How to care for carrots outdoors. Planting carrots in spring in open ground with seeds. The best varieties and planting methods. Main varieties and varieties: detailed description

It is convenient to grow carrots in central Russia; the climate is suitable for this. I prefer mid-season carrots; they last a long time and taste good. It is optimal to sow mid-ripening varieties in mid-May. However, to avoid negative influence return frosts, you don’t have to rush to sow - plant carrots at the end of the month.

Soil for planting carrots

Planting carrots in beds

I prepare beds for carrots in an open, well-lit area; there is no shade there, and this has a beneficial effect on the yields - the soil warms up well. I choose the most leveled part of the site for the beds - without slopes or depressions, where cold air and excess moisture can accumulate.

Prepare beds for carrots in the fall, when there is significantly more free time than in the spring.

First, I remove all the plant parts remaining from the crop growing on the site, then I dig up the soil with a shovel full, trying to remove the maximum number of weeds, after which I loosen the soil with a rake and level it. For those who have heavy soil on their plot, I advise you to dig it up with sawdust, scattering it at the rate of 3 kg per 1 sq. m. m.

I don’t make the beds too large and I don’t advise you to do so; the optimal width of the bed, which allows you to care for the plants without problems, is 1 m, or a little more. I arrange the beds on the site so that their length runs from north to south.

Carrot planting scheme

The scheme is simple: first, I draw grooves along the beds about 5 cm wide and about 2 cm deep or a little more. I make the outer furrow no closer than 10 cm from the edge of the bed, maybe even a little further, and the rest, 18-20 cm apart from each other. Some gardeners believe that they will save a lot of space if they make narrow furrows, but experience has shown that such beds further care very inconvenient.

In order for carrot seeds to germinate faster, I always sow them in pre-moistened soil. Before planting, I first water the beds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (light pink), after which I thoroughly moisten each furrow with water at room temperature, using 5-6 liters. Before sowing, it is also better to keep the seeds in water for about a day so that they swell. I scatter the prepared seeds along the furrow at a distance of about 1 cm or a little more from each other.

Follow the sowing scheme and you can significantly save seed and own strength– you don’t have to thin out the carrot seedlings immediately after they appear.

Caring for carrots after planting

After sowing the carrots, I sprinkle the furrows with a mixture of river sand and peat, in equal parts, until level with the soil surface, and then cover them with film. There should be 10 cm of free space between the soil and the film, so I lay bricks along the edges of the bed, then lay the film on them, and lay another brick on top of the same bricks, stretching the film.

To prevent water from accumulating on the film, which can press it to the ground, I make several holes in the film through which excess water will drain onto the soil.

The film plays a purely positive role; it retains moisture in the soil, helps to increase the soil temperature, due to which seedlings appear in just a week. Immediately after the emergence of seedlings, the film must be removed so as not to interfere with their growth.

The rest consists of regular thinning, loosening, fertilizing and timely watering.

Nikolay Khromov, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, senior researcher

Planting carrots in open ground: video

For information on the experience of planting carrots in open ground in the spring in the Tula region, see. Carrots are sown at the end of April or early May. Before sowing, carrot seeds are soaked in hot water for half an hour or in a damp cloth for 2 days. The swollen carrot seeds are dried and powdered with ash. To make the crops sparser, sand is added to the carrot seeds and mixed. Carrots are convenient to use in joint plantings, for example, with onions or peas. When growing, you need to observe crop rotation, for example, sow carrots after potatoes.

Planting carrots on paper: video

Experience of sowing carrot seeds different ways see: how to plant carrots in jelly and on paper, using ash and sand, how to prepare seeds and beds for sowing. Carrots can be sown in joint plantings with beets and onions. Before planting, the seeds are prepared. First, carrot seeds are soaked in hot water at a temperature of 50-60 °C for 2 hours in a thermos, and then for 15 minutes according to the instructions in a growth stimulator solution. Immediately before sowing, after soaking, the carrot seeds are dried on a linen napkin.

Every gardener has his own secret to growing carrots. To get a good harvest of orange root vegetables, you need to follow certain rules. Qualitative planting material, timely and correctly prepared beds, competent sowing of seeds at the right time give good results when planting carrots in spring in open ground at the dacha and in Belarus, Ukraine, Siberia and the Moscow region.

Today it is possible to grow carrots different varieties, which can be harvested in the garden if you properly care for it and fertilize it. We will describe below what method of planting and growing you can choose for a productive vegetable garden.

Second term - end of May, beginning of June. At the beginning of summer they plant late varieties. Carrots with a growing season of 120-130 days will fill with juice by the end of September, ripen and be ready for storage in the cellar.

Late varieties planted during these periods are stored well in winter.

