Growing carrots in the country
Due to the variety of varieties and prostate care, carrots are a very popular plant in any country. But nevertheless, real specialists, experienced summer residents, know how to grow carrots without losses and with minimal costs. In this article, they will share their secrets!
On this topic:how to sow carrots so as not to thin out later + video
How to plant carrots in the country?
Many summer residents note that preparatory work is very important for obtaining good results.
While the entire growing process can be divided into 5 main stages:
- Site preparation: location, neighbors.
- Seed preparation.
- Sowing.
- Care.
- Collection and storage.
Site preparation
Summer residents who have experience in growing carrots know how important it is that the land is always loose, drained. After all, then it is easier for the root crop to deepen and grow to a decent size.
To do this, the soil is dug up in advance on a shovel bayonet, fertilized and saturated with sand and old, already rotted sawdust, add peat (for 1 sq. m 3 kg).
A few weeks before planting, special mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil.
A place... Despite the fact that the carrot is a moisture-loving plant, the land on the site should not be oversaturated with moisture, heavy and damp. It is better to water as needed. Then the plant will be less susceptible to diseases.
Another important point for choosing a site for carrots is lighting. In sunny places, the harvest is usually much better than in the shade or partial shade.
Neighbors... First of all, those plants can be considered neighbors. Which were the predecessors of carrots. And in the best variant, if it is tomatoes, cabbage or potatoes. If the soil meets all of the above criteria, then planting carrots for the second year in one place is not problematic.
Beans and peas, onions, all types of lettuce, tomatoes, sage get along well with carrots. Fragrant marigolds repel worms that love to feast on root vegetables. But with celery, it is better not to plant carrots in the neighborhood.
Seed preparation
There are many ways to prepare carrot seeds for planting. In this section, we'll talk about a more traditional one. First, the seed is washed with warm water to remove the oils it contains. Then it is poured with a weak solution of nutritious fertilizers. Swollen seeds are washed with water and laid out on a damp cloth. And in this form, they should be placed in the refrigerator for hardening. After a couple of days, the seeds are ready for planting in open ground.
Sowing
Let's talk about the simplest way to plant carrots. The distance between the rows should be at least 20 cm. If the soil in the area is "light", then the depth of the holes should be 2-3 cm (if the soil is "heavy", the seeds are touched no deeper than 1.5 cm). The furrow is compacted and seeds can be sown. Then water and dig in, lightly tamping the ground.
How to grow carrots. Secrets of summer residents
Care
Growing carrots can be completely simple and uncomplicated if:
- to plant a culture in due time;
- moderately, water as needed;
- fertilize;
- weed the ground next to plants;
- thin out;
- know how to protect against diseases and pests.
Plant care begins with the selection of planting dates. If the seeds are sown in hot weather in dry soil, then the pests will not give the plant the opportunity to fully develop. And additional watering will only compact the ground.
With waterlogging, root crops are exposed to an additional threat to get sick white rot or get overcooled. If, however, watering is insufficient, then the taste of the root crop suffers. Watering should be done every 3 days (for 1 sq.m 4 liters of water), except for the time when it rains. Closer to harvest, watering should be reduced, and in 2 weeks it should be completely stopped.
With the appearance of the 6th leaflet, mineral fertilizers should be applied under young plants. 1 tbsp. l nitrophosphate on a bucket of water. Water at the rate of half a bucket of solution per sq. m. landing. After half a month, repeat this procedure, increasing the volume of water to 8 liters per square meter. m landing.
Weeding alone replaces watering. The soil in plants should not be allowed to compact and harden. While loosening the earth, you need to spud the carrots so that the roots do not pick up the roots. Weeding is carried out only in the evening or on days when it is cloudy.
Carrots are thinned out in several stages, starting from small sprouts, and as the seedlings grow. This will allow in a peculiar way to "loosen" the soil in the planting itself, and will give space for the growth of the remaining root crops. If the plants are not allowed to thicken, the carrots will grow healthier.
