Planting carrots by seeds in open ground in the Donetsk region

Carrots are perhaps one of the most beloved and often grown root crops in summer cottages. It is difficult to imagine traditional home cooking without this colorful ingredient: many varieties of this garden crop can be kept fresh for a long time, representing an invaluable source of trace elements and vitamins during the winter season. Is it easy to cultivate carrots on your site? Growing and caring for this vegetable crop in the open field has a number of features. Despite the seeming simplicity of this process, one should not forget that carrots are a rather capricious vegetable. Unsuitable conditions, untimely watering or feeding will lead to the fact that instead of even juicy carrots, at best, you will get a harvest of fodder vegetables. Therefore, it is so important not only to know how to plant carrots with seeds in open ground, but also how to ensure proper watering, care for root crops, and protect them from pests. When should you start sowing? What do novice summer residents need to know in order to grow beautiful and tasty carrots? Outdoor planting and care, pre-seed preparation methods, and simple proven methods of protection against natural enemies of this root crop are collected in this article.

When is the best time to start planting carrots?

The time when sowing carrots outdoors depends largely on the variety of the root crop. Conventionally, it is customary to subdivide them according to the ripening period. This is:

• early ripening or early varieties of carrots, in which the growing season begins 50-60 days after germination;
• mid-season (from 90 to 110 days);
• late (late ripening) - from 120 days;

Certain varieties are quite suitable for winter sowing under film. These include, for example, the well-proven "Moscow Winter", "Amsterdam", "Incomparable", very tender carrots "Children's Sweetness", hybrid "Baby F1", cold-resistant variety "Parisian Carotel" and other early and mid-season varieties. The optimal time for planting seeds in winter can be determined independently. Summer residents, who have been practicing this growing method for more than one year, recommend waiting for the first slight freezing of the soil, 3-5 cm deep. This will avoid untimely emergence. Germinating overwintered carrots can be safely started in the second half of April. To do this, a small greenhouse or simply arches covered with foil is installed over the garden bed, after which intensive watering is provided to the seeds.

The time for ordinary spring sowing, of course, should be determined taking into account the climatic characteristics of a particular region. Particular attention should be paid to such characteristics as the ability to long-term storage. For juicy early ripening varieties, such as, for example, carrots "Tushon", "Lydia F1", "Minicor F1" and similar varieties, this quality is not important. For winter stocks of this vegetable, it is preferable to choose seeds of varieties of carrots that retain their properties for a long time: varieties of varieties "Nantes", "Orange Muscat" and "Fairy", suitable for April planting, "Shantane" or any late varieties.

If you focus on the conditions of the middle lane, then for growing the first crop, rich in vitamins, it is preferable to sow early varieties of carrots no later than the end of April. That is, starting from about 20-25. Juicy early ripening varieties are perfect for this: "Amsterdam", "Orange Muscat", very sweet carrots "Tushon", "Favorite" and others.

For harvest "in reserve" carrots should be planted no earlier than May, best of all in the middle of the month. In this case, it is recommended to choose varieties related to late or mid-season, but always with a long period of preservation of all the properties of the root crop. Perfectly can "overlap the winter", for example, mid-season carrots "Alenka", "Nantes", "Leander", "Grenada", "Vitaminnaya". Almost all late varieties can, if properly stored, lie throughout the winter season and remain tasty and healthy until next spring. The popular varieties "Red Giant", "Queen of Autumn", "Mo", "Flakke", "Incomparable", "St. Valery" and other late-ripening varieties have earned good characteristics. Particular attention should be paid to the "Perfection" variety, which has a high immunity to moisture decay.

Stratification and germination

What advice from experienced gardeners should you use in order not to end up with a crooked and tasteless "fodder" carrot? Planting and care in the open field begins with the preparation of the seeds of this root crop long before it hits the ground.

First of all, it is worth paying attention to when the seed was harvested. As a rule, summer residents use purchased seeds for sowing or rather fresh "homemade" seeds collected from last year's harvest. If purchased ones are used, then before planting carrots with seeds in open ground, you should pay attention to the expiration date stamped on the bag with seed material: a guaranteed good result in the form of an excellent harvest can be obtained from seeds, which at the time of sowing are not more than 3– 4 years old.

Further, a reasonable decision would be to carry out preliminary preparation to increase the germination of seed material. This procedure includes preliminary germination and stratification, that is, the period of keeping the seeds under special conditions. How is carrot seed stratification done at home? The entire preparation and hardening process will take at least 10 days.

The first thing to do is to soak the carrot seeds for two hours. The water should be at neutral "room" temperature.

After soaking, the seed is evenly scattered onto a damp cloth. From above, the seeds are also covered with a damp cloth.

They should be kept in the fabric until they swell. All this time, the fabric needs to be moistened. Preventing the seed material from drying out, they need to be gently mixed from time to time.

As soon as the seeds begin to hatch, they must be placed in the refrigerator. Hardening under such conditions is carried out for 10 days.

There is another, long-known method of pre-germination of seed material. To do this, the seeds are simply poured into a bag of cotton fabric and "buried", that is, they are buried at a shallow depth into the ground for a period of about 10 days.

Where to plant carrots? Choosing a suitable place on the site

To get a good harvest, you will need to set aside a suitable place on the site for carrot beds that meets all the necessary conditions.