If late varieties are planted at the end of May, they store well in the spring

What soil to choose for good productivity

Preparing the soil so that carrots can quickly sprout and germinate is no less important than the correct planting time. A good harvest is achieved by gardeners who know the structure and acidity of the soil in their summer cottage. High yields obtained by sowing seeds on the soil well dug and without stones, accordingly, you need to process it well.

To improve the structure add:

1. Peat for loosening clay soil.
2. Organic matter is added in spring sandy loam soil, and in the fall - into heavy loam.
3. Once every 5 years, acidic soil deoxidize, this can be done by adding at least 30 g/m2 of lime.
4. In spring, apply to the carrot bed before digging mineral fertilizers.

The norm of the amount of mineral fertilizers per 1 m²: superphosphate - 20 g, potassium sulfate - 20 g.

Optimal acidity table for different types soils where you need to strictly follow the pattern.

In the soil behind summer season harmful microorganisms, eggs and insect larvae accumulate. You cannot sow a vegetable in one place every year. The harvest will 100% suffer from onion fly.

Way out - crop rotation. The following are considered good predecessors:

• beet
• salad;
• tomatoes;
• potato.

How and when to plant carrot seeds in open ground

Preparations for sowing begin in advance. You can check the germination rate before planting if you decide to use regular seeds rather than coated seeds. The procedure is not complicated. Plant a few seeds (20 pcs.) in a flower pot.

If free time allows at the end of winter prepare planting tapes, toilet paper and paste made from potato starch and flour are used.

Cut strips no wider than 1 cm. Their length should be equal to the width of the future ridge. Glue the seeds at intervals of 3 cm. It is convenient to do this with a wooden toothpick or skewer.

Calculate the required number of ribbons using the formula: divide the length of the ridge by 30 and add 1. Here 30 is the distance between the rows.

Prepare a 1 m wide bed after the soil has matured. Signs of a topsoil ready for planting - clods of earth crumbling from a light blow. Mark furrows across the ridge with a block at intervals of 30 cm. Sprinkle them with water and let them stand. When the ground settles, start sowing.

It is better to sprinkle the seeds not with soil, but with humus or a mixture of peat and sand. Friendly shoots are obtained if the depth of seeding is observed 1-1.5 cm. Winds are not uncommon in spring. You can avoid blowing out the seeds by using a film cover. You can remove it after the first panicles appear.

Advice for gardeners who have small area. When sowing use radishes as a sealing plant. It has a growing season that is 3 times shorter and when the panicles are 5-7 cm, the radishes can be harvested for food. With combined plantings, carrots are friends with radishes, garlic and lettuce.

Another recommendation that will make it easier to sow small carrot seeds. Those who sow carrots with dry seeds can use it. Crush the chalk and mix with the seeds. The seeds will turn white, they will be clearly visible against the background of black soil, then they can be planted according to technology.

When it rises

Light green panicles emerge into the light in two weeks or a little later. If you want to speed up germination, you can take the advice of an experienced gardener.

Will need a small amount of vodka. The seeds need to be soaked in it for no more than 15 minutes. Then rinse the seeds running water and dry. Sow less often.

Most gardeners prefer to soak seeds in cold water for a day, dry them and sow.

As soon as the shoots appear, it begins routine care behind the ridge:

• weeding;
• watering;
• thinning;
• hilling;
• cleaning.

Proper watering of carrots is one of the components of care

Weeding is needed throughout the summer. Weeds do not have a break, they grow on the ridges from spring to autumn, they need to be thinned out.

Watering is a simple task, but it must be done according to the rules. The plant does not like surface watering; it is better to water less often, but more abundantly. Moderately moist soil at the depth of root growth is what the root crop needs.

Causes of cracking carrots: excessive watering, sudden changes in soil moisture levels.

Hilling is carried out at the end of summer raking root crops sticking out of the ground. If this is not done, the top of the carrots will turn green and their flavor will deteriorate.

Many gardeners like to loosen the soil between carrot rows. This gets rid of the crust that appears after the next watering. The best option retain moisture in the soil and prevent crust formation - mulch.

Use humus as mulch. You need a layer no thicker than 3 cm. A thicker layer provokes carrots to grow “horns”.

Harvesting root crops for storage is a responsible task. It also has its own rules. This is how short root crops are pulled out of the ground by the tops. Long carrot digging with pitchforks. The tops are cut off at a distance of 1 cm from the root.

How to thin out for good yields

Not experienced gardeners They don’t know that carrots need to be thinned. The result of this illiteracy is small carrots. Thinning is pulling out densely growing carrot shoots.

Thinning begins when the tops tighten up to 5 cm. Remove frail shoots. A gap of 3-5 cm is left if varieties with short root crops grow on the ridge. For long roots large diameter You need to maintain a 10 cm interval.

Excess sprouts are removed a second time when the tops reach 10 cm. It is better to work in the evening, watering the bed beforehand. Leave 6 cm gaps between sprouts. Thinning is carried out until mid-June.

