Cultivating carrotscottage. But still, these professionals, experienced gardeners, know how to grow carrots without loss and with minimal cost. In this article, they will share their secrets! How to plant carrots in the country?
Many gardeners say that preparatory work is very important for getting good results. While the whole process of cultivation can be divided into 5 main stages:
- Site preparation: location, neighbors.
- Seed preparation.
- Sowing.
- Care.
- Collection and storage.
Preparation of the site
Indeed, if in advance, preferably six months before planting the crop in the soil, think about preparing the site for the carrot, you can avoid problems such as a number of diseases, low yields and simplify the task of preserving products.
Summer residents who have experience in growing carrots know how important it is that the land should always be loose and drainage. After all, then the root is easier to go deeper and grow to a decent size.
For this, the soil is dug in advance by a shovel on a bayonet, it is fertilized and saturated with sand and old, already rotten sawdust, and peat is added( per 1 sq. M 3 kg).
Immediately several weeks before planting, special mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil.
Place .Despite the fact that the carrot is a moisture-loving plant, the land in the area should not be supersaturated with moisture, heavy and damp. It is better to irrigate as needed. Then the plant will be less prone to disease.
Another important point for choosing a plot for carrots is light. In sunny places, the harvest, as a rule, is much better than in shade or partial shade.
Neighbors .First of all, those plants can be considered as neighbors. Which were the forerunners of carrots. And at best, if it will be tomatoes, cabbage or potatoes. If the soil fits all of the above criteria, planting carrots for the second year in one place is not problematic.
Beans and peas, onions, all kinds of leafy lettuces, tomatoes, sage get along well with carrots. Fragrant marigold repel worms who love to feast on root vegetables. But with celery carrots better not to plant in the neighborhood.
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Preparing seeds
There are many ways to prepare carrot seeds in a planting. In this section we will talk about the more traditional. First, the seed is washed with warm water from the oils it contains. Then poured a weak solution of nutrient 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 easiest 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 seed reserve is no deeper than 1.5 cm).The groove is compacted and seeds can be sown. Then make watering and prikopat, slightly tamping the ground.
How to grow carrots. Secrets of summer residents
Care
Growing carrots can be absolutely simple and easy to do if:
- is planted in one's time;
- moderately watered as needed;
- to fertilize;
- weed the land next to the plants;
- thin out;
- know how to protect against diseases and pests.
Plant care begins with the choice of planting dates. If the seeds are sown in hot weather in dry land, the pests will not allow the plant to fully develop. And additional watering only ram the ground.
When overmoistening, root crops are exposed to an additional threat of white rot or overcooled. If, however, watering is insufficient, then the taste of the root crop suffers. Watering should be once every 3 days( for 1 sq.m. 4l of water), except for the time when it rains. Closer to harvesting, watering should be reduced, and in 2 weeks it should stop altogether.
With the advent of the 6th leaflet under the young seedlings, mineral fertilizers should be applied.1 tbsp.l Nitrofoski on a bucket of water. Water at the rate of half a bucket of solution per square meter.m. landing. After half a month, repeat this procedure, increasing the volume of water to 8 liters per square meter.m landing.
One weeding replaces watering. The soil in plants should not be allowed to thicken and harden. During loosening the land, you need to spud the carrot, so that the “hangers” of the root crop do not take on the greens. Weeding is carried out only in the evening or on days when it is overcast.
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Thinning carrots in several stages, ranging from small sprouts, and as the seedlings grow. This will allow a kind of "loosen" the soil in the planting itself, and give room for growth to the remaining root crops. If you do not give the plants to thicken, the carrot will grow more healthy.
What can help protect against pests? In addition to the above-mentioned 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, plant pubescence with ashes, spraying infusions of onion peel, tobacco or garlic. There are also biological and chemical means, such as attracting beneficial insects and birds, or mix naphthalene, 1 part and sand, 10 parts, this should scare pests away.
Harvesting and storing
Harvesting carrots is possible only when the weather is dry. Shaking off the root crop from the ground, and cutting the tops( leaving only a centimeter), the carrots should be dried in the shade for no longer than 3-4 hours.
Then put it into boxes, at the bottom of which there is a thick layer of sawdust. Pour each layer of sand. Store carrots should be in refrigerated areas.
Cultivation of carrots in the country in different ways
The rules how to grow carrots and secrets over time each have their own. These principles apply to all 5 main stages of cultivation.
Planting time
Sowing carrot seeds for the winter. At the beginning of November, before the onset of stable cool weather, when the air temperature did not fall below 2 degrees, it is possible to sow carrot seeds without soaking before. It will only be necessary to wash off the oils with which the seeds are covered with warm water.
Spring landing. If you sow seeds in early spring, as soon as the earth warms up, it gives double benefit:
- provides additional moisture to the crop,
- protects the roots from pests.
Landing Place
High beds. All gardeners 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 out by irrigation and rain. The soil in them warms up faster, which means that carrots can be planted much earlier. And the warmth that is stored in the box, like carrots.
Read also: Features planting garlic in the open ground in the spring
Greenhouse. Greenhouse provides an opportunity to grow very early varieties. There are no particular difficulties in caring for carrots in the greenhouse. There are no problems with pests and diseases.
Methods of preparing seeds and planting material
With sand and fertilizer. This method has several advantages. First, fertilizers, gradually dissolving, begin to feed the culture. Secondly, carrot seeds are sown less often than usual. Sand gives additional drainage.
Burial of seeds in the soil. This method is usually used in the fall. To do this, it is necessary 10 days before disembarkation that the seeds are not tightly wrapped in cloth. And bury this bag to a depth of 20 cm, or a spade bayonet, into the ground.
Landing on tape. This is a great way to plant carrots, which will help to do without thinning in the future. To do this, on a thin paper tape, with a paste of flour and water, the seeds are attached at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other. This time-consuming process can be replaced by the purchase of already finished ribbon with seeds.
Mixed way. By mixing carrot seeds with seeds of other plants, for example, with radish or lettuce, you can take care not to sow the plot too tightly with carrots, which means you will not need to break through the plants once again.
Seedlings carrots. The seedlings grown in cassettes are ready to be planted in open ground with the appearance of the first true leaflet. The main thing with this - plenty of water the plant. Then the earthen room will not disintegrate during transplantation.
In Kissel. One of the most innovative and original ways to grow carrots is kissel. For this, flour( starch) and water is boiled in semi-liquid kissel, you can add complex fertilizers with trace elements. In the cooled paste poured germinated seeds. Carefully mixed and using a pastry syringe or a plastic bottle with a hole in the cap, this gruel is poured into the prepared grooves. Thus, there is no need for further thinning of the carrot. Seeds are fertilized and moistened, as kissel well retains moisture. This planting ensures quick and healthy shoots.
Any of these secrets deserves attention. And it helps to have decent yields of carrots in the country without much hassle.
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