of the root crops is exposed and turns green in the light, forming solanine, which penetrates into the carrots during storage and gives it bitterness.

Hilling root crops is also best done on cloudy days or in the evening, so as not to attract carrot flies.

How much water do you need

Watering for carrots has great importance, since this plant does not like both excessive moisture and dryness.

Carrots have one feature - late crop formation. The growing season lasts approximately 4 to 5 months.

And the growth of root crops begins only after the end of leaf growth, in the last quarter of the growing season.

Therefore, during the growth period, plants are very demanding on soil moisture, and at the end they do not tolerate its excess, and if abundant watering is carried out, the root crops can crack.

In warm and sunny weather, when moisture from the soil quickly evaporates, carrots are watered 3 times a week.

Do not flood young plants too much; approximately 4 liters of water per 1 m 2 will be enough for them. With the growth of root crops, the amount of water is gradually increased.

In the middle of the growing season, carrots can be watered once a week, while already using 8 to 10 liters of water per 1 m 2.

What to feed?

If we have fertilized the soil well for planting carrots since autumn, then it is possible to grow a good crop of root crops even without top dressing.

But still, it is better to do 2-3 more top dressings during the entire growing season.

the first top dressing is desirable to be done a month after germination (1 tablespoon of nitrophoska per 10 liters of water), second- 2 weeks after the first. In early August, carrots can still be fed with a solution of potash fertilizer - this third top dressing. Root crops will become sweeter and also ripen earlier.

And it is best in the second half of the growing season, when watering carrots, add ash infusion to the water (1 liter of infusion per 10 liters of water), since ash is the best potash fertilizer, which is remarkably absorbed by all plants.

In addition, ash protects plants from many diseases and pests. You can even just sprinkle the carrot beds with wood ash once a week before watering.

It is also very good to carry out foliar feeding of carrots with a solution boric acid(1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water). It will be enough to carry out such top dressing twice: during the period of active growth of the underground part of carrots (the first half of July) and when the carrots begin to ripen (the first half of August).

When and how to harvest carrots

Harvesting carrots can be carried out in several stages.

Firstly, as soon as the root crops grow up, they can be pulled out selectively for food. From this, in the beds, the remaining plants become freer and they receive more nutrition, moisture and begin to increase their mass faster.

And late varieties of carrots intended for winter storage are harvested from the second half of September to the first half of October, before the onset of frost.

It is not worth rushing with harvesting, because root crops grow intensively in the second half of September. But at the same time, it is impossible to be late, since carrots that have fallen under frost are poorly stored and die.

Carrots can be pulled out by the tops if your soil is light. On denser soil, this will be quite difficult to do, and you can’t do without the help of a shovel. Shake off excess soil with your hands.

After pulling out, we sort the root crops: we leave the whole and healthy ones for winter storage, the damaged ones are set aside for quick processing, and it is best to throw away the small and sick ones.

Then, for those root crops that we are going to lay for storage, we cut the tops to the very head.

If you liked the cultivated variety of carrots and you want to get your own seeds of this variety, then select the best root crops (seeds) and leave about 2-3 cm of tops from them.

Then we dry the carrots processed in this way under a canopy (but not in the sun) and put them in storage.

How to store carrots

We store carrots in the basement (cellar) in wooden or plastic boxes. We put it in boxes in layers, pouring it with wet sand and try to arrange the root crops so that they do not touch each other.

It is also good to use moss instead of sand.

I want to advise another way to store carrots - "glazing" with clay. This is done as follows: we dilute the clay with water to the consistency of thick sour cream, dip the root crops into this “glaze” and put them on a wire rack in order to excess fluid glass and coating dry.

In such a shell, our carrots almost do not lose moisture and remain fresh until spring. But of course, at the same time, the storage temperature should be around 0 0 C and the storage should be dry.

If for some reason the previous methods of storing carrots do not suit you, then you can still thickly sprinkle the root crops with crushed chalk, while reducing the likelihood of putrefactive processes.

And if you additionally sprinkle the root crops with onion peel, then they will be stored even better.