In the fall, the carrot harvest will delight the eye with its orange splendor and is easy to grow if simple rules are followed during planting and the necessary care is given to the carrot bed during the summer.

Carrots are perhaps one of the most beloved and often grown root vegetables in summer cottages. It's hard to imagine traditional home cooking without this colorful ingredient: many varieties of this garden crop can be stored fresh for a long time, representing an invaluable source of microelements and vitamins during the winter season. Is it easy to cultivate carrots on your plot? Growing and care in open ground This vegetable crop has a number of features. Despite the apparent simplicity of this process, we must not forget that carrots are a rather capricious vegetable. Unsuitable conditions, untimely watering or fertilizing will lead to the fact that instead of smooth, juicy carrots, at best you will get a crop of fodder vegetables. Therefore, it is so important not only to know how to plant carrots with seeds, but also how to provide the root crops with proper watering, care, and protection from pests. When should sowing begin? What do novice gardeners need to know in order to grow beautiful and tasty carrots? Planting and care in open ground, methods of preliminary seed preparation 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 to sow carrots in open ground largely depends on the variety of root crop. Conventionally, they are usually divided according to ripening periods. This:

• early ripening or early varieties 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”, “Amsterdamskaya”, “Incomparable”, very tender carrots “Children's Sweetness”, the hybrid “Baby F1”, the cold-resistant variety “Parizhskaya Karotel” and other early and mid-season varieties. The optimal time for winter planting of seeds can be determined independently. Summer residents who have been practicing this growing method for many years recommend waiting for the first slight freezing of the soil, 3-5 cm deep. This will avoid untimely germination. You can safely begin to germinate overwintered carrots in the second half of April. To do this, a small greenhouse or simply arcs covered with film are installed above the bed, after which the seeds are provided with intensive watering.

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

If we focus on the conditions of the middle zone, then to grow 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 around the 20-25th. Juicy early ripening varieties are perfect for this: “Amsterdamskaya”, “Orange Muscat”, very sweet carrots “Touchon”, “Lyubimaya” and others.

For a “reserve” harvest, carrots should be planted no earlier than May, preferably in the middle of the month. In this case, it is recommended to choose varieties that are late or mid-ripening, but always with a long period of preservation of all the properties of the root crop. For example, mid-season carrots “Alenka”, “Nantes”, “Leander”, “Grenada”, “Vitaminnaya” can “survive the winter” very well. Almost all late varieties are capable of proper storage last the entire winter season and remain tasty and healthy until next spring. Good characteristics deserved it popular varieties“Red Giant”, “Queen of Autumn”, “Mo”, “Flakke”, “Incomparable”, “Saint Valerie” and other late-ripening varieties. Particular attention should be paid to the “Perfection” variety, which has a high immunity to rotting from moisture.

Stratification and germination

What advice from experienced gardeners should you use to avoid ending up with crooked and tasteless “fodder” carrots? Planting and care in open ground begin with preparing the seeds of this root crop long before they fall into the ground.

First of all, it is worth paying attention to when the seed material was harvested. As a rule, summer residents use purchased seeds or fairly fresh “homemade” seeds collected from last year’s harvest for sowing. If you use purchased ones, then before planting carrot seeds in open ground, you should pay attention to the expiration date stamped on the bag of seed material: a guaranteed good result in the form of an excellent harvest can be obtained from seeds that are no more than 3 years old at the time of sowing. 4 years old.

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

The first thing you need to do is soak the carrot seeds for two hours. The water should be neutral “room” temperature.

After soaking, the seed material is evenly scattered onto a damp cloth. The seeds are also covered with a moistened cloth on top.

They should be kept in the fabric until they swell. All this time the fabric needs to be moistened. Without allowing the seed material to dry out, they need to be carefully 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 one, long ago known method preliminary germination of seed material. To do this, the seeds are simply poured into a cotton bag and “digged in”, that is, they are buried at a shallow depth in the ground for about 10 days.

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

For getting good harvest You will need to allocate a suitable place on the site for carrot beds that meets all the necessary conditions.

One of the main needs of this vegetable is a lot of sunlight. Carrots grow poorly in the shade and do not taste good.

If winter sowing is planned, then it is necessary to make a bed not only on a lit, but also on an elevated piece of land. This will prevent further erosion of the seeds by melt water.

It is also important what crops grew in this place last year. Carrots cannot be grown for several years in a row in the same bed - the soil is depleted, giving microelements to the root crop, so the soil 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 grains, nightshades (tomatoes or potatoes), onions, cucumbers, cabbage, and garlic.

How to prepare the soil for a carrot bed?

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

It is best to start preparing the area allocated for spring sowing in the fall. You will need to dig deep and carefully, selecting roots and weed residues, and apply fertilizer. After such preparation in the spring, you will just need to once again loosen the area for the carrot bed and start sowing.

