Carrots are a common garden crop, which, along with table beets, potatoes and cabbage, is part of the traditional “borscht set”. The technology of growing this beloved vegetable is in many ways similar to the agricultural technology of most other root crops. Carrots, like all other plants, need regular watering, loosening and top dressing for proper development. Some features of its cultivation lie in the specifics of soil preparation and peculiar methods of preplant seed treatment.
The beds for carrots should be planted in well-lit, preferably southern or western areas of the garden, since only in sunny plots do carrots form large, smooth, juice-filled roots, while in shaded places they grow woody, thin and little sweet.
Excellent neighborhood for carrot beds - onions, potatoes, cucumbers
Carrots should not be planted in places where their closest relatives used to grow - parsley, fennel, dill and other plants from the large umbrella family. The ideal predecessor for carrots is potatoes, and best neighbors in the garden - garlic, beets, beans and onions.
It is unacceptable to sow carrots in the same area for several seasons in a row - it is supposed to be replaced by legumes, tomatoes or cabbage, while carrot beds can be returned to their original place only in the third year of crop rotation.
The best type of soil for growing carrots is sandy loam or light, well-drained loam, in addition, it gives good yields on peat lands, as well as on drained and plowed marshy meadows.
The land in the area intended for sowing carrots should be fertile, loose, well aerated, cleared of weeds and having an acidity close to neutral.
Sandy loam or light, well-drained loam is suitable as soil for growing carrots.
In those places where rainwater stagnates, carrots should not be planted.
Attention! For the cultivation of long-fruited varieties of carrots, only those areas are suitable where the top loose soil layer extends to a considerable depth.
The beds for sowing carrots begin to prepare from early autumn. The earth in the selected area is dug up to a depth of 25-30 cm. Peat, rotted leaves or sawdust soaked in a 0.2% solution (3 kg / m2) are added to the heavy clay soil for loosening.
If the soil is acidic, to neutralize excessive acidity, dolomite flour or crushed chalk in combination with ash is added to the ground during digging (1 glass of mineral supplement and 2 tablespoons of ash per 1 sq. M of soil).
Beds for carrots begin to prepare in the fall
To increase fertility, the land is fertilized with well-rotted or mineral nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers, such as azophoska or ammophos. Manure is applied to the soil in the amount of 0.5 - 0.7 buckets per square meter. m, and fertilizers - in accordance with the instructions for them.
Attention! An excess of nitrogen fertilizers negatively affects the taste and shape of root crops. If the earth is supersaturated with nitrogen, carrots grow on it bitter, clumsy, with a rough skin and a forked tip.
There are three varieties of carrot seeds on sale:
Seeds of the second and third types are ready for planting, and simple, unglazed seeds in weight packs need pre-sowing preparation.
Due to the high content essential oils carrot seeds do not germinate as readily as the seeds of most other root crops. To increase their germination, carrot seeds are treated before planting in one of three ways:
All these procedures, aimed at removing excess essential oil, stimulate the vitality of carrot seeds and contribute to their accelerated germination.
In addition, the seeds can additionally be disinfected by short-term (for 25-30 minutes) soaking them in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
The timing of sowing carrot seeds in open ground depends on individual characteristics specific variety and purpose of growing root crops:
As a rule, carrots are planted on narrow (about 1 m) beds in separate rows spaced at 20 cm intervals. The distance between seeds in one row is kept within 8-10 cm, while the seeds themselves are buried 1.5-2 cm into the ground Sowing is carried out in one of the following ways:
Throughout the season, carrot beds are regularly loosened, weeded and watered. Weeding and loosening is carried out according to wet ground(it is desirable to do this field of each watering or rain) and combine them with hilling carrots. This procedure prevents the formation of root crops with a little attractive and not tasty green top.
To prevent the appearance of green tops, carrots must be hilled
Carrots are watered in the evening with settled and sun-warmed water. Water is poured in small portions from a watering can or through a shower head. Watering is carried out as the soil dries up, trying to prevent its hardening. Irregular watering adversely affects the quality of root crops - they crack on the outside and become stiff from the inside. 3 weeks before the planned start of harvesting root crops, watering is completely stopped.
If carrot seeds were sown in the traditional way, i.e. in bulk, after the appearance of the first two true leaves, the seedlings are thinned out - all the weakest sprouts are pulled out, leaving only well-developed ones after 2-3 cm.
When thinning carrots between the bushes leave 7-9 cm
Repeated thinning is carried out 17-20 days after the first, this time leaving a distance of 7-9 cm between shoots.
Attention! The smell of rumpled tops attracts the main pest of carrots - carrot fly. In order to scare away harmful insects, after thinning, the beds are dusted with ash or ground pepper, and the seedlings removed from the ground are taken away from the garden and disposed of.
During the season, carrots are fed 1-2 times with fertilizers or a 1% solution of chicken manure. The first time fertilizers are applied 3 weeks after the seedlings hatch, and then after another two weeks, top dressing is repeated.
To combat the main pests of carrots - aphids and carrot flies, Bitoxibacillin and Lepidocid are used, which are sprayed on carrot crops every 10-14 days. To prevent the occurrence of fungal diseases such as Alternaria, carrot seedlings are treated with Trichodermin or " Phytocide".
With all of the above tips, you can create favorable conditions for the growth and development of seedlings, carrots, which in turn will contribute to the formation of tasty and large root crops, and, consequently, an increase in yield carrot beds.
Carrots are a very healthy and nutritious root vegetable. It is widely used in the preparation of various dishes and culinary delights, as well as juices. In addition, carrots contain a large number of trace elements and vitamins (the same carotene). It is especially beneficial for the growth and development of children.