What will help protect against pests? In addition to the above means, namely: early planting of carrots, hilling, thinning, and planting next to those plants that repel pests with their smells, there are specific types of prevention. For example, trimming plants with ash, spraying with infusions of onion husks, tobacco or garlic. There are also biological and chemical agents, such as attracting beneficial insects and birds, or mixing naphthalene, 1 part and sand, 10 parts, this should scare away pests.
Collection and storage
You can only harvest carrots when the weather is dry. After shaking off the root crop from the ground, and cutting off the tops (leaving only a centimeter), the carrots should be dried in the shade for no longer than 3-4 hours.
Then put it in boxes, at the bottom of which there is a thick layer of sawdust. Spread sand over each layer. Store carrots in refrigerated rooms.
Growing carrots in the country in different ways
Rules of how to grow carrots and secrets over time, everyone has their own. These principles apply to all 5 main stages of crop cultivation.
Boarding time
Sowing carrot seeds for the winter. In early November, before the onset of stable cool weather, when the air temperature has not dropped below 2 degrees, you can sow carrot seeds without presoaking. It will only be necessary to wash off the oils that cover the seeds with warm water.
Spring landing. Sowing seeds in early spring, as soon as the ground warms up, has a double benefit:
- provides additional moisture to the culture,
- protects root crops from pests.
Landing place
High beds. All summer residents agree that it is most convenient to grow carrots in high beds. Thanks to such a simple device as a box, you can keep the soil light and loose. High beds are not washed away by irrigation and rain. The soil in them warms up faster, which means that carrots can be planted much earlier. And carrots really like the heat that is stored in the box.
Greenhouse. The greenhouse makes it possible to grow very early varieties. There are no particular difficulties in caring for carrots in a greenhouse. There are no problems with pests and diseases.
Methods for preparing seeds and planting material
With sand and fertilizer. This method has several advantages. First, fertilizers gradually dissolve and begin to feed the crop. Secondly, carrot seeds are sown less often than usual. Sand provides additional drainage.
Burying seeds in the soil. This method is usually used in the fall. To do this, it is worth not tightly wrapping the seeds in a cloth 10 days before planting. And bury this bag at a depth of 20 cm, or the bayonet of a shovel, into the ground.
Planting on a tape. This is a great way to plant carrots and avoid thinning later. To do this, seeds are attached to a thin paper tape with a paste of flour and water at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other. This time-consuming process can be replaced by purchasing a ready-made ribbon with seeds.
Mixed method. By mixing carrot seeds with seeds of other plants, such as radishes or lettuce, you can take care not to sow carrots too tightly, which means you don't need to break through the plants again.
Seedlings of carrots. Cassette-grown seedlings ready for planting in open ground already with the appearance of the first true leaf. The main thing is to water the plant abundantly. Then the earthen lump will not disintegrate during transplantation.
In "jelly". One of the most innovative and original ways of growing carrots is on jelly. To do this, a semi-liquid jelly is cooked from flour (starch) and water, you can add complex fertilizers with microelements to it. Sprouted seeds are poured into the cooled paste. Mix carefully and using a pastry syringe or a plastic bottle with a hole in the lid, this gruel is poured into the prepared grooves. Thus, there is no need for further thinning of the carrots. The seeds are fertilized and moistened, as the jelly retains moisture well. This planting guarantees quick and healthy seedlings.
Any of these secrets are noteworthy. And it helps to have decent harvests of carrots in the country without much hassle.
Growing carrots in the country is not difficult if you use well-prepared soil in high beds from the very beginning. Therefore, each gardener has his own proven methods. I cannot add mineral fertilizers, since the vegetable garden is ecological, according to EM-1 technology. And chemistry kills bacteria that work for the crop. Thanks to them, the soil is loose throughout the garden. I sow the seeds, after I roll the raw seeds in wood ash, and then you can mix it with sand and divide it into a pile into a groove. I never grew carrots with seedlings, because I believed that the root system of the root crop should not be disturbed. The article says that before the autumn planting, seeds are stored in damp soil for 10 days. I do it in the spring, it seems more sense in the spring in hardening the seeds. To get a harvest of large root crops and not be greedy with the land, in the spring I sow a row of carrots, a row of radishes. Then the carrots sit freely on the garden bed, like a queen.