The soil should be fairly light and loose, this will allow the root crop to grow well while 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. Excessively acidic soil negatively affects the taste of carrots. The optimal Ph level for growing this root vegetable is 6-7. You can achieve the desired acidity by adding known means to the soil: dolomite flour, wood ash or chalk.

Forming a bed: what distance should be between the rows?

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

Several convenient ways to sow small carrot seeds

The small size of carrot seed creates certain inconveniences when sowing: light seeds are not easy to pour into the furrow evenly and not too often. Here are a few proven ones convenient ways sow small carrot seeds.

One of the quite popular, although requiring patient work, methods is to stick carrot seeds on toilet paper. Many summer residents prefer to spend several winter evenings gluing seeds onto paste (it’s most convenient to do this with a match or a toothpick) and drying the resulting paper strips, so that later, instead of tedious sowing, they can place the “blanks” on toilet paper in the grooves and sprinkle them with soil.

It is much faster and easier to stir the seeds with a small amount of sand before sowing. Such seed material is evenly scattered into the groove and does not stick together.

You can sow carrots in a paste made from potato starch. To do this, the seeds are mixed with such cooled 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 require additional germination, has probably been encountered by every summer resident 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 this, you need to roll up the paper squares and dry them. Such preparations can also be made in winter and stored in a dry place until the start of the sowing period.

Fertilizers and fertilizing

It is necessary to add fertilizers to the soil even before planting carrot seeds in open ground. This can be done even during the autumn preparation of the area allocated for planting this root crop. Of the natural fertilizers, rotted cow manure 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 a carrot bed: it will unnecessarily increase the acidity of the soil, which will cause the root crops to grow crooked.

For pre-feeding, you can also use nitrogen fertilizers mixed with phosphates. For example, based on 1 m², you can apply the mixture in the following dosage:

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

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 added to 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 azofoska;
• 1 tbsp. l potassium sulfate;
• 10 liters of water.

Fertilizing can also be done with an organic mixture - a solution of chicken manure with water (1:10) with the addition of superphosphate. The resulting additive must be infused 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 and water in a ratio of 1 tsp. for 10 l. This composition should be applied twice per season: in the first ten days of July and at the beginning of the ripening of root crops (the first days of August).

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

Watering rules

Carrots, like many root vegetables, can suffer from dry soil and excessive amounts of water. Proper watering of carrots consists of observing the “golden mean”.

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

After germination, watering is required only once a week, not abundantly: the ground should be saturated with water no more than 30 cm deep. Excessive amounts of water are guaranteed to cause cracking of the roots, and if the beds are not watered deeply enough, this will lead to the formation of many small shoots and produce the so-called hairy carrots.

Lack of moisture and prolonged lack of watering affect the taste of the crop: carrots become very hard and lose their sweetness.

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

If there is sufficient humidity, experienced gardeners recommend stopping watering approximately 3-4 weeks before the start of carrot harvest. This promotes long-term storage of the root crop and also improves the taste of ripened carrots.

Thinning, loosening, hilling

To collect even and large carrots, cultivation and care in open ground must necessarily include weed removal, hilling of root crops and timely thinning.

First of all, you should not neglect the timely and regular loosening of the carrot bed. Despite the fact that during the preparation before sowing the soil was made as light as possible, after the first shoots it is necessary to provide the root crops with a sufficient amount of oxygen. You should loosen wet soil after watering or rain, and do so very carefully. During this period, the tender, fragile “roots” of carrots are located near the surface; careless loosening can easily damage them.

The same caution should be applied to thinning - an important “operation” that allows you to obtain a harvest of large root crops. It should be carried out after the first strong “leaves” of carrot tops appear. It is important to remember that if thinning is done incorrectly, the remaining root crops can be damaged, which will lead to unwanted shoots and a harvest of “horned” carrots. Therefore, this procedure must be carried out according to the following rules:

• thinning should only be done in well-moistened soil;
• “extra” root crops must be removed slowly, pulling them upward; you cannot swing or abruptly pull the root out of the ground;
• It is better to thin out in two stages: the first time it is enough to leave a distance between the root crops of about 3 cm, 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 part. If this is not done, the substance solanine is formed in fruits with a “green stripe,” which gives carrots a bitter taste during winter storage.

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

The carrot fly is considered one of the main natural enemies of this root vegetable. There are several simple, including preventive, methods of combating this insect:

• do not leave removed carrot tops and weeds after thinning near the beds;
• mulch growing root crops with clean straw or cover the surface of the bed with one of natural remedies from carrot flies: tobacco dust or hot pepper;
• It is recommended to place onions as a “neighbor” next to carrots; the fly also cannot stand its pungent smell.

Aphids grow on the tops and above-ground parts of the plant, feeding on their juices. For the above-mentioned insects, it is recommended to treat with insecticides (Bitoxibacillin, Lepidocide), but not more than 2 times a month.

