How to grow carrots?

To get a rich harvest of juicy and sweet carrots, you need to know some of the features of its agricultural technology. It is believed that growing carrots is easy and simple. However, this is not so - the vegetable needs to be properly looked after, it requires preparation of the garden, watering, feeding and protection from pests.

You can plant carrots in the country, in the greenhouse and even on the balcony. The success of carrot cultivation largely depends on the choice of a place for planting this crop. For the full growth and development of this root crop, an area well-lit by the sun is required. If there is not enough light, the tops will become stunted, and the roots will become thin and tasteless. It is advisable to choose a place where the sun shines on the garden throughout the day.

Neutral or slightly acidic soils are optimal for this culture - alkaline and overly acidic ones are unsuitable for it. The highest yield can be obtained on loams with a high sand content, as well as on sandy loam soils. On dense loam, the fruits grow small, moreover, during transportation and storage, they begin to rot.

The soil must certainly be well-drained and moisture-absorbing.

To create optimal conditions for the development and growth of the root crop, it is better to do the preparation of the garden in advance. So, if you plan to plant carrots in the spring, then in the fall it is necessary to clean up the garbage, pull out weeds and dig up the soil. It should be deep - at least one and a half bayonets of a shovel, this will allow root crops to actively grow deeper. In addition, careful plowing greatly simplifies harvesting, since it will be easier and faster to pull vegetables out of light soil.

Additionally, peat or sand is added to the ground at the rate of 1 kg / sq. m of sown area. It is advisable to add a little manure or humus there. Organic matter will also be required for infertile substrates. If this was not done in the fall, then you can apply top dressing in the spring before planting the seeds. If the soil is too acidic, then you need to add chalk or lime to it at a ratio of 1 cup per square meter.

Let's take a closer look at the step-by-step instructions for planting carrots.

There are two types of crops - autumn and spring, the latter is preferable. Usually, the very first carrots are sown in the southern regions, where all the conditions necessary for the growth and development of root crops are created already in late March - early April. In the central part of our country, the first half of May is considered the optimal time for planting, in the north, planting is best done in late spring or early summer. In any case, you need to focus on the weather. It is important that the average temperature during the daytime stably kept above +15 degrees, and at night - did not fall below +5. Of course, return frosts will not kill young root crops. Nevertheless, they provoke an increased growth of flower arrows, thereby impairing the keeping quality of root crops, they will no longer be suitable for long-term storage.

It is better to plant carrots for storage in the second half of May, when the air temperature will stably stay at around 18-20 degrees, and night frosts are completely bypassed. Experienced gardeners plant such root crops in the second half of June. By the way, it was noticed that with late planting, this plant is almost not damaged by a carrot fly.

Autumn planting of carrots is resorted to only in those regions where the temperature in winter does not drop below -15 degrees, and snow falls abundantly. Otherwise, even under a thick layer of mulch, the seedlings will die. At the same time, it is important to choose the right weather, when the heat has already left, and the temperature approaches zero.

Such carrots yield a harvest 2 weeks earlier than planted in May. In addition, the roots themselves are much larger and juicier. Keep in mind that only early varieties are sown in the fall. For several winter months in the ground, the seedlings are hardened and with the arrival of spring they can withstand any weather surprises.

Carrots are hard-emerging vegetable crops. It happens that the seeds sit in the ground for up to 2-3 weeks before the first shoots appear. This is due to the fact that their shell contains a high concentration of essential oils, which delay the ingress of moisture inside, and germination is delayed many times. To improve germination, the seed must be subjected to special preparation before being placed in the soil, it includes several main stages.

• Germination test. The seeds are placed in a saline solution for a quarter of an hour. Those that float to the surface are empty, they will not sprout. Therefore, you can safely discard them.

• Heat treatment. Viable seeds are soaked in warm water heated to 50-65 degrees, and after half an hour they are placed in cold water for 2-3 minutes. Then the seedlings are soaked again in warm water, the manipulations are repeated three times. This preparation softens the shell and thereby improves germination.
• Activation... It involves soaking the seed in solutions "Zircon" or "Epin".

• Disinfection... When using seeds from your own garden, or purchased from private owners, they must be disinfected before planting. For this, a weakly concentrated solution of potassium permanganate or boric acid is used. The seedlings are treated for 5-10 minutes, after which they are dried and placed in open ground. When using store seeds, this measure is not necessary, because the antiseptic treatment was carried out in preparation for the sale.

Pre-soaking helps to increase germination. To do this, the seeds are spread on a moistened canvas cloth, covered on top, sprayed from a spray bottle, and kept for several days at a temperature of 25-26 degrees. At this time, care must be taken so that the matter does not dry out. Usually within 5-7 days the seedlings will swell and you can move them into the ground. It is important to prevent sprouting, as carrot sprouts are very fragile and can be damaged during transplantation.

Experienced gardeners often resort to "old-fashioned" methods - for example, grind the seeds with sand, or resort to bubbling... Instillation is most often used. To do this, the seeds are placed in a linen bag and in early spring, when the snow melts, they are added dropwise to a depth of 15-20 cm. At this time, the earth is already sufficiently moistened, but not yet warmed up.

In this form, seed material is stored for 10-14 days.... This time is enough for the seeds to harden, saturated with melt water and swell.

There are several ways to plant carrots.

• Manually by eye. To do this, grooves with a depth of 1.5-3 cm are formed on the garden bed, watered, and seedlings are placed in them. Then sprinkle with earth, and moisten again. After the emergence of shoots, it is necessary to thin out the garden, leaving only the strongest and healthiest shoots.
• With paste. A paste is prepared from starch or flour and applied to toilet paper in drops with a step of 2-3 cm.A couple of seeds are placed in each and dried. Prepared tapes are placed in pre-moistened grooves, sprinkled with soil and thoroughly watered using a drip method.