To grow a rich crop of beautiful and even carrots, you need to know when and how to sow the seeds in the ground, as well as how to properly care for the seedlings.
Next, you will be presented with all the detailed information about planting carrots in the spring, namely: sowing dates, seed treatment methods, site selection and preparation of the beds, and, of course, proper sowing, as well as many others. useful nuances growing an orange root crop.
Planting carrots with seeds is required to be carried out directly in open ground.
Carrots are not grown through seedlings! If you first plant the planting material in seedlings, and then plant it in the ground, then you are guaranteed to damage the young root crops and they will grow crooked.
As a rule, carrots are sown in the spring, although it is allowed and very welcome.
When to plant carrots in open ground in spring?
Each gardener has his own experience and is guided by the accumulated knowledge, choosing the optimal timing for planting carrots in the spring. Some adhere to the recommendations for rooting seedlings according to the advice of manufacturers, others track favorable days according to the lunar calendar. But best of all, when choosing when to plant carrots in open ground in the spring, navigate on the weather conditions of that climatic zone in which your cottage or garden is located.
Carrots are not afraid of small spring frosts, therefore, if sown in early spring and the temperature will drop, she will be able to endure a slight cold snap (up to - 3 degrees). However, such root crops, most likely, will not be stored for a long time, because low temperatures will lead to the growth of flower arrows and significantly reduce its keeping quality.
Important! There is no need to keep carrot seeds in the ground for a long period, planting them very early. Seedlings tend to rot, rot or not germinate in such conditions (seed germination temperature - +4..+6 degrees).
In this way, the optimum temperature for sowing carrot seeds in open ground is +4..+6 degrees(or less, but the seeds will sprout only when the soil warms up to the named values).
For selection optimal timing sowing carrots in the spring in different regions, it is recommended to focus on weather conditions (climatic features).
Thus, in the South of Russia, an orange root crop is sown in the ground much earlier than in the Middle lane (Moscow region), North-West (Leningrad region), and even more so in the Urals and Siberia.
For example, sowing carrots in open ground in the south of Russia carried out almost immediately after the snow melts, that is, already in the second half of March - early April.
By the way! To obtain the earliest harvest, carrots are planted in autumn before winter or in early spring (in April). But for the purpose of long-term storage, this is usually done later, i.e. sometime in May or early June.
In the Middle lane (Moscow region) sowing is recommended late April-early May.
In the Urals and Siberia work on sowing carrots should be not earlier than May. Around the same time, carrots are planted and in the North-West (in the Leningrad region).
The lunar calendar will help you decide when to plant carrots in the spring, in which month.
According to the lunar calendar, in 2019 for sowing carrots The following days are ideal:
In addition to prosperous days, there are also days when it is extremely undesirable to carry out landing work (periods of full moon and new moon).
So, bad days, according to the lunar calendar, for planting carrots in 2019 are the following dates:
According to lunar calendar, from the magazine "1000 tips for summer residents."
As you know, previous crops play an important role when choosing a site for planting any vegetables (of course, except for, because carrots can be planted after all types of green manure).
So after what (which crops) is it best to plant carrots?
There is a sufficient number of vegetable crops, after which the site is most favorable for a red-haired beauty, namely this:
Important! Carrot do not plant only after celery and parsnips, as well as dill and parsley. And, of course, after the carrot. Those. after umbrella crops.
Carrots are very often grown in the same garden with other crops. So, it is often planted along with parsley, radish, peas, lettuce.
Especially often I plant carrots together with onion sets or leeks.
For example, you can alternate rows of carrots and onions, or alternatively plant onions around the perimeter of the carrot bed.
Thus, onions and carrots are ideal mutually beneficial neighbors: onions repel carrot flies, and carrots, in turn, repel onion flies.
However, you should not plant them interspersed or too close to each other, because onions grow much faster and can simply crush carrots. In addition, it will be very inconvenient to thin out. And carrots require much more frequent watering than onions.
Video: joint landing onions and carrots
Like a bow, they have a similar deterrent effect. marigold, which you can also plant around the perimeter of the garden.
Interesting! Sometimes carrots and radishes planted together, mixing seeds. This way, after you pluck and eat all the radishes, there will be enough space between shoots, which means you won't have to thin out the carrots.
In order to properly plant carrots in open ground with seeds, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with important information on seed preparation and soil quality requirements before planting. You need to know how to sow carrot seeds in the spring so that they sprout quickly and well. And also execute the necessary conditions on planting, sheltering seeds and caring for them after sowing.
Carrot seeds tend to sit long enough before sprouting (up to 3 weeks). The fact is that the essential oils contained in them prevent their swelling and stretch the time of germination and, as a result, germination. Therefore, in order to speed up their germination, the seeds must be soaked (washed with essential oils).
By the way! The germination of carrot seeds remains at a high level (50-70%) for 3-4 years. Yes, compared to other seeds, the percentage of germination in carrots is quite low.
Important! If you bought coated, granulated or glazed carrot seeds, then no additional preparation is required for such seed. They are already processed and covered with a special nutrient shell. Such seeds must be sown dry so as not to wash off the protective film.
Therefore, to accelerate the germination of carrot seeds, the following methods of their preparation (processing) for sowing are used:
However! Many advise keeping the seeds in hot water for a day, while changing the water as it cools and becomes saturated with essential oils.
After soaking, the seeds must be dried to a free-flowing state so that they do not stick during sowing.
Advice! More about seed sparging you can read e.g.