In this article, dear friends, I only touched on the issue growing carrots, but, about all their diversity and about diseases and pests that annoy carrots, I plan to tell in the following articles.

See you soon, dear friends!

The answer to the question of how to grow a good crop of carrots in your country house is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

The quantity and quality of the crop directly depends on the type and condition of the soil.

This useful culture is quite demanding in care, loves light very much and does not tolerate even slight shading. At the same time, carrots are one of the most drought-resistant crops; they easily tolerate frosts and remain viable during a prolonged cold snap.

The quality of the grown carrot crop is very dependent on the condition and type of soil. To obtain a rich harvest, it is necessary that the soil be light in texture, its arable layer be deep, fertile and with good drainage. Carrots are best suited to sandy and light loamy soils with a neutral or slightly acidic environment.

The soil for carrots should be light in texture.

Speaking of the arable layer, it must be borne in mind that in eco-farming it is formed not as a result of digging or deep plowing, but with the help of green manure roots - cultivated and weed plants grown as organic fertilizer, microorganisms and worms. They structure the soil layers so carefully that no mechanical effect can be compared with them.

Carrots compare favorably with other vegetable crops in that it is unpretentious to what plants were the owners of the garden before it, but still the best predecessors of carrots are cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, all types of cabbage, potatoes, onions, garlic and any legumes.

Do not grow carrots in the same place for more than 3 years.

How to properly prepare the soil and seeds for sowing

Soil preparation

A bed for carrots begins to be prepared in the fall. Stones are selected from the ground that can prevent root crops from growing. Then humus or compost is added to the poor soil at the rate of 10 liters per 1 sq. m, in acidic - chalk, in heavy - sawdust, river sand and peat. In addition, the bed can be covered with mulch or sowed with green manure.

In the spring, about a week before sowing, clods of earth are broken up with a rake on future beds and their surface is leveled. Then the beds are watered with water at a temperature of + 30-40 ° C, and then covered with plastic wrap, which will help protect the soil from drying out and create conditions for warming it up.

Seed preparation

Carrots are extremely photophilous - attempts to grow this crop, both in the shade and in partial shade, are completely useless.

Carrot seeds have low (only 55-75%) germination. Therefore, it is necessary to sow exclusively fresh seeds.

Carrots sprout for a long time and unfriendly. This happens approximately 14-20 days after sowing. Such a long germination is explained by the fact that essential oils are present in the seeds of carrots, which prevent the penetration of moisture into them, as a result, the process of swelling and germination slows down. Seed growth begins only after the essential oils are washed off their shell, therefore, when the weather is dry, the germination of root crops is delayed. To prevent this from happening, carrot seeds must be prepared for sowing.

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Methods for pre-sowing seed preparation

  • soak;

The seeds are put into cloth bags and dipped in warm (+30°C) water for a day, which must be changed every 4 hours. Seeds can also be soaked in a nutrient water solution of wood ash (1 tablespoon of ash per 1 liter of water). After soaking, the seeds must be rinsed in clean running water.

Experienced gardeners combine soaking with hardening to get the best result. To do this, wet cloth bags with seeds are placed in the refrigerator and kept for 2 to 5 days.

  • heat treatment;

Cloth bags with carrot seeds are dipped for 20 minutes in hot (+50 ° C), and then for 2 minutes in cold water.

  • bubbling;

Thanks to bubbling, the seeds ripen faster.

Seeds are soaked in water saturated with air or oxygen. The bubbling vessel must be made of non-oxidizing materials. A hose is connected to it, through which air is supplied from a compressor or an oxygen cylinder. A filter from an emery wheel is put on the end of the hose. Above it is placed a grid for collecting seeds, fixed at the ends of the container. The container must have a hole to drain the brine or water.

In the process of bubbling, the entire layer of water is uniformly saturated with air. On a small, non-industrial scale, a compressor can be used to home aquarium. In this case, the ratio of water and seeds should be 5:1. The sparging time for seeds of each crop is different. For carrots, it is from 17 to 24 hours. If air is supplied, and not oxygen, the duration of bubbling is increased by a third.

