The main difficulties faced by gardeners in the Leningrad Region are high soil moisture and recurrent frosts. To cope with them and grow an excellent harvest of this root crop, you need to know some rules.
Priming
Soil is important for growing carrots. It must be light, loose, and there must not be large stones in it.
Carrots grown in heavy clay soil develop very slowly, accumulate starch and sugar with difficulty, and are poorly stored. If the soil contains many large stones, the carrots are deformed.
To improve the structure of the soil, it is dug up twice - in the fall, when the weather is stable and frosty, but the snow has not yet fallen, and in the spring after the snow melts. During spring digging, sand and humus are introduced into the ground. As a rule, it is necessary to add about a bucket of humus per square meter of a garden bed, the amount of sand depends on the soil, 2 buckets of sand are added to heavy clay, and a bucket is added to lighter ones.
During the spring digging, a complex of fertilizers is introduced into the soil. Most root crops require a sufficient amount of potash fertilizers.
Landing dates
When deciding when to plant carrots in the Leningrad region, you need to know that sowing can be done in spring and autumn. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Autumn sowing
Carrot seeds sown in autumn undergo natural stratification. In this case, carrot seeds sprout together, quickly, their growth strength increases. They do not suffer from carrot pests such as the carrot fly. Late varieties of carrots have enough time to fully ripen, and are better stored later.
Disadvantages of autumn planting - carrot seeds can sprout during a thaw, when frosts return, the seedlings will be completely frozen. Also, during the melting of the snow, the beds with carrots can blur.
Sowing carrot seeds is carried out in October or November, when stable frosty weather sets in. In pre-prepared beds sow carrot seeds to a depth of 5 cm, sprinkle with soil. There is no need to water the carrot crops.
It is undesirable to mix the seeds of carrot varieties with different growing periods.
If you cover the garden bed with a thick white film during the thaw, you can avoid the awakening of carrot seeds. You can also throw it over the garden bed and trample the snow tightly.
Spring sowing
Spring sowing of carrot seeds can be started as early as April. When the snow has completely melted and the ground has thawed, you can sow carrots... On the prepared land, beds are marked. For one root crop, a distance of at least 5 cm is required; in thickened plantings, carrots develop very poorly, the fruits can be deformed, some root crops can grow together. The distance between the rows is made at least 20 cm, between the beds - 40 or 50 cm.
At a soil temperature above 4 degrees, the awakening of carrot seeds begins. It will take 2-3 weeks for them to germinate. If you plant carrot seeds when the soil warms up to 10-15 degrees, seedlings will appear faster.
Carrot seeds that have started the growth process require constant moisture, otherwise they die very quickly. Overdrying the soil can be avoided by covering wet beds with white agrofibre or newspapers.
The emerging shoots of carrots are not afraid of low temperatures, they can tolerate frosts down to -3 degrees without consequences. Covered with a layer of snow, carrot shoots tolerate temperatures down to -5. If the thermometer drops below, the carrot seedlings will die.
Planting methods
The harvest of carrots is also highly dependent on the planting method. Carrots can be planted in the following ways:
- Smooth;
- In the ridges;
- In high beds.
The smooth method of sowing carrots is the least suitable for the Leningrad region. In this case, the ground takes a long time to warm up, the root system of the carrot is not protected from high humidity.
To grow carrots in this way, the dug earth is leveled, rows and paths between them are marked. The sown seeds are covered with soil, watered carefully.
If you plant carrots in ridges, they will not be waterlogged, because excess water flows into the aisles. In this case, the earth warms up much faster, the root system of carrots begins active development earlier.
The ridges are formed manually or using a special technique. The height of the embankment should be at least 40 cm, the distance between the ridges should be 20-30 cm, it should be convenient to care for the ridges. Carrot seeds are sown on the surface of the ridge, it is most convenient to use two-line sowing.
It is very convenient to grow carrots in high beds. Seeds sown in a properly prepared high bed carrots sprout quickly, have enough nutrients, the root system is protected from waterlogging.
The preparation of high beds begins in the fall. The bottom layer should consist of drainage material, at least 15 cm high. For drainage, you can use gravel, cobblestones, broken brick.
The second layer of the high bed is made from organic matter. You can use cleaning vegetables, tops, weeds herbs, straw, chopped hay. To make the decomposition process more intense, organic matter can be treated with special substances that contain active bacteria.
The third layer of the bed consists of soil. It is advisable to make up a soil mixture, which will contain all the substances necessary for the development of the carrot root system. To do this, on a bucket of garden soil you will need:
- Half a bucket of humus;
- 3-4 liters of sand;
- Liter of wood ash;
- Complex of microelements.
All components must be thoroughly mixed and poured over a layer of organic matter. Finished micronutrients should be added following the instructions.
The sides of a high bed for growing carrots are made from any durable, non-toxic materials.
Carrot seeds are sown to a depth of 3-4 cm, covered with black foil until shoots appear.
Care
Care properly planted carrots is as follows:
- Weeding;
- Thinning;
- Watering;
- Insect protection;
- Fertilization.
Weeding of carrot beds must be done very carefully, carrot shoots develop rather slowly, fast-growing weeds oppress them. Thinning can be done during weeding. During this operation, excess shoots are removed, leaving 10-15 cm between the carrot shoots.
Watering the carrots is carried out if necessary, the carrots do not require frequent watering. It is worth avoiding abundant watering after a long drought, this contributes to the cracking of the carrot fruit.
The protection of the carrot beds from insects must be carried out several times - in early spring, early summer and during the intensive growth of carrots. The greatest damage to plantings is caused by carrot fly and wireworm. It is necessary to choose low toxicity carrot protection products.
Carrots react poorly to an excess of nitrogen in the soil. Fruits can start branching, are more easily affected by fungal infections, and become unsuitable for winter storage. It is best to apply organic fertilizer a year before planting carrots.
They contribute to the acceleration of photosynthesis, the formation of sugars, significantly improving the taste of carrots.
Observing all the rules for growing carrots, it is easy to achieve a good harvest even in an unfavorable season.