Video: preparing carrot seeds for sowing
There is also a rather unusual, but very effective way improve the germination of carrot seeds. To do this, they need to be poured into a bag and immersed for 20-25 minutes(not for a day or an hour!) into vodka. Then rub the seed bag with your fingers, periodically dipping it in vodka, until a dirty yellowish color and a disgusting smell appear. Next, this bag must be washed in running water, also rubbing with your fingers, and pour onto paper to dry.
Video: increasing the germination of seeds of umbrella crops, including carrots
First of all, you need to choose optimal location for placing a carrot bed in the garden. As you know, carrots are sunny vegetable , so it should only be planted in open areas to spend the whole day in the sun.
Even a slight shading significantly delays the growth of root crops, and as a result, they are formed small.
In general, it is ideal if it is a warm (high) bed.
Orange root vegetable will feel best on light and loose soils. Ideally, if it is cultivated and fertile loamy, sandy or peaty soil. As for her acidity, then it should be neutral or slightly acidic(6.3-7.5 pH).
Note! If a the soil will be too dense, then carrots can grow.
For spring sowing of carrots, in advance, preferably back in autumn, prepare a bed.
During the preparation of the intended area, it is necessary to dig up the garden bed (on a shovel bayonet = 25 cm) and add more humus and rotted compost(1 bucket per 1 sq.m), as well as wood ash and bone meal(100-200 grams per 1 sq.m). If you allow the use of mineral fertilizers, then it is advisable to also apply 10-15 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate(potassium sulfate).
If you have very heavy soil, be sure to add about 1/2 bucket as well. river sand and peat (per 1 sq.m. beds).
During the preparation of the beds, it is necessary remove all weeds and carefully select all large stones.
As you know, carrots cannot tolerate fresh manure and lime.
Note! If you sow carrots in a garden bed previously fertilized with fresh manure (even in autumn), then root crops can grow.
And already in the spring, a couple of weeks before sowing seeds in the ground, if you prepared the garden bed in the fall, you don’t need to dig up the soil (if you cook in the spring, then you just need to do it and just in 2 weeks), you just need to carefully level the soil surface, and also break up large clods of earth.
If you allow the use of mineral fertilizers, then it is also advisable to add 10-15 grams of urea (urea) per 1 sq.m. beds.
Advice! For landing, it is optimal to choose a day when The weather will be warm and calm (no wind).
Step-by-step instructions for the classic sowing of carrot seeds in open ground:
A deeper sowing of carrots will significantly delay the emergence of seedlings, but, on the contrary, a shallower one can cause the death of germinated seeds.
A distance of 15-20 cm is enough so that the rows of carrots do not shade each other.
Do not thicken the crops too much, because. you will need to thin them out more.
Attention! After the first shoots appear, all shelter must be removed promptly (after about 7-14 days, if you previously soaked the seeds). Otherwise, an excessively humid environment can contribute to the decay of tender sprouts.
Video: how to sow carrots
There are several interesting ways to plant carrots in the spring:
The essence of almost all methods is to sow the seeds as evenly as possible, so that subsequently there is no need to thin out a lot.
Many gardeners call this method (jelly) the best known.
In this way, you can sow both soaked seeds and already hatched ones, and without any fear of damaging the sprouts.
The essence of planting carrots in this way is as follows:
By the way! You can take pre-soaked (treated) seeds, or even better, so that they have already begun to hatch.
Alternatively, for convenience and increased sowing speed, it is better to use bottles with a fairly rigid wall, for example, from under milk or kefir (or even better ketchup or dishwashing detergent, the neck is more convenient there). Then, in the bottle cap (if you take a bottle), you can make a hole into which you can firmly insert or screw a plastic tube (the body of a simple ballpoint pen, but without a sharp tip).
Practice ahead of time to adjust the speed and jet for proper seed distribution.
Video: a tricky way to plant carrots without thinning (using a paste)
You can also use a special manual vegetable seeder (planter), which is sold in any garden store.
Perhaps the most popular way to sow carrots is to plant with tape(paper strips, for example, the same toilet paper).
You need to stick the carrot seeds on the paper strips at the appropriate distance, and then simply lay the seed strips in the grooves and cover with soil.
Video: technology for planting carrot seeds on paper tape (toilet paper) in open ground
By the way! Now on sale you can find ready-made tapes with glued carrot seeds. At the same time, they are by no means much more expensive than ordinary seeds.
Thus, you just need to choose the way you like best or not invent and stick to the classics.
There is also a rather tricky way of planting carrots in egg trays, thanks to which 2 problems immediately disappear: thinning and weeding from weeds. However, according to reviews experienced gardeners, this method does not give a proper harvest, the root crops are too small.
Video: just a way to plant carrots in egg cells
Sure to get good harvest carrots, it is necessary not only to sow the seeds correctly, but also to carry out competent and complete care for shoots and growing root crops.
Video: agricultural technology for growing carrots
Carrots are very demanding on moisture.
In case of improper watering, carrots grow deformed (curved) and with a large number of the thinnest roots on the entire root crop.
It is very important to regularly water carrots at the beginning of growth, when the plant still has a weak root system (i.e. at this time it extracts water from the soil rather weakly and spends a lot on evaporation).
When the plant has a sufficiently developed root system, it will no longer need frequent watering.
Advice! Carrots respond well to small drops of watering.
With a developed root system, it extracts water well, consumes it sparingly.
And when about 2-3 weeks remain before harvesting the carrots, watering can be stopped so as not to cause cracking of the fruits when they are overripe.
Note! Detailed information about how to water carrot beds, you can get by reading
Video: how to properly water carrots after planting
All nutrients(fertilizer) should be applied before directly planting carrot seeds in the ground. The application of fertilizers (especially nitrogen) during the growing season can only provoke an increased accumulation of nitrates in root crops.