One of the main needs of this vegetable is plenty of sunlight. Carrots in the shade do not grow well and do not taste good.

If winter sowing is supposed, then it is necessary to make a bed not only on a lighted, but also on an elevated plot of land. This will avoid further erosion of seeds by melt water.

It is important what crops grew in this place last year. Carrots should not be grown for several years in a row on the same bed - the soil is depleted, giving the root vegetable trace elements, so the earth must be given a "rest" for at least one or two years. In addition, natural enemies of this root crop can be transmitted, pests can remain in the soil from last season. For the same reason, you should not plant carrots after parsley. Beans, caraway seeds, dill, parsnips, and fennel are also considered bad "predecessors". Carrots grow best after cereals, nightshades (tomatoes or potatoes), onions, cucumbers, cabbage, garlic.

How to prepare the soil for the carrot bed?

Before planting carrots with seeds in open ground, the ground should be prepared.

The area set aside for spring sowing is best to start cooking in the fall. You will need to dig deep and thoroughly, choosing roots and weed residues, and apply fertilizers. After such preparation, in the spring, you just need to loosen the area under the carrot bed again and start sowing.

The soil should be light enough, loose, this will allow the root crop to grow well, maintaining an even shape. Dense soil is best mixed with sand, compost, well-rotted manure or peat.

Particular attention should be paid to the acidity level of the soil. Soil that is too acidic will negatively affect the taste of carrots. The optimal Ph level for growing this root crop is 6-7. You can achieve the desired acidity by introducing well-known means into the soil: dolomite flour, wood ash or chalk.

We form a bed: how much distance should there be between the rows?

For sowing, you will need to make grooves 2-3 cm deep at a distance of at least 20 cm between rows. After the groove, a small amount of water is spilled, the carrot seeds are sifted evenly and sprinkled with earth.

Several convenient ways to sow small carrot seeds

The small size of the seed material of carrots creates certain inconveniences when sowing: light seeds are not easy to fill in the groove evenly and not too often. Here are some proven, convenient ways to plant small carrot seeds.

One of the most popular, albeit patient work-related ways, is to stick carrot seeds onto toilet paper. Many summer residents prefer to spend a few winter evenings gluing seeds on a paste (the most convenient way to do this with a match or a toothpick) and drying the resulting paper strips, so that instead of tiresome sowing, place "blanks" on toilet paper in the grooves and sprinkle them with earth.

It is much faster and easier to stir the seeds with a little sand before sowing. This seed spreads evenly into the furrow and does not stick together.

You can sow carrots in a paste of potato starch. To do this, the seeds are mixed with such chilled potato "jelly" and poured into the grooves through a kettle and sprinkled with earth.

Make seed pellets at home. Seed material in a special shell, which does not need additional germination, probably every summer resident has met in stores. You can make such a "blank" yourself: cut paper napkins (toilet paper) into small squares, in each of which place a carrot seed with a drop of paste and a granule of a suitable mineral fertilizer. After that, you need to roll up paper squares and dry.Such blanks can also be made in winter and stored in a dry place until the beginning of the sowing period.

Fertilizers and feeding

It is imperative to apply fertilizers to the soil before planting carrots with seeds in open ground. This can be done even during the autumn preparation of the site set aside for planting this root crop. From natural fertilizers, rotted cow dung is well suited for this purpose at the rate of 0.5 buckets per 1 m² of land. It is important to remember that you cannot use fresh manure to fertilize the carrot bed: it will unnecessarily increase the acidity of the soil, which will cause the root crops to grow crooked.

For pre-dressing, you can also use nitrogen fertilizers mixed with phosphates. For example, at the rate of 1 m², you can apply the mixture in the following dosage:

• superphosphate (granules) double - 2 tablespoons;
• dolomite flour - 2 tbsp;
• wood ash - 2 tbsp;
• potassium sulfate - 1 tbsp;
• saltpeter (sodium) - 1 tablespoon

Periodic feeding of carrots can be carried out using a mixture of mineral additives in two stages.

Three weeks after the emergence of seedlings, a solution is introduced into the soil between the rows at the rate of:

• 1.5 tbsp. l double superphosphate;
• 1 tbsp. l potassium sulfate;
• 1 tsp urea;
• 10 liters of water.

Half a month after the first feeding, you need to add a solution at the rate of:

• 1 tbsp. l azophoska;
• 1 tbsp. l potassium sulfate;
• 10 liters of water.

Top dressing can also be carried out with an organic mixture - a solution of chicken manure with water (1:10) with the addition of superphosphate. The resulting additive must be insisted, and then diluted again with water 1:10. The resulting composition should also be applied no more than two times.

Additionally, growing carrots can be fed with a solution of boric acid with water in a proportion of 1 tsp. 10 liters. Such a composition should be introduced twice per season: in the first decade of July and by the beginning of the ripening of root crops (early August).

Important! The prescribed dosage should be strictly observed when using nitrogen-containing fertilizers. An excess of nitrogen when growing carrots leads not only to coarsening of root crops, but also contributes to an increase in the level of nitrates.

Watering rules

Carrots, like many root crops, can suffer from overdrying of the soil and from excessive amounts of water. Proper watering of carrots is to observe the "golden mean".

Before germination, you need to water the seedbed often, but with a small amount of water.