  • burying seeds in the soil;

Cloth bags filled with dry seeds are buried in cold soil for 10-12 days to a depth of one bayonet of a shovel. Seeds treated in this way germinate 4-5 days after sowing.

You can mix the seeds with wet peat and place them in a warm place for one week, where they will germinate. Then sow them as usual.

After using any of the above methods, carrot seeds must be dried for 20-25 minutes at room temperature. Then they are sown in open ground.

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How to sow carrots and care for them

Carrots are grown in a seedless way. At the same time, the terms of its sowing in open ground are as follows:

  • in winter: 2nd half of October - 1st decade of November;
  • in spring: 3rd decade in April - 1st decade in May and 1st decade in June.

Carrots have small seeds, which makes it difficult to sow them. In order to prevent thickening of crops, a little trick is used. A teaspoon without a hill of seeds is mixed with a glass of sand and 10 square meters are sown with this mixture. m.

Carrots grow best in narrow beds with no more than 4 lanes. If it is planned to grow only carrots in the garden, the sowing technology is as follows. Before spring sowing, grooves are cut on a previously prepared ridge. The distance between them for medium and early varieties make 15 cm, for later - 20 cm. The grooves are watered. In colder climatic zones, hot water heated to + 50 ° C is used for this. Then the beds are powdered with ash and the prepared seeds are sown on them at a distance of 1.5-2 cm.

Sowing depth and seed condition depend on the season:

For summer and spring crops swollen seeds are used. They are planted to a soil depth of 3-4 cm. After sowing, the grooves are carefully sprinkled with soil and mulch (humus or peat). After 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 must 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 are not snowy, the beds with crops are additionally covered with snow, with a layer thickness of 40-50 cm. This technology allows you to harvest 14-20 days earlier.

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Carrot care requires the following conditions

  • temperature regime;

For germination of carrot seeds, a temperature of + 3 ... + 5 ° С is sufficient. The air temperature + 20 ... + 22 ° С is considered optimal for normal growth and the formation of high-quality root crops. At the same time, carrots are resistant to cold, their shoots are able to withstand frosts down to -3-4 ° C and die only when the temperature stays below -6 ° C for a long time. The tops of mature plants die when the temperature is below -8°C.

  • watering mode;

The volume and frequency of watering directly depend on weather conditions and the age of the plants. Basically, carrots need to be watered once every 7 days according to the following scheme:

  1. 3 liters of water per 1 sq. m of land at the very beginning of the growing season.
  2. 10 liters per 1 sq. m after secondary thinning.
  3. 20 l per 1 sq. m during the period of growth of root crops.

When approximately 2 months remain before harvesting, it is necessary to water once every 10-14 days 10 liters of water per 1 sq. m of soil. When 2-3 weeks remain before harvesting the root crops, watering is stopped.

When growing, it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture. The soil should not have both excess and lack of moisture. Carrots, even for a short time, do not tolerate excessive moisture, which causes rotting of root crops, and with prolonged drought, its root crops stop developing, which negatively affects the quality of the crop.

  • weeding;

Carrots sprout slowly, and the beds with it quickly sprout with weeds. To avoid the growth of weeds that inhibit the development of carrot shoots, they must be disposed of. The first time carrots are weeded 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 seedlings and is carried out after heavy rain or regular watering.

  • top dressing;

3-4 weeks later, after the seeds hatched and the first shoots appeared, the plants are fed for the first time with an aqueous solution of chicken manure, mullein, humus or ash (1:10). If necessary, during the formation of root crops and plant growth, feeding is repeated. In areas where organic farming is practiced, due to which a layer of humus is formed in the soil, top dressing is not necessary.

To avoid thickening, carrots are thinned out twice: 11-12 and 19-20 days after the first shoots appear. After the first thinning, the interval between adjacent shoots should be approximately 3 cm, after the next thinning - 5 cm. This procedure is best done in the morning, after which the bed must be watered. Experienced gardeners cultivate the soil on which carrots grow with ground red pepper (hot, hot or bitter). This will muffle the smell characteristic of carrots and protect them from carrot flies. Another effective method protection against this pest - combined planting of carrots and onions. Do not neglect mulching, which significantly saves the effort and time required to obtain good harvest.

