Growing and collecting carrot seeds
Many gardeners buy root vegetable seeds annually from gardening stores. But these seeds can be grown on their own.
Seeds can only be harvested from varietal crops, the seeds of hybrids do not carry new sprouts, so it will not work to grow a hybrid variety from seeds.
Preparation of seedlings
Carrots are grown for seeds in spring, when the rudiments of green tops appear in the root crop. From such a root crop, cut off one third of the tops. Then this part is planted in a pot with drainage holes and fertile soil. Sandy loam soil with a high low-peat content is best suited for growing carrots. After planting part of the root crop in a pot, the soil is well watered. After three weeks, the carrots will take root, an earthen lump will form. Seedlings with a closed root system take root well, such plants are less susceptible to fungal diseases. Ready-made seedlings are planted in open ground in May or June.
Transplanting seedlings into open ground
When the soil temperature rises from +10ABOUTFrom to +15ABOUTC, seedlings with a closed root system are transplanted to a sunny place. At the landing site, dig a hole 2 cm wider and deeper than an earthen lump in a pot. Sawdust or hay must be added to the planting hole. So the root system carrots it will be warmer and more comfortable, in addition, moisture will last longer. Due to the excess moisture, the tops will develop faster. In the middle of summer, the carrots will throw out the arrows, and by the end of summer the seeds will ripen.
Cut off the side stalks of the carrots. They will not have a lot of seeds, and they pull the nutrients onto themselves.
After removing the lateral inflorescences of the carrots, add organic fertilizers to the soil. Thanks to fertilizers, each seed will become full-bodied, and you will receive high-quality planting material.
In this way, you can get seeds of only one variety of carrots, since during flowering there is a high risk of cross-pollination of two different varieties.
To get seeds of several varieties of carrots, the beds with root crops are equipped at a distance of 100 m from each other. You can also plant different varieties of carrots in separate greenhouses.
From each plant, you can get from 50 to 100 seeds, depending on the type of carrot. Producers of factory seeds remove dried seedlings from them. Homemade seeds do not need to be peeled, but only dried.