Watering after germination is required only once a week, not abundantly: the ground should be saturated with water no more than 30 cm deep. Excessive water is guaranteed to cause cracking of the root crops, and if the beds are not shed deep enough, this will lead to the formation of many small shoots and yield the so-called hairy carrots.

Lack of moisture, prolonged lack of watering affects the taste of the crop: the carrot becomes very tough, loses its sweetness.

In extremely hot summer weather, watering can be done a little more often, as the soil dries up, about 3 times a week.

With sufficient humidity, experienced gardeners recommend abandoning watering about 3-4 weeks before the start of the carrot harvest. This promotes long-term storage of the root vegetable and also improves the taste of ripe carrots.

Thinning, loosening, hilling

To collect even and large carrots from the garden, cultivation and care in the open field must necessarily include the removal of weeds, hilling root crops and timely thinning.

First of all, do not neglect the timely and regular loosening of the carrot bed. Despite the fact that already during preparation before sowing the soil was made as light as possible, after the first shoots it is necessary to provide the roots with a sufficient amount of oxygen. Damp soil should be loosened, after watering or rain, and with extreme caution.Delicate fragile "roots" of carrots during this period are located near the surface, careless loosening can easily damage them.

With the same caution should be treated and thinning - an important "operation" that allows you to get a harvest of large root crops. It should be carried out after the appearance of strong first "leaves" of carrot tops. It is important to remember that in case of improper thinning, the remaining roots can be injured, which will lead to unwanted shoots and to the harvest of "horned" carrots. Therefore, you need to carry out this procedure according to the following rules:

• it is necessary to thin out only in well-moistened soil;
• you need to take out the "extra" root crops slowly, pulling them upwards; you cannot swing or abruptly pull the root out of the ground;
• it is better to thin out in two stages: for the first time, it is enough to leave a distance of about 3 cm between the roots, after 14-16 days the procedure must be repeated, leaving the largest carrots at a distance of about 4-5 cm from each other.

Hilling carrots, covering the root crop with soil, is necessary to avoid the formation of a green top. If this is not done, solanine is formed in fruits with a "green stripe", which gives the carrots a bitter taste during winter storage.

Pest control: how to protect crops from insects and diseases?

One of the main natural enemies of this root vegetable is the carrot fly. There are several simple, including preventive, methods of dealing with this insect:

• do not leave the removed tops of carrots and weeds after thinning near the beds;
• mulch growing roots with clean straw or sprinkle the surface of the garden with one of the natural remedies for carrot flies: tobacco dust or hot pepper;
• it is recommended to settle onions as a "neighbor" next to carrots; the fly also does not tolerate its pungent smell.

Aphids start on the tops and aboveground parts of the plant, feeding on their juices. For the aforementioned insects, it is recommended to carry out treatment with insecticides ("Bitoxibacillin", "Lepidocide"), but not more than 2 times a month.

The wireworm, which is the larvae of the click beetle, spoils the harvest of root crops by gnawing holes in them. In order to collect most of these pests, you should dig holes - "traps", which are placed a small amount of well-rotted grass mass and a piece of raw potatoes. From above, the hole is covered with earth and left for 2-3 days, and then the larvae are removed and destroyed.

Garden slugs are less dangerous than wireworms, but they are best dealt with. As a "trap", you can lay out pieces of pumpkin in the garden or dig in several containers of beer near the beds. Slugs, gathered during the night to smell the "trap", are easier to collect and destroy. Needles needles scattered between the rows help well to ward off slugs from carrot beds.

Winter scoop. An adult insect does not threaten vegetables, but its caterpillars gnaw the aerial part of root crops. Insecticidal treatment with special preparations ("Etaphos", "Cyanox" and others) will help to get rid of them.

In addition to insect pests, there are a number of diseases that carrots are susceptible to. Here are the most common root lesions:

• Gray rot is a fungal disease. It requires urgent "treatment" - the treatment of all root crops in the garden with a disinfectant.
• White rot is a consequence of an excess of nitrogen that occurs with a large amount of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. To neutralize this disease, special preparations containing copper should be added to the soil.
• Bacteriosis and Alternaria (black rot) are diseases arising from the use of low-quality seed. They can be prevented by pre-disinfection. Treatment - spraying with fungicides.
• Phomosis (or dry rot) is caused by fungal pathogens and practically cannot be disinfected.Prevention is pre-fertilization with potassium content.
• Felt disease occurs after carrots are harvested and interferes with the storage of root crops. You can fight it by spraying with fungicides.

Timely prevention and treatment of these diseases, together with proper care, will allow you to get a harvest of even sweet carrots, which can survive until spring.

Sowing carrots in open ground is possible in early spring, subject to the rules for seed preparation. But in order to get an excellent harvest, you need to choose the right place for the beds and the time of sowing, and also know how to thin out and water the young seedlings.

Secrets of a Generous Carrot Harvest

Carrots are a traditional garden culture that is invariably popular with gardeners. In order to harvest a good harvest of high-quality carrots and make stocks for the winter, it is necessary to follow the rules for planting and cultivating them in early spring.