Worth knowing! Magnesium fertilizers can increase the content of carotene in fruits.
Carrots are very responsive to loosening the soil, because thanks to this procedure oxygen is better delivered (penetrates) to the roots, which is what we need for the development of a good root crop.
It is also very important to carefully weed the beds, ridding them from weeds.
Video: how to get a good crop of carrots - how to water, whether to feed, when to thin out
thinning must be carried out with a strong thickening. In this case, you should not wait until the root crop is tied. Otherwise, you can simply damage nearby root crops, which will lead to a loss of quality appearance.
By the way! More detailed information about the timing and methods of thinning carrots you will find
Video: how to properly thin out carrots
As mentioned earlier, in order to scare away the carrot fly from carrot plantings, you can plant onion.
Thus, knowing all the basic rules and recommendations, it will not be difficult for even a novice summer resident to plant carrot seeds in the spring with seeds in open ground. The main thing is to prepare the bed, soak the seeds and decide on the sowing method. Of course, in order to get a good harvest, you will also need to take care of the seedlings, as well as dig the crop from the garden in time. Well, what do you want? Good luck!
Video: how to plant carrots in open ground with seeds - the subtleties of planting
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Carrots belong to the plants of the Apiaceae family. The homeland of carrots is Central Asia, from where this plant spread first to the Mediterranean, and then throughout the world. This plant has been included in the human diet for more than four thousand years. Currently, there are more than a thousand varieties and varieties of this plant grown in national economy almost all countries of the world. Planting and caring for carrots are notable for their simplicity, which, along with excellent culinary qualities, has provided carrots with a place in the top ten most popular vegetables on the planet.
In nature, there are varieties of carrots in the form of annuals or biennials. Most varieties are biennial varieties. In the first year of life, the carrot forms a rosette of several leaves and a large root crop; in the second year of life, the plant begins to produce seeds
Root crop carrot has a conical or cylindrical shape. It consists of a fleshy plant tissue that has a sweetish aftertaste. The mass of the root crop can vary widely (from 30 g to almost a kilogram).
inflorescences carrots look like umbrellas, consisting of many small white or white-yellow flowers. Fruit carrots are an achene about 4 cm long, which contains several hundred small seeds.
Carrot roots have not only good taste, but also contain many substances useful for human life, such as carotene, flavonoids, vitamins A and B, ascorbic acid.
Carrots are used in almost all cuisines of the world, not only as a side dish, but also as a spice. It also finds application not only in cooking, but also in pharmaceutical industry, traditional and folk medicine. carrot juice It is used as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of metabolic diseases, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, as well as in diseases of the eye.
When growing carrots, the main thing is to decide what kind of carrots you need. The existing variety of carrot varieties allows you to harvest almost throughout the season: from super early to extremely late. Usually, late varieties carrots have a greater keeping quality, that is, they are much more adapted for long-term storage.
If you plan to use young carrots in the summer, you need to use early ripe varieties. If we are talking about stocks for the winter or next year, late-ripening varieties are used.
The choice of variety will determine the entire sequence of actions when growing a vegetable. Some methods used for growing early varieties are not applicable to late varieties and vice versa. Naturally, the timing of sowing vegetables indirectly depends on the timing of ripening.
Traditionally, three schemes for planting carrots are considered, depending on the ripening time:
In the latter case, you should not be afraid of long growing periods, which in carrots can last up to 4 and a half months. Compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology will allow carrots to ripen and gain vitamins until the 2-3rd decade of September.
illumination
Carrots prefer well-lit areas. Moreover, the term “prefers” is hardly appropriate here: carrots must be grown with maximum lighting. There should not even be a hint of a shadow or partial shade. The stay of the plant in sunlight should be at least 75% of the daylight hours. Therefore, the optimal site for planting carrots is the southern slope of the site, devoid of high vegetation on all sides except the northern one.
On the north side of the area allotted for carrots, it is allowed to plant some kind of natural fence, for example, in the form of a hedge of corn or nightshade. You can also place cucumbers on trellises in this place. All this will create additional protection plot with carrots from the cold wind.
Soil for planting
The soil for carrots should be neutral or close to neutral acidity. On alkaline soils, the cultivation of carrots is not allowed. Therefore, liming overly acidic soils should be done with caution. Do not use lime for liming, it is better to do with wood ash. However, its application rates should not exceed 120-150 g per 1 sq. m.
The soil for carrots should be moderately fertile, however, it should not be overly fertilized with particularly active top dressing. This applies to both organic and mineral fertilizers. It is strictly forbidden to use fresh, unrotted manure (even introduced last year), as well as any types of saltpeter, for carrot fertilizer. Such restrictions are due to the fact that at an early stage of ripening, carrots very vigorously absorb nitrates from the soil, which, of course, will negatively affect the quality of the product. In general, any excess of nitrogen is undesirable for carrots; the plant has enough strength to ensure its own growth and vegetation on its own, without nitrogen supplements.
The soil structure for carrots also has one feature: the vegetable grows best on hard and compacted soils.
Separately, it should be said about the predecessors of carrots. Ideal predecessors of carrots are vegetables that, like carrots, draw nitrogen from the soil well. These include:
You should not grow carrots in the place where they already grew last season. Also, the following plants are considered undesirable precursors of carrots:
The use of legumes as a precursor to carrots (or simple green manure) is also questionable. On the one hand, the soil after them is enriched with natural, natural nitrogen, which, of course, is much better than nitrogen in the form of nitrates. On the other hand, as already noted, an excess of nitrogen is undesirable for carrots, since it will be aimed at obtaining an abundant green part of the plant, which may adversely affect the formation of the tuber.