Wireworms, which are the larvae of click beetles, spoil the harvest of root crops by gnawing holes in them. In order to collect most of these pests, you should dig “trap” holes into which a small amount of well-rotted grass mass and a piece of raw potatoes. The hole is covered with earth on top and left for 2-3 days, and then the larvae are removed and destroyed.

Garden slugs are less dangerous than wireworms, however, it is better to deal with them. As a “trap”, you can lay out pieces of pumpkin in the garden or dig several containers of beer near the beds. It is easier to collect and destroy slugs that have gathered overnight due to the smell of the “trap”. Pine needles scattered between the rows help to repel slugs from carrot beds.

The adult insect does not threaten vegetables, but its caterpillars chew it off aboveground part root vegetables Insecticidal treatment with special preparations (Etaphos, Cyanox and others) will help get rid of them.

In addition to insect pests, there are whole line diseases to which carrots are susceptible. Here are the most common root crop lesions:

• Gray rot is a fungal disease. It requires urgent “treatment” - treating all root crops in the garden with a disinfectant.
• White rot is a consequence of an excess of nitrogen, which occurs when large quantities nitrogen-containing fertilizers. To neutralize this disease, special preparations containing copper should be added to the soil.
• Bacteriosis and Alternaria (black rot) are diseases that arise due to the use of low-quality seed material. They can be prevented by preliminary disinfection. Treatment is spraying with fungicides.
• Fomoz (or dry rot) - is caused by fungal pathogens and is practically impossible to disinfect. Prevention is the preliminary application of fertilizers containing potassium.
• Felt disease appears after carrots are harvested and interferes with the storage of root crops. It can be controlled by spraying with fungicides.

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

What is a garden without carrots! This is one of the indispensable vegetables in the garden, it is always present in a huge number of dishes, gives us vitamins in summer and winter, and that is why housewives love it so much.

In our article we will talk about when and how to plant this wonderful and healthy vegetable and how to care for it, as well as which varieties are most suitable for growing in open ground.

When to plant carrots

In order for carrot seeds to germinate, a positive temperature is required; the ground must be warmed up by 5-8 ºC; therefore, planting time may vary depending on the temperature. different regions. In some places it will be warm already in March, but in others you will have to wait until the beginning of May. IN middle lane Most often, planting occurs at the end of April.

Late varieties can be sown a little earlier. Once in the soil, carrot seeds can withstand even light frosts down to -4 ºC. Under favorable weather conditions, seedlings will appear in about a week.

Few people know that carrots can be planted three times per season. Namely in the spring (end of April), in the summer (second half of June) for subsequent winter storage and before winter, for an early harvest next spring. In this way, you can get several harvests of this wonderful root vegetable.

How to plant carrots, planting methods

Preparing carrot seeds for planting

Carrot seeds contain large quantities essential oils that interfere with germination. Therefore, before planting, gardeners do their best to get rid of these oils. Pre-sowing treatment seeds is not necessary, but desirable for better germination.

These methods will help carrot seeds germinate better:

• soaking in warm water with the addition of ash (at the rate of 1 tablespoon of ash per 1 liter of water). soak for 5 hours, after which the seeds are washed and placed in gauze in the refrigerator.
• wrap the seeds in gauze, put them in hot water(50-60) degrees for 5 minutes, then immediately place in cold water for 2-3 minutes.
• the seeds are placed in a bag or gauze and buried in the ground on the bayonet of a shovel for 10 days.

Soil preparation

Carrots grow best in light, warm, loose soils. You can loosen the soil by adding river sand, peat and humus.

The soil pH should be slightly acidic or neutral. There should be no weeds in the carrot bed, it should be a bright sunny place, otherwise the capricious root crop will grow slowly and frailly. The soil also needs to be well loosened, not only on the surface, but also to a depth of one and a half shovels, so that there are no dense clay lumps that can deform the carrots, causing them to grow crooked.

Carrots can be planted in the place where tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, garlic and onions previously grew. It is not advisable to plant it twice in the same place, because of the danger of permanent pests characteristic of this vegetable appearing in this place.

Carrots do not like liming of soil and fresh manure, preferring rotted compost to them. Wood ash will also benefit from it; it needs to be added to the soil some time before planting.

A week before sowing, the bed is thoroughly watered and covered with polyethylene to warm and maintain moisture.

There are many ways to plant carrots, we will look at some of the most popular ones.

The classic method is to plant seeds in open ground.

We make grooves in the prepared bed, stepping back from the edge about 10 cm and then at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. The depth should be 2-3 cm, no more and no less.

Four seeding recesses are the optimal number for convenient maintenance of crops.

We spill the grooves made with hot water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection.

We place the seeds in the furrows in one line, at a distance of approximately 1 cm from each other. You don’t have to do any jewelry work and simply scatter the seeds into the groove by eye, but then you cannot avoid thinning, an unpleasant and time-consuming task.