Choosing a place for the beds Choosing a place for carrot beds, taking into account crop rotation

The correct organization of the beds is very important:

• you should choose well-lit, sunny places. Carrots in the shade will grow poorly and their taste will suffer;
• it is important to observe the crop rotation. The most suitable for sowing carrots will be those parts of the garden where potatoes, onions, tomatoes, garlic, cabbage were grown last year. Do not plant - on the same beds, or in the immediate vicinity, as well as after crops such as parsley, celery, dill, parsnips.

When to sow carrots outdoors

The optimum soil temperature for sowing early carrots is 8 ° C. If the earth warms up, then moisture from it will evaporate faster. Even a slight increase in soil temperature is undesirable for the germination of carrot seeds.

Sowing carrots in open ground: the secrets of a generous harvest

Early sowing of carrots in Russia can be done in March. The approximate dates are as follows:

• in the southern strip - from 5 to 15 March.
• in the central part of Russia - March 25 - April 10;
• in the Urals and Siberia - from the second half of April.

This should be done in greenhouses and hotbeds, or under covering material in open ground. For northern climatic zones, the dates of the first crops are postponed to May and depend on weather conditions. For sowing in the ground, it is better to choose persistent and early ripening varieties of carrots: Alenka, Laguna, Color and Fairy.

Preparing carrot seeds for sowing

Before sowing, no matter in open ground or for seedlings, carrot seeds should be soaked in warm water for 10 hours to germinate. Remove floating grains as unsuitable.

Seeds of carrots prepared for sowing

In order to accelerate the germination of seeds, stratification is carried out at a temperature of 20-24 ° C for 2-4 days. Before planting in the soil, they are soaked in a solution of wood ash to saturate with microelements.

Planting and caring for seedlings

To achieve good yields and large root crops, you should carefully monitor the appearance of weeds in the beds with carrots. They must be removed regularly, otherwise the carrots will not develop.
This vegetable does not like thickening, therefore, immediately after the appearance of the first leaves, it is worth thinning the seedlings. This must be done so that the distance between the shoots is at least 6 cm.

Rules for sowing carrots in open ground

• The grooves for planting carrot seeds are made about 2-3 cm deep.
• The distance between the rows should be 15 cm.
• Before sowing, the beds are well moistened, and then sprinkled with wood ash. You should not apply manure as fertilizer, carrots do not tolerate acidity.
• To accelerate germination, it is worth pulling a plastic wrap over the beds to create a greenhouse effect, and remove it as soon as the first shoots appear.

Watering

The taste of carrots is strongly influenced by the amount of moisture and the frequency of watering:

• schedule irrigation 2-4 times a week;
• make sure that a crust does not form on the surface of the soil;
• loosen after watering.

Watering the first shoots of carrots

Plant compatible plants around the edges of the carrot beds. They will help get rid of many pests and diseases. In order to scare off the main pest, the carrot fly, additional treatment is required.

Outcome

Before sowing carrots in open ground, you need to prepare: plan the beds on the site to comply with crop rotation, choose frost-resistant and early maturing varieties and pre-treat the seeds. To grow an excellent crop of carrots with good taste and large roots, do not forget about weeding and thinning, and water well.

Carrots are a very healthy and nutritious root vegetable. It is widely used in the preparation of various dishes and culinary delights. It is used both in desserts and in canning. In addition, the red-haired beauty has a large amount of trace elements and vitamins in its fresh form. Young children especially need it for growth and development. It is also advisable to use natural ingredients in cooking, not store products, so it is very important to breed a vegetable at home. To grow fruit even, tasty and flawless, you need to know how to properly plant the seeds and care for the seedlings. For detailed information on planting carrots in the spring: when to sow, how to plant correctly and much more, read below!

When to plant seed carrots outdoors

Planting carrots with seeds is required to be carried out directly in the open ground. If you pre-plant the planting material in seedling cups, and then dive, then the plant will invariably be damaged. In this case, you should not wait for even and neat vegetables. But when to plant carrots outdoors in spring?

Each gardener has his own experience and is guided by the accumulated knowledge, choosing the optimal timing for planting carrots in the spring. Some adhere to the recommendations for rooting seedlings according to the advice of producers, others keep track of favorable days according to the lunar calendar. But best of all, choosing when to plant carrots in open ground in spring, navigate on weather conditions and climatic zones, in which your summer cottage or garden is located.

According to the lunar calendar in 2018

The lunar calendar will help you decide when to plant carrots in spring and in what month. According to the lunar calendar, in 2018 for sowing carrots are ideal for march last numbers - from 19 to 24, as well as 27 and 28 March. April will delight you with a large number of favorable days for the rooting of young seedlings - 1, 13, 16, 17, 18, 23, 27, and 28.

In May slightly fewer favorable days for planting carrots, only 6 most successful moments for the high-quality emergence of excellent planting material - 4, 7, 9, 15, 19, and also 24 number... For those looking to feast on a late harvest, planting in June is the way to go. from 4 to 8 June, as well as 18, 19, 20 and 21 numbers.

In addition, it is recommended to pay attention not only to an auspicious day, but also to monitor the day of the week. For better germination, experienced gardeners advise sowing carrots in the spring only in women's days of the week.

According to the recommendations of the manufacturers, depending on the variety

Most varieties need to be planted in early spring after the snow melts. But as you know, carrots differ in types. There are varieties such as early maturing or ultra-early, medium ripening, as well as late.