Carrots, as one of the most popular root crops, are cultivated everywhere. When growing it, it is important to follow the basic rules of agricultural technology and crop rotation. Only this approach will allow you to grow large and even carrots in the garden. Of course, every farmer has his own secrets of cultivating this vegetable crop, but ultimately everything is aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for the growth and development of fruits.

What varieties of carrots are best to plant

To grow sweet carrots in the country, you should give preference to zoned varieties with high palatability. Specialty outlets have huge selection seed material of different maturity (early, middle, late), sugar content, storage time.

secret successful cultivation carrots is a well-chosen variety:

  1. Nantes-4, Shantane, Karotelka are representatives of universal variants, which have a high immunity to diseases and harmful insects. They are characterized by unpretentious care and resistance to negative factors. environment.
  2. Moscow winter A-545 is suitable for cultivation in all regions of Russia.
  3. The polar cranberry is characterized by a very early ripening period, the ability to produce a crop in 2 months of growth, it can be planted in northern latitudes.
  4. If the culture is planned to be included in the diet of young children, you should pay attention to Vitamin-6, Viking, Children's sweetness, Sugar gourmet. They contain a lot of carotene, sugar. The latter is especially sweet. The advantage of Children's sweets is a long shelf life, up to a new harvest.
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Shantane
Carotel
Moscow winter

polar cranberry
viking
Vitamin 6

Children's sweetness
Moscow winter
Nantes 4

Thanks to breeders who are constantly working on creating new varieties and hybrids, choose best option won't be too difficult.

Conditions for a good harvest of carrots

To get quality and delicious harvest, you need to know how to properly plant carrots on personal plot. When choosing a place for planting, it is better to give preference to soils rich in humus. Carrots love sandy soil, loam, drained peat bogs. Most gardeners are sure that the culture grows well on such land. On dense clay soil and heavy chernozems, it is unlikely that it will be possible to obtain even fruits, since the vegetable practically cannot overcome the resistance of the soil.

It is better to plan a garden bed in areas where cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, garlic, and onions grew before.

Long and large carrots can be grown at a temperature of 18-25 ° C, in heat conditions, metabolic processes inside the root crops slow down. For seeds, the optimum temperature is 3°C. The culture is characterized by sufficient cold resistance and drought resistance, its seedlings can withstand frosts of -2°C, and adult plantings can withstand a drop of -4°C.

Soil Requirements

Land for sowing should be prepared in the fall. On the site, all the tops remaining after harvesting are harvested. If there are stones, rhizomes at the site of the proposed bed, it is necessary to dig the soil onto the bayonet of a shovel. The soil must be fertilized with complex compounds that do not contain chloride forms. The nutrient mixture is introduced into the soil with simultaneous grinding of its large lumps, after which the area is leveled with a rake. The soil for carrots should be enriched with useful trace elements.

If there is a need to introduce deoxidizers in the form of dolomite flour and lime, they are added to the soil in the fall. Fertilizers are best used 2-3 weeks before laying seeds in the soil. To grow large root crops, it is recommended to add sand, perlite, vermiculite to the garden.

Sowing dates for carrots

For growing good carrots, sowing is done when the earth warms up to 3-4 ° C. Such work should be carried out only with varieties early dates maturation. The appearance of the first shoots is expected already on the 20-30th day. But it is best to plant a crop at a soil temperature of + 8-10 ° C. Seedlings grow on the 12-15th day.

Before winter, it is better to sow carrots in the last days of October - in early November. Such terms are relevant for central Russia. It is not recommended to lay the seed material in the ground at earlier dates so that it does not germinate and does not die during frosts.

Agrotechnical practices to increase yield and palatability

Not all novice gardeners know how to grow a good and tasty crop of carrots. But there are basic techniques that allow you to achieve high results. First of all, while the plants are still young and weak (in June), they need to be watered several times. In July, irrigation should be temporarily stopped, which will stimulate the root crops to grow deeper in search of moisture.

