Agricultural technology for growing carrots
Carrots are a short herbaceous plant that is biennial. In the first year, the root system of carrots, its vegetative part, develops, forming a thickening, in which most of the nutrients are stored - the root vegetable, which we eat. In the second year, the generative part develops, which is responsible for reproduction, and these are the leaves and the stem, seeds are formed on it.
The correct agricultural technique for growing carrots will provide you with a high yield. Since carrots are a plant with a high profitability, then in the case of using the rules of agricultural technology, the harvest can be up to 250 tons per hectare of sowing.
What soil is most conducive to growing carrots?
- Do not plant carrots for 3 years in places where plants of the celery family - celery, caraway, parsley, previously grew.
- Do not plant carrots in the same place for several years in a row. It should take at least 4 years since the carrots grew on this place.
- It is advisable to sow carrots in the part of the garden plot where legumes and potatoes.
Basic principles in the technology of growing carrots
Carrots, as a vegetable crop, can be found very often. It is grown in gardens in private houses, dachas, fields of various farms and state farms. If you do not know and do not understand the basic principles of growing carrots, we recommend watching the video at the end of the article. The technology for growing carrots is extremely important. Knowing it, you can ensure a high yield of this vegetable crop with minimal soil wear.
The agricultural technology of carrots on a personal plot is different from that on large farms. Various sowing and harvesting technologies are used. For example, sowing on large fields is carried out by the broadband method, and on personal plots - in single-row or in beds with a narrow distance between the rows. Read:feeding carrots in the open field in August!
Soil selection and planting site
First you need to choose the right type of soil for growing carrots. Sandy loam soils are suitable, as well as loamy ones, which have a high humus content. The soil must also be loose enough to allow oxygen to flow to the root crop. A soil with a pH shift towards the acidic side, somewhere between 5.6 and 7 is better suited. Carrots also grow well on plowed land in places where there were previously swamps. Peat soils grow more nutritious carrots with a high content of vitamin A precursors - carotenoids.
The experience of using agricultural techniques for growing carrots shows that this root crop loves sunlight and warmth, therefore it should be grown in open areas with good lighting. There are three periods in which carrots are sown. The choice of the term depends on the purpose for which you will use the root crop. If a small amount of carrots are sown so that they can be eaten immediately after harvesting, then sowing is necessary in the fall. If you are going to store it or sell it, realizing that it should be stored, then sowing should be done either after the snow melts in spring, or in June, when the main pest of carrots - the carrot fly - disappears.
After the crop is harvested, the land is plowed, fertilized and leveled with a rake or harrow. Before sowing carrots in open ground, it must be fertilized with humus, nitrogen-fertilizer, potash fertilizers and superphosphate and loosen again.
Seed preparation and planting in the ground
Sowing preparation includes:
- Sorting seeds.
- Treating them with drugs against pests (for example, thiram).
- Washing with disinfecting drugs.
- Soaking in a solution of boric acid or potassium permanganate. For 3 days, the seeds are left at room temperature, and then, in fact, they are put in the refrigerator.
- Drying the seeds just before planting.
The sowing itself is carried out in one row or on a bed, so that the distance between the rows is 30-40 centimeters. There is also a technology for using broadband sowing. In this case, the distance between the centers of the stripes should be at least 45 centimeters, and the width of the strips themselves should be 10-12 centimeters. If the soil is light, for example, like sandy loam, then the depth of sowing seeds is 3-4 centimeters, if heavier, like clay, then 2-3 centimeters. After the soil is pressed down.
Plant care and harvest
Before the first shoots appear, you need to destroy the crust of the stray earth or cover the bed with carrots with a film. After germination, weeding is carried out. In order to better indicate the places of sowing, lettuce or radishes are mixed with carrot seeds, they sprout earlier and show the place where carrots will soon sprout. If necessary, you can water the carrots before germination. In general, carrots do not like very abundant, but frequent watering. If there is an excess of moisture, then the roots will burst.
When it is already possible to identify 2 leaves in young carrots, it is time for weeding, as well as loosening the soil. They are carried out to protect carrots from weeds, as well as to provide air flow to the roots.
One of the rules of the technology for growing carrots is that watering is stopped 30 days before the day when the carrots are harvested.
It is important not only to know how to grow carrots, but also to know the rules for harvesting them. The agricultural technology of carrots on a personal plot distinguishes between 2 harvesting periods. They depend on the purpose for which the carrots are actually harvested. If you need carrots for fast food consumption, you can start harvesting in August. But if you plan to store a root crop, then you need to collect it in September. And most importantly - do not shake the soil off the carrots, but carefully peel them off, so the root crop will be stored much longer, since in the last 2 months the amount of nutrients increases and the amount of water in the fruit decreases.
Thank you for the interesting material in the article and video. From the information received, I realized that the layer of loose earth is of great importance for the development of root crops. Therefore, the bed should be with a deep arable layer. And one more prerequisite, spacious aisles. As carrots grow, you need to huddle so that they do not turn green. And where to get the land if the aisles are narrow? The green part of the carrot is bitter and must be removed. It is better to sow less often, then you do not have to throw out a quarter of the root crop in winter.