It is recommended to refer to the outdoor sowing instructions on the back of the package... Planting of each variety of carrots should be carried out in the spring at a strictly defined time. If this is not done on time, then there is an opportunity not to wait for the harvest to ripen. This is especially true for late varieties.

Depending on the region and climate

To choose the optimal time for sowing carrots in spring in different regions, it is recommended to focus on the weather conditions. An orange root crop is sown in the southern regions much earlier than in the central part, the Middle lane (Moscow region), or northern cities... For example, sowing carrots in open ground in the South is carried out almost immediately after the snow melts, that is, already in April.

Carrots are not afraid of small spring return frosts, so if you sow them in early springand there will be a drop in temperature, she will be able to withstand a slight cold snap, however, such carrots most likely will not be stored, because low temperatures will lead to the growth of flower arrows and significantly reduce its keeping quality.

Important! But you do not need to keep it in the ground for a long period, planting it very early. Seedlings tend to rot, rot or not germinate in such conditions.

Therefore, it is recommended to carefully monitor the weather, choosing the time when you can sow carrots in the spring. So, in the Central lane (Moscow region), sowing is recommended in the last days of April-early May... At this moment, optimal conditions for sowing are observed, the air temperature is stably kept in the range of +10 .. + 18 C.

In the northern regions it is recommended to carry out planting work not earlier than the second half of May or the first days of June... Planting carrots at such times is required due to the fact that snow lasts the longest in Siberia and the Urals. It is not worth planting late varieties, they will not have time to ripen.

Attention! The main thing is to carefully monitor the weather and track the end of cold days. Only in this case is it possible to properly plant carrots in the country and grow a tasty and healthy vegetable on time.

After what crops is it better to plant carrots

As you know, the predecessors in the garden play an important role when choosing a site for planting. And what can you plant after carrots next year? There are several crops, after which the site is most favorable for the red-haired beauty.

After which crops it is better to plant carrots:

• tomatoes;
• cucumbers;
• potato;
• onion;
• cabbage;
• salad.

Thanks to numerous agricultural studies and real experience of gardeners, it was possible to identify such a pattern. If you follow these recommendations for choosing beds with favorable predecessors for planting carrots, you will be able to achieve the best result.

Important! Carrot should not be planted after greens such as parsley, dill, celery and parsnips. And also after the carrots themselves.

How to plant seed carrots outdoors

To properly plant carrots in open ground with seeds, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with important information on seed preparation and soil quality requirements before planting. You need to know how to sow carrot seeds correctly in the spring so that they sprout quickly and well. And also fulfill the necessary conditions for planting, sheltering seeds and caring for them after sowing.

Video: how to properly plant carrots in the open ground in spring.

Seed preparation

Planting material for carrots usually sits in one place for a long time before hatching. In seedlings of root crops, there are a large number of various essential oils that do not allow moisture to get to the embryo for a long period.

In most cases, if carrot seeds are planted dry in the spring in the ground without preparation for planting, they will hatch only by 21-25 days. Therefore, to activate accelerated germination, 2 methods are used to stir up the plant.

Let's take a closer look at how to prepare carrot seeds for planting so that they sprout quickly:

1. Before sowing, the seeds must rinse in warm waterand after that put in a damp clothplaced in a small container with heated liquid for 2-3 days. Additionally, it is recommended to add 2 tsp into the water. wood ash per 1 liter.When the seeds have roots (they germinate), then they can be sown.
2. Dry root seed fall asleep in a canvas (linen) bag and buried in the ground in early spring and covered with snow... The earth at this moment is rather wet, unheated and cold. It is recommended to keep the planting material in this form for 2 weeks. Thanks to this procedure, the seedlings will swell, and also undergo natural stratification, which will have a beneficial effect on the immunity of the future plant. Before the planned date of planting work, the seedlings are taken out of the ground. They are laid out on paper or fabric, dried. After such preparation of carrot seeds for sowing, they are immediately sown into the soil (preferably with sand). Seeds matured in such conditions germinate within 5-7 days.

Video: how to properly prepare carrot seeds for planting in spring.

Soil and bed preparation

In order to properly plant carrots in the spring, it is necessary to prepare a bed for planting in advance in the fall. Before starting work, you need to choose a soil for high-quality growth of seedlings.The root crop grows well in light and neutral soil substrates, enriched with fertilizers and having a loose base.

Note! If the soil will be too acidic, then the carrots can grow hairy.

To prepare and fertilize the garden, in the fall during the digging of the intended area, it is necessary to bring the shovel to the bayonet level humus and wood ash.

Carefully! It is not recommended to apply fresh cow dung due to the fact that carrots react sharply to nitrogen fertilization and are activated to accumulate large quantities of nitrates.

In this case, the plant does not accumulate useful qualities, but is filled with harmful substances. Besides, the abundance of mullein attracts pests and parasites to the smell, capable of destroying the entire root crop.

As for the choice of the place of the garden in the garden, then, as you know, carrots are a sunny vegetable, so they should be planted in beds in open areas so that they spend the whole day in the sun.

Landing methods and schemes

There are several interesting ways to plant carrots in the spring. Before starting sowing work, you need to familiarize yourself with all the methods and choose the best option for yourself.