Sometimes it is recommended to use green manure in the form of legumes if the carrots are planted in partial shade. In this case, an excess of nitrogen will be useful for the plant, as it can compensate for the lack of lighting. In other cases, it is not recommended to use legumes as a precursor of carrots.
Use of beds
Efficient cultivation of carrots has several nuances. Firstly, carrots do not like excessive soil moisture; The soil must be well drained. Secondly, the optimal temperature for planting carrots is the range from + 12 ° C during the day to + 5 ° C at night. In addition, planting carrots is carried out in rows.
In view of the above, it is desirable to grow carrots in the beds. Conventionally, their height should be no less than the length of ripe root crops of the selected variety (from 15 to 25 cm). The width of the beds depends on the number of planted rows of vegetables. On average, about 30-40 cm wide beds should be allocated per row.
In this case, two-row cultivation of carrots in beds 60-80 cm wide and 20-30 cm high will be optimal in this case. There are no restrictions on the length of the beds - it all depends on the configuration of the site and the convenience of its maintenance and watering.
Read also:
Regardless of which planting method is used, the soil for carrots needs preliminary preparation. It consists in digging the site to a depth of about 25 cm. At the same time, it is necessary to loosen the soil qualitatively and remove the remnants of the weed root system from it.
After that, it is entered organic fertilizers(for example, humus or compost) and the site is re-digged. If liming of the soil is necessary, it is carried out simultaneously with the application of fertilizers. Sometimes, in the case of excessively viscous soils, it is allowed to add some sand to the site.
In the case of planting on beds, it is desirable to completely fill the lower layer of soil with compost or humus to a height of about 3-5 cm, which will increase soil fertility and provide carrots necessary set nutrients for almost the entire season.
If organic fertilizers are not available, mineral fertilizers should be used. However, one should not be particularly zealous, especially with regard to nitrogen.
Fertilizer consumption rates per sq. m spare plot of carrots are as follows:
All processes for preliminary soil preparation should be completed at least two weeks (in autumn, possibly more) before the planned planting of seeds, so that the soil has time to sink and compact.
Read also:
At spring planting a mandatory procedure is the preliminary preparation of seeds. Carrot seeds contain in their composition a certain amount of essential oils that limit the access of moisture to the embryo, so they begin to germinate quite late.
When using dry seeds, the first shoots will appear only 2-3 weeks after planting. To reduce this time, the seeds should be exposed several times to warm water, which will wash away this protective shell from them.
There are several ways to speed up seed germination:
Placement of seeds in natural conditions
Seeds are placed in a cloth bag and a week before sowing they are buried in the ground to a depth of about 20 cm. When the time for sowing comes, they are taken out and dried for an hour. Then they can be planted in open ground. This is the easiest way; with it, the seeds are swollen, their size increases slightly and it is much easier to work with them. Shoots with such preparation appear within 3-5 days.
Seed sparging
Bubbler - special device designed to pass through the liquid bubbles of air or some kind of gas. In horticulture, this device can be used to stimulate seed growth. If there is no “industrial” bubbler, you can make it yourself.
Seeds are placed in a container with warm water, and atmospheric air is supplied to it with the help of an aquarium aerator. The process continues for about a day. Seeds after sparging are wrapped in a damp cloth and stored for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Immediately before disembarking, they are taken out of the refrigerator, dried. This method allows not only to speed up the germination process, but also to reject unsuitable seeds for planting - they will float during the bubbling process.
Coating of seeds
With this method, the seeds are covered with a special nutrient shell. It also makes sowing easier (because the dimensions planting material increase) and reduces the amount of seed per unit area. Ready-made pelleted seeds can be purchased at the store, or you can make them yourself.
To drag 2 tablespoons of carrot seeds, you need to take the following components:
The seeds are placed in a liter jar and 1/3 of each of the components is added to them, after which the jar is closed with a lid and shakes vigorously in for three minutes. After that, half of the remaining components are added to it, the jar is closed again and its contents are shaken again for 3 minutes. After that, the procedure is repeated with the rest of the components.
As a result of this treatment, the seeds will be covered with a shell of the nutrient composition. They should be laid out on a sheet of paper and dried. This method accelerating seed germination is considered the most effective.
Placing seeds in nutrient solution
Not the most efficient, but the simplest and fast way preparing carrot seeds for planting. Usually, a dilution of 10-20 g per 1 liter of water is used as a solution. special means, which can be fertilizers such as sodium humate, Effekton, or the most common ash.
After the solution is ready, seeds are immersed in fabric bags for a period of about 1 day. After that, the seeds are washed and placed in the refrigerator for several days, wrapped in paper cloth. Immediately before planting in the ground, the seeds are completely dried.
Carrots can also be planted at times different from the "traditional" ones. Carrot seeds are able to germinate already at + 4-6 ° C, therefore, some correction of planting dates relative to the end of April is allowed. Seeds in the soil can tolerate frosts down to -6 ° C, so you should not be especially worried about their fate after planting.
It does not make sense to delay planting in a warm climate until late, unless it is due either to grow the crop by a certain date, or to delay the ripening period as much as possible in order to extend the shelf life accordingly.
There are also recommendations for planting carrots in different types soils, depending on their density. It is believed that harder soils are better suited for growing late-ripening varieties of carrots, where they should be planted no later than the first days of May. On medium soils, carrots can be planted until the first half of May, and on light soils - until the end of May.
After the soil and seeds are prepared for sowing and the right time comes, proceed directly to planting. Planting seeds is carried out at a depth of about 2-3 cm with light sandy or sandy loamy soils. In heavy loams, seeds should be deepened no more than 1.5-2 cm.