Therefore, it is better to spend a little more time at the planting stage than to mess around in the sun, tearing out extra bushes.

Another way that can make sowing easier: mix carrot seeds with sand in a ratio of 1:5 and pour this mixture evenly into the hole.

After sowing, the furrows are filled with earth, no more than 1 cm, and compacted with patting movements from above to improve the contact of the seeds with the ground. The bed is mulched with peat chips and placed under cover - plastic film.

Monitor the germination process by periodically looking under the cover. As soon as shoots appear, the film will need to be removed.

Planting carrots on toilet paper strip

We know how convenient it is to buy a tape with carrot seeds in the store; it is placed in the furrows and sprinkled with earth. And everything would be fine, but the germination of seeds on purchased tapes is not always good. And it is not always possible to choose the desired variety.

Therefore, now we will look at how you can make seeds on tape yourself. It is very economical and easy to make a ribbon with seeds from toilet paper.

Take a roll and cut a strip of the desired length from it, usually 1-1.5 m. This is a convenient length for work.

In the photo we show a sample with a shorter section, this is just for example.

Next we will prepare a kind of flour glue. To do this, take half a glass of flour and a little water. Pour water into flour, mix. We should have the consistency of thick sour cream. It is with this product that the seeds are glued to the toilet paper to prevent it from becoming soggy.

We prepare the seeds by pouring them onto a plate for convenience and distributing them at a distance from each other.

Using an ordinary match, we pick up our improvised glue, grab 2 seeds with it and transfer it to paper. We take not one seed at a time, but two, as a safety net in case one does not sprout, which happens quite often with carrots.

We arrange the seeds in three rows. In this way we fill the tape to the end, along its entire length. After this, the paper will need to be thoroughly dried.

If anyone has dealt with dried dough, he knows what kind of stone mass comes out of it. It will hold the seeds perfectly on toilet paper after drying. and at the same time, the dough is a completely safe “glue”, natural, no chemicals.

After drying, the tape with seeds will need to be cut. As we remember, carrots are usually sown in narrow furrows. Therefore, we will cut our paper into three parts and each of them will have its own strip of seeds.

This is approximately how thick your ribbons should be. The length, of course, should be much longer than in the photo.

Further planting is very simple. The tapes are laid in the prepared furrows and covered with earth. We carry out the same steps as with the classic planting method (see previous paragraph).

Planting carrots using Galina Kizima's method video

Galina Kizima has her own interesting farming method. She is a proponent of easy gardening and uses methods that help her grow vegetables without a lot of labor. Galina Alexandrovna’s vegetable garden lives its own life, everything grows and ripens on its own, all she can do is harvest. Everything turns out easy when you know gardening tricks.

Galina Kizima's method for planting carrots does not require preparation of furrows or further thinning of seedlings. Carrot seeds are mixed with fertilizer and fine sand. This helps avoid thickening of plantings.

This whole mixture is sown on a bed on top of the ground, as if you were “salting soup”, sprinkled with a little and patted down. Ready. This method is especially suitable for older people who no longer have the strength to selflessly make furrows and lay out seeds.

It would seem that everything is very simple, will the capricious carrot really grow after such treatment? Galina shows her garden: it’s growing, and how it’s growing!

To see with your own eyes how Galina Kizima plants carrots, watch this video:

Planting carrots in egg boxes video

Another way to sow carrots with seeds without weeding. For this purpose, cells from sub-eggs are prepared in winter. They should be made of thin, loose cardboard and soak well in water. This is necessary so that the root crops can germinate through them without difficulty.

If you have containers made of thick, durable cardboard, you will have to cut off the bottoms of the cells.

The essence of the method is that the egg cartons are placed in prepared soil and sprinkled with soil. Place 1-2 seeds in each hole. This way the carrots grow at a comfortable distance.

You can place seeds in egg cassettes at home, and then transfer them to the garden bed. Convenient for saving energy, a good method.

Watch the technology in more detail in this video:

Planting carrots in starch paste video

One of the very interesting and convenient ways. Its essence is that a paste of starch is cooked, into which the seeds are then placed. This again helps to avoid crowding of plantings. And how easy it is to plant with its help! You simply pour the seed paste into the furrows as if you were just watering them.

Carrot paste recipe: 6 tablespoons of potato starch for 2 liters of water. The paste is cooked over low heat until slightly thickened; it should remain fairly fluid.

After the paste has cooled (sometimes a warm one is used), carrot seeds are poured into it. This composition is poured into the furrows. Carrots are growing great!

Winter sowing of carrots

If we sow winter carrots, we will get the harvest two weeks earlier than our neighbors. Autumn planting has its own minor differences:

• planting only in light soils
• we sow only early varieties, not for storage
• planting takes place in late October-early November
• after placing the seeds in the ground, the bed is mulched with a 3 cm layer of peat
• in the spring we cover the bed with film and wait for the first shoots to appear

Caring for carrots

If you sowed carrots thickly, they may require repeated thinning. Carrots also require loosening between rows and weeding.