There are the following ways of planting carrots in the spring in open ground:

1. Easy planting in rows - seedlings are sown dry by hand in prepared grooves. The disadvantage of this method is the fact that the seedlings will have to wait long enough and most likely the plantings will be distributed rather unevenly.
2. Wet seeds - seeds aged in water or germinated are also sown in beards, while at first they should be constantly kept moist, otherwise the seedlings may die.
3. With sand - dry seeds are mixed with dry fine river sand (1 tablespoon of seeds per 1 kg of sand) and evenly scattered into the grooves in the prepared area.
4. Using tape or toilet paper - for planting carrots on a tape in open ground, it is required to moisten the tape (only places for seeds are possible) with starch-based glue (2 tablespoons of starch are dissolved in 1 glass of water). The planting material is neatly laid out at the appropriate distance on the paper. After that, the tape is placed on the garden bed and covered with soil. The advantage of this method is the even distribution of seedlings.

By the way! If you don't feel like bothering, then you can buy ready-made carrot sowing tapes, which have been sold in garden stores for a long time.

Video: planting carrots on a tape in open ground.

Sowing rules

It is best to use this method of planting carrots in open ground, which allows you to evenly distribute the plantings around the entire perimeter of the garden. Distance from each seedling it is recommended to choose insignificant - less than 2-3 cm apart... With more frequent placement, it will be necessary to eliminate thickening sprouts by thinningseveral times.

For proper planting, you need to know how deep to sow carrot seeds. For planting in the ground, grooves are prepared no more than 1.5-2.5 cm in depth... Before planting, the soil should be thoroughly spilled with hot water and lightly sprinkled with wood ash. Only after that is it worth distributing the seeds. In order to do without eliminating dense sowing, root seedlings should be planted evenly immediately.

The distance between the grooves must be left at least 10-20 cm... After sowing, the grooves should be lightly sprinkled with soil and lightly pressed with the palm of your hand.

And it is optimal to choose a day when the weather will be warm and calm (calm).

Video: sowing carrots in the spring in open ground.

Shelter after landing

Shelter of seedlings is carried out in order for the planting material to hatch faster and start growing. To do this, use any moisture-retaining covering material or plastic wrap.

Attention! After the first shoots appear, the entire shelter is removed. Otherwise, excessive moisture can cause rotting of delicate sprouts and the development of pathogenic bacteria.

The only thing is, you can leave a specially purchased covering material. It has a positive effect on reducing the frequency of watering, especially on days with increased drought.

How to care for carrots after planting outdoors

To get a good harvest of carrots, you need to not only plant the crop correctly, but also take full care after planting. To harvest even, tasty, without thickening and distortions, you should follow some care tips.

Watering and humidity

Gardeners who do not have experience with growing a ginger beauty want to know for sure whether to water the carrots after planting. Despite the fact that the culture is relatively drought tolerant, without the necessary amount of moisture, it can become coarse and tasteless or grow small.

Note! You can get detailed information on how to properly water carrot beds by reading this article.

Another equally important question often arises - how often to water the carrots after planting? Watering should be done as needed when the soil becomes dry... In this case, it is necessary to water the carrots after planting in such a way that do not flood the soil, because it does not like the swampy state... But at the same time, the volume of water entering the root crops should be carefully controlled. For the plant to be of normal size, watering should be applied in such a volume that the soil near the plantings is saturated by 15-20 cm.

Attention! It is imperative to water the carrots after planting at the time of the growing season and the formation of the root crop. Otherwise, the plant grows deformed, crooked and with a large number of the finest roots all over the body.

Video: how to properly water carrots after planting.

Top dressing

Top dressing should be applied before planting carrots with seeds in open ground. In the future, fertilization can only provoke a negative accumulation of nitrates or the attraction of parasitic individuals, for example, if cow dung is used as an organic additive.

Loosening, weeding, thinning

Loosening must be produced to eliminate weeds, as well as saturate the soil with nutritious oxygen. In addition, loosening should be carried out so that the earth does not seize with a dry crust. Thanks to the procedure, water does not stagnate on the surface, but goes deep into the ground, saturating the root crop.

Weeding you need to do deep. If you carry out superficial weed control, then the upper part of the root crop remains outside, where it is exposed to the sun and turns green.This root vegetable is not edible.

Thinning should be carried out with strong thickening. You should not stand for time until the root crop has set. Otherwise, it is possible to unintentionally damage large seedlings when removing weaker shoots. The latter will lead to deformation of the plant and loss of quality appearance.

Video: how to thin out carrots correctly.

In order not to thin out the carrots, it is necessary to initially sow the planting material at the recommended distance.

By the way! You will find more detailed information on the timing and methods of thinning an orange root crop. in this article.

Video: how to properly plant carrots in the spring, so as not to thin out later.

Diseases and pests

Important! The root crop very often undergoes deformations and becomes clumsy and horny, you can find out why this happens and how to avoid it from this material.

One of the most common parasites is the carrot fly. She is able to lay her eggs in the ground next to the emerging root crop. From the latter, larvae appear, capable of gnawing passages in carrots, thereby rendering them unusable for consumption.

In order to eliminate the parasitic individual from planting carrots, you can plant onions in the intervals between the rows... The parasite of onions is the onion fly, which does not tolerate the smell of the red-haired beauty. In turn, the onion aroma is not perceived by the carrot fly. Thus, mutual benefit defeats pests.

Important! How to effectively deal with a carrot fly in the garden read here.

