Planting carrots in spring in the open ground for me, for example, is the preparation for the arrival of my granddaughter. She very much likes to “grumble” her right in the country. Since the site for this, as well as for many crops, needs to be prepared in advance, there is a need to talk about how to plant carrots and when. About the secrets of planting, care for large, sweet root crops, too, the conversation will not be superfluous. First of all, you need to choose the right place for the beds, given that it grows poorly in low-lying places, where water can stagnate. It grows well only on well-fertilized, fairly loose soil.
After what culture to plant carrots in spring or choosing a place for a garden
Carrots are especially fruitful on light sandy loamy and loamy, humus-rich soils, as well as on drained peatlands. Gardeners believe that on such land it grows well, the shape of root crops turns out to be even, smooth. If the soil is dense (clay or heavy chernozems), then the root crop can hardly overcome the resistance of the earth, and as a result, it produces clumsy ugly vegetables.
When choosing a place, think also, after which crop it is better to plant carrots, after which vegetables it is advisable to place carrot beds.
Years of experience suggest that one of the best predecessors for her is potatoes. We usually dig up early potatoes in June. And we have enough time left to carefully prepare the ground. It is good to sow carrots also the next year after cabbage or cucumbers, which are also harvested early.
What varieties of carrots are best planted
Amateur vegetable growers grow such varieties as Nantes, Chantenay, NIIOKh, Losinoostrovskaya, Queen of the Autumn, Vitamin. Now on sale there are also varieties and hybrids of foreign selection: Olympia, Vita Longa, Napoli, Nandrin, Calisto. And the latest innovations are seeds in a gel shell. Such seeds need to be irrigated when sowing.
I prefer to grow carrots of the Nantes variety. Juicy, of excellent taste, these root crops ripen earlier than other varieties. It is well preserved until spring.
Preparing the soil for planting carrots
I sow carrots in a deep (full bayonet bayonet) dug up soil. Such preparation is very important, since most varieties have long roots. Just before sowing, it is good to add a handful of ash and 30 g of nitrophoska per 1 sq. m
To start loosening the soil between rows and weeding as early as possible, I add seeds of other vegetable crops to the seeds of carrots when sowing, which, in contrast to it, sprout quickly (most often these are radish or lettuce seeds). Usually they are called lighthouse cultures. When you see a row of friendly “beacons” that have come together, it’s easier to navigate when loosening the earth between the rows.
In the summer, a lot of things are done on the carrot bed: to thin out the seedlings in a timely manner, weed, weed, feed, water, etc. But do not be afraid. The first three types of work can be carried out simultaneously and begin them, as soon as the seedlings of the lighthouse culture, which determine the direction of the rows, are indicated.
I must say that on time weeding is a very important element of agricultural technology for growing carrots. It develops slowly, and weeds grow quickly and can simply “clog” weak vegetable shoots.
How to sow carrot seeds
Sometimes gardeners mix carrot seeds with sand. This helps to distribute them more evenly over the bed.
There is another original way of sowing seeds. Indeed, very often gardeners ask how to plant carrots so as not to thin out. First, liquid starch jelly is boiled. Then add a tablespoon of carrot seeds to a glass of jelly. Stir and pour into a teapot. On the groove from the spout of the kettle pours jelly with seeds. Sour seeds are evenly distributed over the bed, separately from each other. Seeds germinate excellently. Of course, it will be necessary to thin them out, but the amount of work is not as large as during normal sowing.
Thinning out the plants is better first twice: the first time the plants are left at a distance of 1 cm from each other (in the stage of one or two true leaves). For the second time (at the stage of three or four true leaves) between plants should be left 2-3 cm. After thinning, 40-50 plants should remain on 1 meter of row.
The third thinning is timed to the time when a young carrot can already be tasted. In this case, between plants should be at least 4-5 cm. Such spaces will provide, firstly, rapid growth, and secondly, root crops will acquire the correct shape.
If there are large gaps between plants, then, oddly enough, the quality of the fruits will be worse, they will grow too much, and will take on an unappetizing appearance. With the last thinning, they get rid of weak or damaged plants.
I’ll tell you about another way. He has long been known. My parents used it all their lives.
