Rules for growing carrots and outdoor care

Landing

You need to know that experts recommend planting carrot seeds in sandy or medium loamy soils, which are also loose and fertile enough. The acidity of the soil in which the seeds will be planted should have a Ph degree of about 6 - 7, that is, as close as possible to the neutral mark. In order to grow varieties of root crops, from which carrots are long, the depth of the soil with a loose structure should be as large as possible. If the soil moisture is too high, you can end up harvesting vegetables with poor taste. In addition, this can negatively affect the degree of germination of seeds, and also increases the possibility of morbidity of vegetable crops with dangerous fungal infections.

Experts and experienced gardeners do not advise sowing seeds every year on the same plot as last season, or after such vegetable crops as dill, parsley, parsnips, celery, fennel, caraway seeds. Good predecessors for sowing carrot seeds after them are cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, legumes, cereals. If you grow various varieties of this vegetable with a monoculture, then there is a risk of the appearance of such ailments as nematodes, alternaria, carrot fly, aphids. That is why it is recommended to sow seeds and grow carrots in the same place no earlier than at least three years have passed.

The timing of planting a root crop in open ground largely depends on what you plan to grow carrots for, as well as on the characteristics of a particular variety of this vegetable. So, many novice gardeners are interested in the question - when can you start sowing seeds? When sowing seeds in winter, they first undergo vernalization in the soil, and with the arrival of spring heat they immediately begin to grow intensively. Thus, the finished product can be obtained much earlier than the generally accepted terms - two weeks. If you plant carrots with seeds before winter in open ground, then it will be intended for consumption in summer, and it is highly discouraged to store such a root crop.

The spring sowing of root vegetable seeds, which you are going to use in the summer, is advised to be carried out when the ambient temperature is about +8 degrees. This is due to the fact that to use the excess moisture that remained in the soil after winter. If it is planned to carry out long-term storage of the root crop in the future, then the sowing of seeds should be done a little later - from about mid-April to the end of May, here a lot will depend on weather conditions.

Before planting carrots with seeds, it is necessary to make additional fertilizing, which will positively affect the full growth and development of vegetable crops - half a bucket of compost or rotted manure is required per 1 square meter. On heavy loamy soils, about 3 liters of sawdust are also added for looseness.Fertilizers with a high potassium content, which are essential for all vegetable crops, which also include the well-known wood ash, not only improve the taste of carrots, contributing to the formation of the required amount of sugar in its roots, but also contribute to the maximum keeping quality of the vegetable.

Remember that you cannot apply fresh manure when planting a vegetable crop, as this can lead to the fact that the root crops grow branched. Nitrogen fertilizers in excessive doses can provoke coarsening of tissues, as well as significantly increase the content of harmful nitrates in vegetables.

Before sowing carrots with seeds, grooves should be made on the beds, the depth of which will be about 2 cm, and the distance between them is up to 20 cm.Before sowing seeds, it is advised to rub them with your hands to remove unnecessary bristles. After that, you need to sow the seeds into the prepared grooves and cover them with earth. The soil in the beds must be compacted without fail with a roller, board, or even with your own hand.

If you plant the root crop correctly, then if there is a temperature above +15 degrees, the first shoots can be seen after 10 days. Seedlings of carrots planted with seeds in Siberia and other regions of our country, which are characterized by a rather harsh climate, can withstand frosts down to -4 degrees. The variety of varieties of this root crop allows you to choose suitable for planting not only in Siberia, but also in other regions of Russia.

Video "Caring for sown carrots"

Care

When you finish sowing carrots, a completely natural question will arise - how to properly care for this rather capricious plant in order to end up with beautiful and sweet roots? It is necessary to start with regular soil treatment. Before the seeds germinate, the first weeding after planting may be required. Weeds must be removed immediately after they emerge to prevent negative effects on carrots. Make sure that the soil on the site is always loose. Since, improper care of it after planting a root crop may be fraught with the appearance of large, but twisted, vegetables.

Also, an important point in proper care for any of the varieties of carrots can be called control of the level of thickening of crops. Then the carrots will grow large, but will have the correct shape and excellent taste. The first time thinning is advised to be carried out after leaves appear on vegetable crops. With proper thinning, the distance between the carrots should be about 3 centimeters. In the event that carrots were planted sparsely, the first thinning need not be done. The procedure should be repeated, while increasing the distance between adjacent crops by about two times. These features of caring for a vegetable crop apply to all varieties that are grown in Russia, including in difficult weather conditions in Siberia.

Another important step in carrot care measures can rightfully be called watering. Those gardeners who spare no time and effort for proper regular watering, note that the yield of juicy and sweet vegetables is much higher. After all, it is the lack of moisture that can cause lethargy and bitterness in a vegetable. Moreover, sufficient watering is very important at all stages of growth and development of a vegetable crop. When watering, be sure to keep in mind that the depth of soil moisture should correspond to the size of the vegetable. Thus, an adult crop bed should be watered so that moisture penetrates to a depth of about 30 cm. When leaving, the root crop should be watered in small portions, but quite often. Most of all, such a vegetable needs watering between sowing and the appearance of the first shoots.

Watering is also very important during the period when carrots are intensively growing. This is true for all types of vegetables.

Watering with fertilizers per season is recommended to be applied about two times. For the first time, they are brought in about three weeks after germination, the second, after a few months. Liquid fertilizers are best suited for these purposes, taken at the rate of a tablespoon of nitrophosphate, two glasses of wood ash, a mixture of 20 grams of potassium nitrate, 15 grams of urea and the same amount of double superphosphate per bucket of water.

Diseases and pests

The main enemy of any kind of carrot is called the carrot fly. If you find swirling leaves on the plants, then this is it. Experts believe that the best prevention of the appearance of such a pest is the proper care of carrots. Since the fly can appear on too moist, overgrown with weeds or overly thickened beds. If, nevertheless, its appearance could not be avoided, it is customary to use drugs such as Actellik, Intavir and others for the fight.

To the delight of all summer residents, carrots are less susceptible to diseases than other root crops. Sometimes ailments such as phomosis or alternaria may occur. To minimize the risk of these dangerous diseases, you can treat the area with a Bordeaux liquid solution.

Video "Sowing carrots in the ground"

How to plant and process carrot seeds correctly? What drugs and technologies to use for watering, high-quality planting and getting the maximum yield.