The distance between the rows can be chosen based on the size of the plot or each particular bed, however, it should not be less than 20 cm. Otherwise, the plants of neighboring rows will not only interfere with each other, but the process of cultivating the land between the rows will be significantly complicated.
Seeds are planted at a distance of about 3-4 cm relative to each other. Keeping such a distance is not easy enough, so landing methods are often used that “automate” the process a little.
One of these methods is the so-called tape method landing. Its essence is as follows: on pre-prepared strips of paper with the required interval of 3-4 cm, prepared for planting and dried carrot seeds are glued. Gluing is done with a paste. For these purposes, any thin paper is used (often toilet paper is used).
When the paste dries, the paper rolls up. When planting on a garden bed, in this case, not holes are harvested, but whole grooves, the depth of which corresponds to the density of the soil. A moistened tape with seeds is placed in this groove.
Seeds are covered with a layer of soil and slightly compacted. After that, they are lightly watered and the soil is mulched with straw, hay or sawdust with a layer of about 3 cm. Mulching is necessary so that a soil crust does not form over the germinating seeds.
In some cases, when tape planting, when a tape with glued seeds is placed in an earth furrow, one granule of a complex seed is placed next to each seed. mineral fertilizer- this will help the plant to form faster.
Winter planting carrots has several advantages. Firstly, it does not require much thought about what time and what to sow. Whenever it happens, the seeds will not hatch and grow until spring comes. Secondly, during winter planting, seed preparation measures are not carried out at all, since during their wintering under snowy winter soil, all processes, from stratification to swelling and germination, will be supervised by nature itself.
It is obvious that such a method of landing, freeing the owner from complex and responsible events, has its own reverse side. Unfortunately, it is: in this way you can grow only early and early maturing varieties carrots that are not stored for a long time.
Usually, autumn planting produced in the third decade of October or in the first decade of November. The previously described preparation of the soil for planting in some cases (lack of rain, frequent cold snaps and weather changes) should be carried out not two weeks, but a month before the planned planting.
All activities in the garden are completely similar to planting in the spring. And the depth of the soil, and the sequence of actions, and possible application alternative methods landings - all this remains in force. However, as a material for mulch in the case of winter planting, not ordinary covering materials should be used, but their nutritional “analogues”.
These can be peat or humus. The mulch layer in this case is also 3 cm.
Carrots are perhaps one of the most beloved and often grown on summer cottages root crops. It is hard to imagine traditional home cooking without this colorful ingredient: many varieties of this garden crop can be stored fresh for a long time, representing an invaluable source of trace elements and vitamins in the winter season. Is it easy to cultivate carrots on your plot? Cultivation and care in open ground for this vegetable crop have a number of features. Despite the seeming simplicity of this process, one should not forget that carrots are a rather capricious vegetable. Unsuitable conditions, untimely watering or top dressing will lead to the fact that instead of even juicy carrots, at best, you will get a crop of fodder vegetables. Therefore, it is so important not only to know how to plant carrots with seeds, but also how to provide root crops with proper watering, care, and protect them from pests. When should seeding be started? What do novice summer residents need to know about in order to grow beautiful and tasty carrots? Planting and care in the open field, ways to pre-treat the seeds and simple proven methods of protection against the natural enemies of this root crop are collected in this article.
The time when to sow carrots in open ground largely depends on the variety of the root crop. Conventionally, they are usually subdivided according to the timing of aging. It:
Certain varieties are quite suitable for winter sowing under the film. These include, for example, the well-established "Moscow Winter", "Amsterdamskaya", "Incomparable", very tender carrots "Children's Sweetness", the hybrid "Baby F1", the cold-resistant variety "Paris Carotel" and other early and mid-ripening varieties. The optimal time for winter planting seeds can be determined independently. Summer residents who have been practicing this method of cultivation for more than one year recommend waiting for the first slight freezing of the soil, 3-5 cm deep. This will avoid untimely emergence. You can safely begin to germinate overwintered carrots in the second half of April. To do this, a small greenhouse is installed above the bed or just arcs covered with a film, after which intensive watering is provided to the seeds.
The time for the usual spring sowing, of course, should be determined taking into account the climatic characteristics of a particular region. Special attention should pay attention to such a characteristic as the ability to long-term storage. For juicy early-ripening varieties, such as, for example, Tushon, Lydia F1, Minicor F1 and similar varieties, this quality is not important. For winter stocks of this vegetable, it is preferable to choose those that retain their properties for a long time: varieties of the variety "Nantes", "Orange Muscat" and "Fairy", suitable for April planting, "Chantane" or any late varieties.
Based on conditions middle lane, then for growing the first crop rich in vitamins, early varieties of carrots are best sown no later than the end of April. That is, starting around the 20-25th. Juicy early ripening varieties are perfect for this: "Amsterdamskaya", "Orange Muscat", very sweet carrots "Touchon", "Beloved" and others.
For a “reserve” crop, carrots should be planted no earlier than May, best of all in the middle of the month. At the same time, it is recommended to choose varieties related to late or mid-season, but always with a long shelf life of all the properties of the root crop. It can perfectly “overwinter”, for example, mid-ripening carrots “Alenka”, “Nantes”, “Leander”, “Grenada”, “Vitamin”. Almost all late varieties are capable of proper storage lie down the whole winter season and remain tasty and healthy until next spring. good performance deserved the popular varieties "Red Giant", "Queen of Autumn", "Mo", "Flakke", "Incomparable", "Saint-Valery" and other late-ripening varieties. Particular attention should be paid to the variety "Perfection", which has a high immunity to decay from moisture.