It is very important to add mulch every week. If there is such a covering layer, there is no need to loosen the soil and remove weeds.

When growing carrots, every gardener wants to know how to get high yields from this crop. For the correct formation of root crops, an excess of nutrients and moisture in the soil should be avoided. Better to underfeed than to overfeed. It is not recommended to add fresh manure, lime to the beds, regularly add wood ash, nitrogen compounds. Providing plantings with comfortable growing conditions, the farmer promotes the growth of fruits in breadth, sideways. Particular attention should be paid to checking plantings for diseases and pests.

Among gardeners there is an opinion that it is necessary to cut the tops at the last stage of fruit ripening. It is important to understand here that the process of photosynthesis is still ongoing in green leaves and stems, therefore, such a manipulation is not worth doing. Otherwise, the growth of carrots stops.

Sowing features

Before laying seeds in the ground, they are recommended to be disinfected, soaked and germinated. Already processed material is dried and sown. This technique allows you to get shoots after 6-10 days. If dry seeds are planted in insufficiently moistened soil, their germination can be expected only after 40 days.

The bed before sowing also needs to be prepared. To do this, the earth is loosened 10-15 cm deep, after which the surface is leveled and grooves are made 5 cm wide and 2 cm deep. You should not deepen the seeds too much, as this significantly slows down their germination. The grooves are made at a distance of 25-30 cm from each other.

To obtain friendly shoots, the depth in the grooves must be the same. Seeds are sown in moist soil, maintaining a gap between them of 1.5-2 cm. It is very important to know at what distance to plant a crop in order to avoid thinning carrots in the future.

Watering and hilling

When growing carrots in open ground, special attention should be paid to the irrigation system. If there is not enough moisture, young plants will simply die. Overflow contributes to the growth of root crops, their taste quality deteriorates, such a crop is more suitable for feeding livestock. Based on this, watering should be carried out according to the following scheme:

  • To improve the growth of young seedlings, the sprinkling method is used at the rate of 300-400 m3/ha, then drip irrigation is used at a rate of 20-30 m3/ha. The frequency of the procedure is every 2-3 days, everything will depend on the weather conditions.
  • When the fruit formation period begins, the frequency of watering should be reduced, and the volume of water should be increased. Irrigation is done 1 time in 7-10 days. The earth should be moistened to a depth of 10-15 cm.
  • Watering is stopped 1 month before harvest. Otherwise, excessive moisture worsens the taste of root crops and reduces shelf life. To facilitate the process of digging carrots, the bed should be slightly moistened.

A technique such as hilling protects plantings from ultraviolet radiation, reduces the likelihood of plants getting sunburn. In addition, it will be possible to avoid greening of the root crop. Manipulation is desirable to carry out in cloudy weather or in the evening.

Top dressing carrots

To keep the carrots sweet and juicy, you should periodically make nutritional formulations into the ground. The number of dressings per season - 2. The first procedure is performed 3-4 weeks after germination, and the next - after 2 months. It is convenient and effective to use fertilizers in liquid form. There are several options for such dressings, where the selected ingredient is diluted in 10 liters of water:

  • 1 st. l. nitrophoska;
  • 2 cups wood ash;
  • a mixture of potassium nitrate (20 g), urea (15 g) and double superphosphate (15 g).

Folk remedies

Considering that the culture grows better on neutral or slightly acidic soil, ground, crushed chalk is used when planting if the earth is too acidic. Ash, dolomite, lime are also suitable for these purposes. To enrich the soil, it is recommended to use organic fertilizer at the rate of 1 bucket per 1 sq. m.

For growing large root crops, you can use not only ready-made store dressings, but also folk remedies. Three-component fertilizer has gained popularity: nettle, yeast and wood ash. First, the container is filled ¾ of the volume with phyto raw materials, then yeast and ash are added. After keeping in the sun, the mixture is used in the proportion of 1 liter of fertilizer per 10 liters of water. On average, one bucket of nutrient mixture is consumed per bed.