Watering carrots

This vegetable is sensitive to watering; it needs a golden mean. Drought makes it sluggish and soft, bitter, gnarled (because in search of water, carrots can produce additional lateral roots). Excessive watering is the cause of cracks in carrots, their “hairiness” and oily tops to the detriment of the root crop.

Active watering of carrots is required only at the tops growth stage. As soon as we see that the carrots have collected their bouquets, watering becomes less frequent, because it is at this time that the growth of the fruit root begins.

Two months before harvesting, water carrots once every one and a half to two weeks, and two weeks before harvesting, watering is stopped altogether.

Feeding carrots

Carrots do not require frequent feeding. During the entire ripening period, it is fed only twice: a month after germination, and two months later.

A universal recipe for fertilizer for carrots: for 10 liters of water, 2 tbsp ash + 1 tbsp. l nitrophoska + 20 g of potassium nitrate + 15 g of superphosphate + 15 g of urea. We fertilize on moist soil (i.e., pre-water the carrots only in a smaller volume).

The best varieties of carrots for open ground

There are countless varieties of carrots, and from all the variety we have chosen for you the most proven, productive, shelf-stable and disease-resistant varieties with excellent taste.

Early ripening

These varieties are suitable for winter sowing, and for those simply wanting to get a quick harvest.

• Lagoon F1
• Alenka
• Amsterdam
• Dutch
• Touchon

Mid-season

Successful varieties for consumption and preservation, short-term storage.

• Tip-top
• Vitamin
• Losinoostrovskaya
• Nantes

Mid-late and late varieties

These varieties are suitable for winter storage.

• Shatane
• Royal Shatane
• Perfection
• Sirkana F1
• Vita longa
• Carlena
• Red without core

We hope that the article was useful to you, and that everyone will be able to choose their preferred method of planting this wonderful vegetable. We wish you wonderful harvests!

Carrots are the most popular vegetable among consumers. It can be purchased on store shelves all year round. But the root vegetable will bring great benefits if you grow it yourself in your summer cottage. This can be done subject to certain rules for growing carrots.

Almost any crop needs to be fertilized before planting in the spring, and this can be done in the spring after planting at the dacha, or it can be fertilized later directly into the hole. We will tell you in the article how to properly care for carrots, how much and what kind of fertilizer to apply, little tricks for applying manure and humus, how to water frequently and how to love the plant.

Before sowing seeds in open ground, a gardener must decide why he is growing carrots and when he wants to get the harvest. Sowing time:

1. Early spring sowing from April 15 to May 15. Throughout June you can already collect bunches of carrots, and with the arrival of August you can enjoy the sweet root vegetables.
2. Summer sowing from May 15 to June 10. The harvest will take place at the end of September; these carrots are stored in the cellar for winter storage.
3. Pre-winter sowing from October 20 to November 15 allows you to consume young root crops before harvesting the main harvest. The main thing is to choose right place for beds - it should be located on a hill so that the spring melting of snow does not drown the seeds.

If you sow at all possible times, then fresh vegetables will be on the table all year round.

At winter sowing The formation of root crops occurs at a time when the carrot fly is just beginning its life activity. It is not yet capable of harming the harvest in the garden; the vegetables will be of better quality.

Choosing a place for a garden bed

It is no secret that carrots are an unpretentious root vegetable, but to obtain a rich harvest, you still need to create comfortable conditions. When choosing a location for garden beds, the gardener should consider:

• this vegetable crop grows well in illuminated areas;
• fertile loamy-sandy soil with 4% humus and neutral acidity 6-7 pH;
• Previously, potatoes, tomatoes, corn and legumes were grown at the planting site;
• do not use for growing beds where they were previously grown spices(dill, parsley, fennel, etc.);
• it is forbidden plant vegetables in the same area 2 years in a row.

Large root crops of regular shape grow on peat soils, which were formed after the swamps dried out. And on clay soil the carrots will take on an ugly shape due to strong growth resistance.

Before frost, the area for vegetables must be dig up, remove roots and stones. But do not drive the shovel too deep into the ground and destroy the fertile layer. You should dig to a depth of about 0.3 meters. With the onset of spring, level and deeply loosen the surface.

How to plant seeds to get good seedlings

Gardeners practice a variety of methods for planting carrots, all of which have their own advantages and disadvantages:

1. Sowing seeds considered the most in a fast way. The gardener simply scatters dry seed into the prepared beds. At the same time, seed consumption cannot be called economical, and the seedlings will be too dense and uneven.
2. Dragee- these are seeds placed in a nutritious shell, the shoots are friendly and strong. Their sowing consists of point distribution in small holes. The cost of pelleted seeds is higher, but you won’t have to waste time on thinning.
3. Previously sprouted seeds give quick shoots. But in the absence of rain, you will have to water ahead of time; the sprouts are too weak and cannot cope with the pressure of the earth.
4. Roll method involves gluing small seeds onto long strips of paper. To plant, you just need to spread the strips in the garden bed, dig it in with soil, water it well and fertilize it. Shoots will appear evenly, but a little later.
5. Liquid paste cook from potato starch, cool to room temperature and mix with mineral fertilizers. Add seeds to the resulting liquid and stir quickly. Pour the paste evenly into the grooves. With this method there is no need to thin out the plantings.