Alternatively, you can use a plastic dispenser bottle. In this case, the seedlings fall asleep in a container and seem to water the garden bed.

Another method offers the preparation of jelly at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. starch per 1 liter. water. Seeds are added to this composition, stirred and poured into a bottle. A hole is formed in the cork and a tube is inserted into it, which acts as a dispenser. Seed material is squeezed into a prepared bed with a step of 3-5 cm.

Another effective method involves soaking the seeds a week before sowing in gauze for 30-40 minutes. After that, the seedlings are washed and buried in the ground for 2-3 days in order to erode all essential oils that prevent germination. The prepared seeds are dug up, carefully covered with starch, tooth powder or flour so that they do not stick to the hands, and planted evenly into the prepared grooves.

Carrots, like any other root vegetable, require regular watering. Irrigation is carried out at least once every 3-5 days, depending on the weather. The amount of moisture should be such as to completely moisten the soil to the depth of the growing root crop. In the case of young shoots, this is about 7-10 cm, after growing up - 25-30 cm.On average, in dry weather, moderate watering is first performed at the rate of 3 liters per square meter, and the next day more abundant irrigation is allowed at the rate of 5 10 l / sq. m of landing area.

Important: it must be borne in mind that excess water, like a lack of moisture, can cause a decrease in yield.... Under these conditions, the fruits become lethargic and acquire a bitter taste; from abundant moisture, the carrots become cracked.

If carrot seeds were planted densely without any periodicity, then in this case, special attention should be paid to thinning the plantings. The first time this work is performed at the stage of two permanent leaves - only the strongest shoots are left with a step of 2-3 cm.Re-thinning is performed when the third leaf appears, at this moment the distance is increased to 5-6 cm.It is not worth increasing the step, since in this case, the roots become rough.

It is very important to weed the beds, as weeds can negatively affect the germination, growth and development of the root crop. At the first appearance of weeds in the garden, they should be removed along with the roots. For carrot seedlings, hard soil and a crust formed after watering are detrimental.

A couple of times a season, carrots must be fed with useful micro and macro elements. The first time this is done 3 weeks after the appearance of the first shoots. The second time - a month later. During this period, the following compositions give a good effect:

• nitroammophoska - at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water;

• wood ash - 2 glasses for a bucket of water;

• complex of urea, superphosphate and potassium sulfur, taken in 2 tbsp. l. and dissolved in a bucket of water.

The main pests of carrots are aphids and carrot flies. This pest makes a clutch in the ground next to the growing vegetable. As soon as the larvae appear from them, they begin to gnaw out small passages in the root crop.When damaged, the tops begin to curl, and the roots crack, become tasteless and unusable. In addition, they are stored for a very short time.

To prevent the appearance of flies it is very important to pay attention to adherence to the sowing technology, to maintain optimal soil moisture - excess moisture dramatically increases the risk of a pest. You can scare away the insect with the help of pungent-smelling compounds, for example, sprinkle pepper and mustard in the aisles, or plant marigolds.

Carrots often fall prey to rot of all kinds - white, black, gray and dry. The first sign is yellowing of the tops, if you dig up such roots, you can see dark spots on them. When stored, such carrots quickly rot.

Improper care becomes the cause of the disease. To prevent infection, you need to pay attention to pre-sowing disinfection of seeds, improve the structure and composition of the soil by applying fertilizers, and also remove weeds in a timely manner. Damaged root crops should be removed and disposed of, healthy ones should be treated with fungicides for prevention.

It is believed that carrots are an unpretentious crop. Nevertheless, many novice gardeners often make mistakes. Their result is a deterioration in the taste characteristics of fruits, keeping quality and overall yield. Violation of agricultural technology leads to the fact that root crops become wormy, gnarled, horny, small, crooked, cracks appear on the surface, and the core turns white.

Let's list the most common mistakes.

• Using old seeds. The viability of carrot seed material lasts no more than 4 years. After that, it is impossible to achieve germination, even if you resort to treatment with growth stimulants and other methods of activation.
• No loosening... The next day after watering, the land must certainly be loosened, otherwise the growing root crops will simply suffocate.

• Wrong predecessors... Carrots grow and develop best after cereals, onions and garlic, cucumbers, and tomatoes and potatoes. But planting it after the umbrella, such as parsley, dill and fennel, is not recommended.
• Neighborhood... Particular attention should be paid to neighbors. It has been noticed that if radishes, tomatoes or peas are grown near a carrot bed, the yield of root crops increases many times over.

Re-cultivation on the same bed leads to a decrease in yield, a deterioration in the marketable and taste characteristics of the fruits. In addition, under these conditions, the culture is often affected by carrot flies, nematodes and other pests.

And in conclusion, we will give some recommendations for harvesting. Most often, carrots are harvested in autumn. If the weather is rainy, then you need to dig it out immediately so that the roots do not rot. But if it's dry outside, then vegetables can be kept in the ground until frost.

It is best to dig up root vegetables on a clear day.... They do this with a pitchfork; when using a shovel, there is a high risk of damage to the vegetable. Then they remove all the adhering earth, cut the tops and dry them naturally.

The crop is stored in a cellar or other dark room with a temperature not higher than +4 degrees. It is desirable that the humidity is high. To improve keeping quality, carrots in containers must be sprinkled with sawdust or river sand.