What tips from experienced gardeners should be used so as not to end up with a crooked and tasteless "fodder" carrot? Planting and care in the open field begins with the preparation of the seeds of this root crop long before it enters the ground.
First of all, you should pay attention to when the seed material was harvested. As a rule, summer residents use purchased seeds for sowing or fairly fresh “homemade” seeds collected from last year's harvest. If purchased ones are used, then before planting carrots with seeds in open ground, you should pay attention to the expiration date marked on the bag with seed material: a guaranteed good result in the form of an excellent harvest can be obtained from seeds that at the time of sowing are no more than 3- 4 years old.
Further, a reasonable decision would be to carry out preliminary preparation to increase the germination of seed material. This procedure includes pre-germination and stratification, that is, the period of keeping the seeds in special conditions. How is the stratification of carrot seeds carried out at home? The whole process of preparation and hardening will take at least 10 days.
The first thing to do is soak the carrot seeds for two hours. Water should be neutral "room" temperature.
After soaking, the seed material is evenly scattered on a damp cloth. From above, the seeds are also covered with a moistened cloth.
They should be kept in the fabric until they swell. All this time the fabric needs to be moistened. Avoiding the drying of the seed material, they need to be gently mixed from time to time.
As soon as the seeds begin to hatch, they must be placed in the refrigerator. Hardening in such conditions is carried out for 10 days.
There is another, long-known method of pre-germination of seed material. To do this, the seeds are simply poured into a bag of cotton fabric and “dig in”, that is, they burrow into the ground at a shallow depth also for a period of about 10 days.
To get a good harvest, you will need to take under the carrot beds appropriate place on a site that meets all the necessary conditions.
One of the main needs of this vegetable is a lot sunlight. Carrots in the shade do not grow well and do not taste good.
If winter sowing is supposed, then it is necessary to make a bed not only on an illuminated, but also on an elevated piece of land. This will avoid further erosion of the seeds by melt water.
It is also important what crops grew on this place last year. Carrots cannot be grown for several years in a row on the same bed - the soil is depleted, giving microelements to the root crop, so the earth must be given a "rest" for at least one or two years. In addition, the natural enemies of this root crop can be transmitted, pests can remain in the soil from last season. For the same reason, carrots should not be planted after parsley. Beans, cumin, dill, parsnips, fennel are also considered bad "predecessors". Carrots grow best after cereals, nightshade (tomatoes or potatoes), onions, cucumbers, cabbage, garlic.
Before planting carrot seeds in open ground, the ground should be prepared.
The area reserved for spring sowing is best to start preparing in the fall. It will be necessary to dig deep and carefully, choosing the roots and remnants of weeds, and apply fertilizer. After such preparation in the spring, you just need to once again loosen the area under the carrot bed and start sowing.
The earth should be fairly light, loose, this will allow the root crop to grow well, while maintaining an even shape. Dense soil is best mixed with sand, compost, well-rotted manure or peat.
Particular attention should be paid to the level of soil acidity. Excessively acidic soil adversely affects the taste of carrots. The optimal Ph level for growing this root crop is 6-7. You can achieve the desired acidity by introducing known means into the soil: dolomite flour, wood ash or chalk.
For sowing, you will need to make grooves 2-3 cm deep at a distance of at least 20 cm between rows. After the grooves are shed with a small amount of water, carrot seeds are sifted evenly and sprinkled with earth.
The small size of the seed material of carrots creates certain inconveniences when sowing: it is not easy to pour light seeds into the furrow evenly and not too often. Here are some proven, easy ways to sow small carrot seeds.
One of the quite popular, albeit patient, ways is to stick carrot seeds on toilet paper. Many summer residents prefer to spend several winter evenings gluing the seeds on a paste (it is most convenient to do this with a match or a toothpick) and drying the resulting paper tapes, so that instead of tedious sowing, place the “blanks” on toilet paper in the grooves and sprinkle with earth.
It is much faster and easier to stir the seeds with a little sand before sowing. Such seed is evenly scattered into the furrow and does not stick together.
You can sow carrots in a potato starch paste. To do this, the seeds are mixed with such a chilled potato "jelly" and poured into the grooves through the kettle and sprinkled with earth.
Make seed pellets at home. Seed material in a special shell, which does not need additional germination, for sure every summer resident met in stores. You can make a similar “blank” yourself: cut paper napkins(toilet paper) into small squares, in each of which place a carrot seed with a drop of paste and a granule of a suitable mineral fertilizer. After that, you need to roll up the paper squares and dry. You can also make such blanks in winter and store in a dry place until the start of the sowing period.
Fertilizers must be applied to the soil even before planting carrot seeds in open ground. This can be done even during autumn training area allotted for planting this root crop. From natural fertilizers, rotted cow dung is well suited for this purpose at the rate of 0.5 buckets per 1 m² of land. It is important to remember that fresh manure cannot be used to fertilize a carrot bed: it will unnecessarily increase the acidity of the soil, which will cause the roots to grow crooked.
For pre-feeding, you can also use nitrogen fertilizers mixed with phosphates. For example, based on 1 m², you can apply the mixture in the following dosage:
Periodic feeding of carrots can be carried out using a mixture of mineral additives in two stages.
Three weeks after germination, a solution is applied to the soil between the rows at the rate of:
Half a month after the first feeding, you need to make a solution based on:
Top dressing can also be carried out with an organic mixture - a solution of chicken manure with water (1:10) with the addition of superphosphate. The resulting additive must be insisted, and then again diluted with water 1:10. The resulting composition should also be applied no more than two times.
Additionally, growing carrots can be fed with a solution of boric acid with water in a ratio of 1 tsp. for 10 l. Such a composition should be applied twice per season: in the first decade of July and by the beginning of the ripening of root crops (first days of August).