Thus, planting carrots in spring with seeds in open ground does not cause much time-consuming or special difficulties. The main thing is to immediately decide on the method of sowing planting material. Planting is best done with a wet method, spreading the seedlings on toilet paper. In general, there are no special secrets for planting carrots. With good care, you do not need to protect the plant from carrot flies. Following all the tips and tricks will help you plant your carrots properly so that they grow big and tasty.

Video: planting carrots in the spring in open ground.

Root crops are the true kings of the garden. They are cultivated by all summer residents, but far from everyone growing carrots in the open field invariably pleases with a generous harvest of sweet and juicy vegetables of perfectly even shape. To get such a result, you will have to try: sow the culture correctly and provide it with competent care.

Optimal place for beds

You can count on an abundance of fruits only if you satisfy all the requirements of the carrots, and she has a lot of them. Its bushes thrive on loose and fertile soils. In terms of composition, they are optimally suited to medium loam or sandy loam soil. They will provide the carrots with high aeration. It is possible to choose varieties for breeding that form long root crops only when the depth of the loose soil layer on the site is very significant.

The culture prefers neutral soil, the optimal pH for it is in the range of 6-7. It is better if a crust does not form on the soil, and its moisture capacity is good. In dense and heavy soil, which does not allow air to pass through to the roots of the bushes and retains water for a long time, the taste of carrots will greatly decrease, even despite good care. Inappropriate soil will affect seed germination in spring, and it will make adult bushes vulnerable to fungal diseases.

It is good to make beds for planting carrots on an area where the following crops grew last season:

• cabbage;
• any kind of beans and grains;
• onion;
• garlic;
• potato;
• tomatoes;
• zucchini;
• cucumbers.

Bad predecessors for her will be herbs that come from the same family:

• Dill;
• celery;
• parsley;
• coriander;
• parsnip;
• fennel;
• caraway.

Advice

It is not worth planting carrots in one place from year to year.Such beds are more often affected by pests and diseases. It will be possible to sow a crop in the same area without fear for the health of the plants when 3-4 years have passed since the harvest.

A place for beds with carrots should be chosen well-lit. Its bushes love the sun and do not suffer from its direct rays. But the lack of light will have a bad effect on the yield. Root crops will grow small and taste poor.

Preparing for landing

The soil for planting carrots is prepared in advance by introducing rotted manure or compost into it (½ bucket per 1 m² of the surface of the garden). If the land on the site is heavy, sawdust (2-3 liters) is added to the fertilizer. They will make the soil looser. It is also good to add wood ash or other compounds containing potassium. It improves the taste of root vegetables, makes them sweeter and increases their keeping quality. If the sowing of carrots is carried out in the spring, they dig up the plot even during the autumn work in the garden. So the soil will have time to settle. To make the root crops even, and to remove them from the soil it was easier, you need to dig deep, 1.5 bayonets of a shovel. With the arrival of spring, the site is leveled with a rake, after which it will be possible to start planting.

Fresh manure cannot be used for pre-sowing preparation of the site. Its introduction will provoke the flowering of carrot bushes and the branching of root crops. No amount of care will save them from this. You need to carefully consider the dosage of nitrogen fertilizers. With an excess of them, vegetables become coarse, and nitrates accumulate in their tissues.

The timing of sowing a crop is determined by the characteristics of the selected variety and the purpose of its cultivation. Carrots can be planted before winter. Then the process of vernalization of its seeds will take place in the soil. In the spring, when it gets a little warmer, they will hatch right away. Harvesting can be started 2-3 weeks earlier than with normal sowing. But it will not be stored for a long time. It is better to eat such vegetables right away or make preparations from them for the winter. Sowing carrots in autumn is not possible everywhere. In areas with cold winters, seed beds are protected with a thick layer of dry foliage, straw or sawdust. But in severe frosts, they can die even under such shelter.

Planting carrots in the spring is more often practiced. Its timing depends on the climate of the area and on the time by which the roots should ripen. If you plan to use them in the summer, then planting seeds of early maturing varieties is better in early spring. You can start sowing when the air warms up to + 8 ° C, and the moisture remaining in the ground after the snow melts has not yet had time to evaporate.

Sudden cold snaps and frosts have a bad effect on the keeping quality of root crops and can cause carrots to bloom. Therefore, if vegetables need to be stored for a long time, planting dates are shifted to mid-April (for late and mid-season varieties). On light soils, it can be carried out until the end of May, weather conditions will serve as a guide here. On medium - it is better to hurry up and have time to sow the crop before the middle of the month. You should not be late with planting, otherwise the emergence of seedlings will have to wait for a very long time.

Advice

Carrots grow quickly when planted before long rains.

Seed treatment

Experienced summer residents prefer to plant carrots with already sprouted seeds. Seed care at this stage is very simple and does not take much time. At the same time, it will allow you to immediately reject empty seeds and accelerate the emergence of seedlings by at least a week. In its simplest form, it consists of 2 procedures.

• The seeds are placed in warm water and left in it for 10 hours. As a result, empty shells end up on the surface of the liquid.
• Next, the selected planting material is laid out on damp gauze (cloth, cotton wool). The air in the room with carrot seeds should be warmed up to + 20- + 24 ° C. If everything is done correctly, they will hatch in 3 days.

