Content
Carrots are included in the list of crops that must be grown in garden plots. This vegetable requires minimal seed and soil preparation. To ensure good germination of seeds, you need to choose the right place and timing for planting. When sow carrots, depends on the climate and weather conditions.
The time chosen for planting affects the harvest. Sowing is done in the spring or summer. It is allowed to carry out planting work in the fall when frost occurs.
Choosing a landing site
Carrots prefer sunny places where there is no darkening. With a lack of lighting, the growth of the culture slows down and its taste deteriorates. The garden bed should be illuminated by the sun all day.
Plant carrots you can go to the site where legumes, greens, cabbage, tomatoes or cucumbers previously grew. Each year, the planting site of this vegetable changes. Onions can be planted next to carrots to protect plants from pests.
Soil preparation
Before choosing a time to plant carrots in open ground, you need to prepare the ground. Carrots prefer fertile soil rich in nutrients. This crop is grown everywhere, but if the soil is improperly prepared, the crop will be scarce.
Excess fertilization leads to a change in the shape of the carrot and impairs its taste. It is not recommended to use manure and compost on the garden bed. When landing what matters is the mechanical composition of the soil, which must first be dug up and loosened. Peat or sawdust is added to the soil.
In the autumn period, the earth is dug up, stones are removed from it, weeds and other particulate matter. The use of a phosphate or potassium based fertilizer is allowed. If the soil is peaty, then sand is added. Humus and peat will help improve the properties of clay soil. Chernozem does not require special preparation, it is enough to add sand just before planting.
Seed preparation
Carrot seeds can be stored for several years and germinate well. To ensure rapid germination, the seeds are pretreated. The following methods are considered the most effective:
- Using special stimulants... The procedure is indicated in the instructions for the drug. The process takes up to 20 hours and guarantees high seed germination.
- Placing seeds in the soil... A well-known method in which the seeds were wrapped in cloth and then buried in the ground at a shallow depth. After 10 days, the tissue was taken out, and the sprouts were planted in a garden bed.
- Seed soaking... This will require cotton wool or a piece of cloth where the seeds are placed. A day later, planting work begins.
- Boiling water treatment... The seeds are placed in a cloth and dipped in hot water for 20 minutes. Then the contents must be cooled with cold water.
Planting methods
How to properly plant carrots in open ground, describe the following methods:
- in bulk, when seed is scattered over the bed;
- in rows, observing a distance of up to 10 cm;
- furrows in narrow beds.
The first method is to plant carrots in spring and summer. As a result, seedlings will be uneven and difficult to weed. If you use this method for early planting, then you need to take measures to control weeds. Otherwise, the weed will prevent the carrots from growing normally.
When planting in rows in autumn, the seeds are often washed out of the ground by melt water.This method will not work if the region has a rainy spring or summer. Furrow sowing is used regardless of the season.
Early boarding
If you need to harvest carrots as soon as possible, planting begins in early spring. This is a moisture-loving plant, so you can start working immediately after the snow melts.
When to plant carrots depends on the temperature of the soil and air. The plant is resistant to frost and low temperatures. You can start planting after warming up the soil to + 5 ° C. The air temperature must reach + 15 ° С. The third decade of April is suitable for this.
If the seeds are planted earlier, they will take longer to germinate. For the formation of a root crop, an air temperature of up to + 20 ° C is required.
It is enough to loosen the prepared beds. If the soil was not dug up in the fall, then this is done in the spring.
It is necessary to plant carrots in the spring in accordance with the sequence of stages:
- Furrows are made to a depth of 5 cm. Leave 15-20 cm between the rows.
- The resulting depressions are sprinkled with peat, humus or sand, and then watered.
- Carrots are sown along the furrow, covered with earth and lightly tamped.
- Sand or peat is poured on top.
To accelerate the germination of seeds, the bed is covered with a film. After the appearance of the first shoots, the covering material is removed.
Late boarding
If you have not yet decided when to plant carrots in 2018, you can postpone the procedure until summer. Sowing at a later date will allow you to harvest in August-September. The period from the beginning of May is suitable for this. Work is allowed until the end of July.
Planting carrots late has the following benefits:
- the opportunity to land after the main work in the spring;
- by the fall, the culture retains its taste, does not outgrow, does not crack;
- planting is done in warm soil, which ensures good germination;
- no shelter from frost is required;
- the storage time of the crop increases.
Late boarding includes the following steps:
- The soil is dug up, weeds are eliminated.
- The bed is divided into furrows up to 5 cm deep.
- Peat, humus or other fertilizer is poured into the bottom of the depressions.
- Sow carrots into furrows.
- The planting site is covered with earth and peat.
Landing in the winter
When to sow carrots to get an early harvest? In this case, planting is carried out in the winter. For this, the preparation of the site begins in September. A place protected from the winds is pre-selected. To avoid flooding the bed with melt water, it must be located on a hill.
The order of planting carrots in the fall is as follows:
- The surface of the bed is cleared of weeds and plant residues.
- The soil is dug up, organic and complex fertilizers are introduced into it.
- After the first frost, the soil is leveled, and 5 cm depressions are made in it.
- Peat or sand is placed at the bottom of the hole.
- At an air temperature of 5 ° C, we sow carrots.
- A layer of humus or peat is applied to the planting.
- When the bed is covered with snow, it is covered with spruce branches. After the thaw, snow cover will remain under it.
Carrots planted in winter sprout a couple of weeks earlier than those planted in early spring. Its seeds are hardened in winter conditions, so the seedlings are resistant to frost. In spring, due to the abundant exposure to moisture, the carrot root system is strengthened.
Carrot care
To grow a good crop, you need to provide the necessary care for the plants. This includes watering, loosening, weeding, and fertilizing. Harvesting begins in three months.
Seeds require watering immediately after planting. Then the soil is moistened incrementally. The most intensive watering is in July. Since August, plantings are watered less and less.
Watering is done in the evening with warm water. On average, it is necessary to water the seedlings every 10 days, taking into account the precipitation.
As the carrots grow, weeding is carried out. Not only weeds are removed from the soil, but also too dense seedlings. Loosening of the soil will be carried out between the rows to a depth of 5 cm.
After the first leaves appear, the carrots can be fed with nitrogen fertilizer. One square meter of planting requires up to 15 g of urea. Plants are good for phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.
Let's summarize
The timing of planting carrots is determined taking into account weather conditions. If it is too late to carry out early sowing, then this year it is allowed to carry out work in late spring. Summer planting significantly relieves the tense spring harvest. Sowing in winter will allow you to get an early harvest the next year. The yield of carrots largely depends on the soil and the location chosen for planting.