Two weeks before sowing, we wrap the seeds in a wet rag, tie it and bury it - you can use a bayonet on the shovel. Be sure to mark this place with at least a wand. After two weeks, dig out a rag with seeds. By this time they will swell well, become thick. They can be taken one at a time and laid out in a groove after 3-5 cm. Shoots of carrots will appear already on 4-5 days. They do not even need to thin out. Very comfortably.
What other knowledge will come in handy so that the question of how to plant carrots does not make us scratch our heads.
Firstly, you need to know what is very important for her. Good lighting is important. The formation of root crops will be disrupted if the light regime is not maintained. Even a light shadow falling on the beds with carrots more than 3-4 hours a day at the beginning of development will significantly reduce the yield.
Secondly, carrots do not like crowding. Too thick sowing, weeds that block the light, take nutrients from the soil - in the end we get a lot of small, thin root crops.
Even compliance with only these two conditions (long daylight hours and sufficient food area) may be the main answer to our question.
But there is one more prerequisite to get a good carrot crop - early sowing. It is sown as soon as possible, as soon as the earth is at least slightly dry, and its feet will no longer creep on the ground.
When to plant carrots in 2020?
Carrot cold-resistant culture. It can be planted in the winter and spring. The first method is described in sufficient detail in an article on winter sowing. But let's talk about the timing of spring planting now.
The term for planting carrots in the Kuban on the recommendation of agronomists is from February 20 to March 20. Do not be afraid to plant it in cold land.
But I usually listen to the recommendations of the lunar sowing calendar.
In 2020, he advises sowing carrots on March 11-14 in the south and April 9-14, in the middle lane and north.
But what about February? In February, the lunar calendar shows suitable days for sowing carrots 18, 19. The weather in February in the Kuban is unpredictable. There may be so-called “February windows”, when on some days the air temperature rises to + 18-20 ° С. If these days fall on the “February windows”, then, I think, it is possible to plant in February.
If you decide to plant carrots in the winter, then the best days are November 5, 6, 13, 14, or December 2, 3, 11, 12, 2020. These are the best dates for the Kuban. Choose from a recommended date that is convenient for you. Good luck
Carrot care - fertilizing, fertilizing, watering
It is advisable to feed crops, especially if it grows on infertile soils. With the growth of plants, the need for nutrients increases, and especially in July-August, when there is an increased increase in the mass of carrots. At this stage, you can make a complete fertilizer - nitroammophoska at the rate of 30-40 g per bucket of water. Liquid fertilizer is applied between the rows of crops. With frequent rains, nitroammophoskos can be applied without dissolving, scattering it between rows at the rate of about 10 g per 1 sq. m
If there are no mineral fertilizers, you can make ash - about half a glass per square meter. Ash and mineral fertilizers must be closed with a chopper into the soil.
Watering carrots is very necessary especially in the first period of growth, as well as at the beginning of the formation of root crops. Later, when the roots of the plants grow, they can themselves extract moisture from the deeper layers of the soil.
Until the carrots emerge, it is watered regularly. The soil on the carrot bed should be moist all the time before emergence. But when the first seedlings have already appeared, watering is stopped or reduced by 1.5-2 weeks. Be sympathetic to this tip. If the weather is hot, then it is still not worth drying the bed. We advise either to stop or reduce watering so that the roots of carrots can go deep into the soil.
At this time, the main goal of the gardener is to make the carrot bed loose and clean from weeds. If it rains periodically at this time, watering, as a rule, is no longer required.
Carrot Pests
Root crops can be severely damaged by a carrot fly - the main pest and enemy of carrots. Most often, it hibernates in the pupal phase in the soil, but sometimes its larvae are found in root crops stored for storage. The first years of a fly coincides with the flowering of an apple tree. From eggs laid in the soil (a week later and a little later), shiny yellow larvae emerge. They literally "drill" into the roots of carrots (this lasts about a month), and then go deep into the soil, where they pupate. Around the end of June, flies of the second generation fly out and lay eggs in the soil again. And everything repeats.
Getting rid of a carrot fly is not easy. However, knowing the physiology of this pest, you can reduce the harm it causes. First of all, you should know that this malicious fly loves shaded and moist places.
Hence the conclusion: carrots cannot be planted near trees, in poorly blown places, and also near a pond. Remember also that the crops of this vegetable, located next to the onion plants, are less damaged by the carrot fly.