Presowing care can be carried out in other effective ways.

• Place the carrot seeds in water heated to 30 ° C for a day, changing it every 4 hours.You can take a solution of wood ash for processing (1 tablespoon of fertilizer per 1 liter of water). Its temperature should be the same. Having removed the seeds from it, they are washed with clean water and, wrapped with a piece of cloth, are placed in the refrigerator, where they are kept for 2-3 days.
• Place the seeds in a cloth or gauze bag and expose them to contrasting temperatures. The planting material is kept in hot (50 ° C) water for 20 minutes, then dipped in cold water for 2-3 minutes.
• After placing the carrot seeds in a cloth bag, bury them in the ground and let them sit in it for 10 days.

Seeds prepared in any of the ways can be sown in the beds.

Sowing rules

It is recommended to plant carrots in autumn and spring in well-moisturized grooves of medium depth. If you make them small, gusty winds can blow the seeds away and spread them throughout the garden. But the grooves should not be too deep. Otherwise, shoots can not be expected. Furrows are made with a minimum interval of 15 cm. The seeds are laid out in them so that 2 cm remain between them. They are sealed to a depth of 2-3 cm if the soil is light, and 1.5-2 cm if it is heavy.

Advice

If sowing is carried out with non-germinated seeds, before placing them in the ground, they are lightly rubbed with hands, removing the bristles from them.

After planting carrots, the soil in the beds is compacted. This is usually done with a roller or board, but you can simply crush the soil with your hands. Then a thick (at least 3 cm) layer of mulch is poured onto the beds. It will not allow the formation of a soil crust, which interferes with the sprouting of seedlings.

For germination of carrots, a temperature of about + 15- + 18 ° C is needed. If untreated seeds were used for planting, it will take 18-25 days to peck the seedlings in the spring. They are not afraid of short-term frosts (up to -4 ° C), so you should not cover the beds. With a prolonged cold snap, the probability of flowering is high.

Before winter, planting carrots should be closer to the end of autumn - in the last days of October or in the first decade of November. The plot for its sowing is prepared in 3 weeks. Having covered the seeds in the soil, the beds are covered with a 3-centimeter layer of peat. In the spring, after the snow has melted, they are covered with foil. They remove it only after the shoots appear. Autumn sowing of carrots is possible only on light soils.

Features of agricultural technology

The technology of growing a crop is quite simple, even novice summer residents can easily cope with it.

Caring for the beds consists of the following activities:

• thinning out too dense seedlings;
• frequent loosening;
• regular weeding;
• timely watering;
• dressing.

For the first time, carrot seedlings are thinned out when 2 true leaves are formed on them. At this stage, it will be correct to leave 2-3 cm of free space between the plants. With the appearance of 3 and 4 leaves, thinning is carried out again, bringing the distance between the carrot bushes to 4-6 cm.At the same time, weeding is done.

Carrots will yield a bountiful harvest, and their fruits will be sweet and robust when properly watered. Lack of moisture will make vegetables sluggish and give them a bitter taste. Plants are watered during the entire growing season - in spring and summer. At the same time, make sure that the water soaks the soil at least 30 cm deep. If the fruits do not have enough moisture, lateral roots will form on them and the presentation of the carrots will deteriorate. But an excess of water will not be useful to plants. It causes cracking of root crops, stimulates the formation of small shoots on them, and enhances the growth of leaves.

Leaving in the form of watering is carried out once a week, adhering to the following rules.

• In the spring, immediately after sowing, 3 liters of water are spent on 1 m² of the surface of the beds.
• After thinning the seedlings for the second time, the volume of the introduced liquid is brought to 10 liters.
• At the stage of intensive growth of root crops (it begins when the leaves on the carrot bushes develop well), the amount of water during irrigation is increased by 2 times.
• Moisture is reduced 1.5-2 months before harvesting.It is carried out less often - once every 10-15 days, and water is spent at the rate of 10 liters per 1 m² of the surface of the garden. Planting care in the form of watering is completely stopped 2-3 weeks before digging up the roots.

Fertilize carrots twice a season. The time for feeding determines the age of the seedlings: 1 and 2 months. Such care is carried out by the root method, watering the beds with a nutritious composition of the following components:

• wood ash (2 glasses);
• nitrophoski (1 tbsp. l);
• potassium nitrate (20 g);
• urea (15 g);
• superphosphate (15 g).

All components are diluted in 1 bucket of water. Fertilizer solution is added after watering.

Every summer resident considers it his duty to plant a garden bed with graceful carrot bushes, decorating the garden landscape with openwork leaves with a spicy aroma. The history of the cultivation of the culture has already been counted for almost 4 millennia, during which many of its varieties have been obtained. Among them there are early maturing and late maturing, high-yielding, staunchly withstanding the invasion of pests and not afraid of diseases. There are varieties bred specifically for a specific area, as well as differing in the length and shape of the fruit. In this variety, every gardener will be able to find exactly the one he wants to grow.

Carrots are delicious and healthy. It can be counted among the basic products that should always be in the kitchen, because many dishes are prepared using it, from the usual soups to desserts. However, it is not so easy to get sweet root vegetables, because the culture is quite demanding on growing conditions. Caring for carrots in the beds cannot be called specific, but you can expect a generous harvest from its bushes only if all its rules are followed.