Regardless of the chosen planting method, it is better to sow seeds less often, so as not to have to thin out in the future.

You can have a garden bed cover with film for 2-3 weeks before the first shoots appear. Thus, weeds will not interfere with plant growth, and a crust will not form on the soil, preventing moisture from penetrating to the roots.

If dry planting material is selected for sowing, additional preparation is required. You can disinfect it by soaking the seeds in water heated to 40 degrees. But it's better to hold them in a solution of potassium permanganate– 1 g of substance per 100 ml of liquid. The procedure time should not exceed 20 minutes, after which the seeds must be rinsed well clean water and dry.

Some gardeners use specialized plant growth stimulants already at the seed preparation stage. But to obtain an environmentally friendly harvest, this is not recommended.

Secrets of caring for carrots after planting

Carrots belong to difficult to germinate and slow growing vegetable crops. Don’t think that once you sow it, you can forget about the beds until harvest.

In order for the root crops to be strong and large and consistent with the varietal quality, they should be looked after.

Fertilizers, fertilizing and folk remedies

A gardener will reap an average harvest in terms of quality and quantity if he limits himself to applying fertilizer during the autumn digging of the plot.

The plant needs feeding throughout the growing season.

So, first time feed the vegetable a month after entry. At 10 l. water dissolve 1 tbsp. l. nitrofoski – classic mineral fertilizer, containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The same solution is also used in the second feeding after 2 weeks and on the third- at the beginning of August.

The best potassium fertilizer is this folk remedy How tincture of ash. To prepare it, you need to pour 150 g of dry ash in parts into a bucket of water. Stir the mixture until the ash is completely dissolved. At 10 l. dilute 1 liter of water. tincture and feed and water the root crops of carrots or beets with this liquid during the second half of the growing season.

How to water during the growing period

When growing root vegetables special meaning The irrigation system is playing. Indeed, if the soil moisture is insufficient, the young roots of the plant will die, and overwatering the beds will lead to the fact that only livestock will be able to feed on the harvest.

Therefore, immediately after sowing, the period begins proper watering beds:

1. The method used to stimulate the inputs is sprinkling(300-400 m3/ha), and then several receptions drip irrigation(20-30 m3/ha).
2. After the entrances appear, depending on weather conditions, watering is carried out every 2-3 days small volume of water.
3. During the period of root crop formation, the soil moisture regime changes - the frequency decreases, the volume of water increases.
4. Active growth of vegetables is accompanied by infrequent watering (once every 7-10 days), but moisture should penetrate into the ground to a depth of 10-15 cm.
5. One month before harvest, watering do not carry out even in the absence of rain. Excess moisture during this period will worsen the taste and keeping quality of vegetables.

Before digging up root crops, it is advisable to moisten the soil a little. Thus, the process is facilitated, and the crop improves its ability to be stored fresh.

Proper weeding

One of the least favorite things gardeners do is weeding their beds. But you can’t do without this tedious task, otherwise you can lose your entire harvest due to the “attack” of weeds.

On initial stage when the plants have not yet sprouted, an area with crops is recommended cover with several layers of newspapers and cover with film on top. With this method, the soil warms up well and retains moisture, but weeds cannot actively grow. After 2 weeks, the innovative shelter should be removed and wait for the emergence of seedlings.

After 10-15 days the plant appears first true leaf- this is a signal to start weeding. The procedure must be done very carefully so as not to capture the cultivated shoots along with the weeds.

When the 2nd leaf forms, weed combined with thinning, if sowing was carried out chaotically and the plantings were thickened. There should be a distance of 2-3 cm between plants. It is important to pull the sprouts up and not to the side, otherwise the root of the neighboring vegetable will be damaged.

The most convenient way to thin out is with the help of a female eyebrow plucking device - tweezers. It captures even the thinnest shoots without harming the rest of the plant.

During the entire growth period between the beds and plants, it is necessary to weed out weeds and loosen the soil. A month after the first thinning, repeat the procedure so that there is a distance of 4-5 cm between the root crops, but the already pulled vegetables can be eaten.

Growing carrots takes a lot of effort and time, but the harvest is rich and high-quality. healthy vegetable will cover all the inconveniences. The main thing is to follow the basic rules of planting and caring for plants. And then a tasty and crispy vegetable will be in the daily diet of the whole family, it will give all its nutrients and microelements.