Important! The prescribed dosage should be strictly observed when using nitrogen-containing fertilizers. An excess of nitrogen in the cultivation of carrots leads not only to the coarsening of root crops, but also contributes to an increase in the level of nitrates.
Carrots, like many root crops, can suffer both from overdrying of the soil and from an immoderate amount of water. Proper watering of carrots consists in observing the "golden mean".
Before germination, water the bed with planted seeds often, but with a small amount of water.
Watering after germination is required only once a week, not abundantly: the earth should be saturated with water no more than 30 cm deep. Excessive water is guaranteed to cause cracking of the roots, and if the beds are not shed deep enough, this will lead to the formation of many small shoots and produce a crop of so-called hairy carrots.
Lack of moisture, prolonged lack of watering affect the taste of the crop: carrots become very tough, lose their sweetness.
In extremely hot summer weather, watering can be done a little more often, as the soil dries out, about 3 times a week.
With sufficient humidity experienced gardeners it is recommended to stop watering about 3-4 weeks before the start of the carrot harvest. This contributes to the long-term storage of the root crop, and also improves the taste of ripe carrots.
In order to collect even and large carrots from the garden, cultivation and care in the open field must necessarily include the removal of weeds, hilling root crops and timely thinning.
First of all, do not neglect the timely regular loosening of the carrot beds. Despite the fact that even during preparation before sowing, the soil was made as light as possible, already after the first shoots, it is necessary to provide the root crops with a sufficient amount of oxygen. Wet soil should be loosened, after watering or rain, and with extreme caution. Tender fragile "roots" of carrots during this period are located near the surface, inaccurate loosening can easily damage them.
The same caution should be applied to thinning - an important "operation" that allows you to get a crop of large root crops. It should be carried out after the appearance of strong first "leaves" of carrot tops. It is important to remember that with improper thinning, the remaining root crops can be injured, which will lead to unwanted shoots and a crop of "horned" carrots. Therefore, you need to carry out this procedure according to the following rules:
Hilling carrots, covering the root crop with earth, is necessary to avoid the formation of a green upper part. If this is not done, the substance solanine is formed in fruits with a "green stripe", which, when winter storage gives carrots a bitter taste.
One of the main natural enemies of this root crop is the carrot fly. There are several simple, including preventive, methods of dealing with this insect:
Aphids start up on the tops and aerial parts of the plant, feeding on their juices. From the above insects, it is recommended to treat with insecticides ("Bitoxibacillin", "Lepidocid"), but not more than 2 times a month.
The wireworm, which is the larvae of the click beetle, spoils the crop of root crops by gnawing passages in them. In order to collect most of these pests, you should dig holes-"traps" in which a small amount of well-rotted grass mass and a piece of raw potato are placed. From above, the hole is sprinkled with earth and left for 2-3 days, and then the larvae are removed and destroyed.
Garden slugs are less dangerous than wireworms, but it is better to deal with them. As a “trap”, you can put pieces of pumpkin in the garden or dig several containers of beer near the beds. Slugs that have gathered at the smell of a “trap” overnight are easier to collect and destroy. Pine needles scattered between rows help to ward off slugs from carrot beds.
An adult insect does not threaten vegetables, but its caterpillars gnaw the aerial part of root crops. Insecticidal treatment with special preparations ("Etaphos", "Cyanox" and others) will help get rid of them.
In addition to insect pests, there are a number of diseases that carrots are susceptible to. Here are the most common lesions of root crops:
Timely prevention and treatment of these diseases, along with proper care, will allow you to get a crop of even sweet carrots that can last until spring.
secrets bountiful harvest carrotsCarrots are a traditional garden crop that is consistently popular with gardeners. In order to harvest a good harvest of high-quality carrots and stock up for the winter, it is necessary to follow the rules for planting and cultivating it in early spring.
Proper organization the beds are very important:
The optimum soil temperature for sowing early carrots is 8°C. If the earth warms up, then the moisture from it will evaporate faster. Even a slight increase in soil temperature is undesirable for the germination of carrot seeds.
early crops carrots in Russia can be made in March. Approximate times are as follows:
This should be done in greenhouses and hotbeds, or under covering material in open ground. For the northern climatic zones, the timing of the first sowing is postponed to May and depends on weather conditions. For sowing in the ground, it is better to choose resistant and early ripening varieties of carrots: Alenka, Laguna, Kolorit and Fairy.
Before sowing, whether in open ground or seedlings, carrot seeds should be soaked in warm water 10 hours for germination. Floated grains should be removed as unsuitable.
In order to speed up the germination of seeds, stratification is carried out at a temperature of 20-24 ° C, for 2-4 days. Before planting in the soil, they are soaked in a solution of wood ash to saturate with microelements.
To achieve good yields and large root crops, you should carefully monitor the appearance of weeds in the beds with carrots. They must be removed regularly, otherwise the carrots will not develop.
This vegetable does not like thickening, so immediately after the appearance of the first leaves, it is worth thinning the seedlings. This must be done so that the distance between the sprouts is at least 6 cm.
The taste of carrots is greatly affected by the amount of moisture and the frequency of watering:
Compatible plants should be planted along the edges of the carrot beds. They will help to get rid of many pests and diseases. In order to scare away the main pest - the carrot fly, additional processing is necessary.
Before sowing carrots in open ground, it is necessary to prepare: plan the beds on the site to comply with crop rotation, select frost-resistant and early-ripening varieties, and pre-treat the seeds. To grow excellent harvest Carrots with good taste characteristics and large root vegetables do not forget about weeding and thinning, and water well.
