Thanks to the variety of varieties and ease of care, carrots are a very popular plant in any garden. But still, real experts experienced summer residents, they know how to grow carrots without losses and with minimal costs. In this article they will share their secrets!

How to plant carrots in the country?

Many summer residents note that preparatory work is very important to obtain good results.

While the entire growing process can be divided into 5 main stages:

1. Site preparation: location, neighbors.
2. Seed preparation.
3. Sowing.
4. Care.
5. Collection and storage.

Site preparation

Indeed, if in advance, preferably six months before planting the crop in the soil, you think about preparing a plot for carrots, you can avoid problems such as a number of diseases, low yields and simplify the task of preserving produce.

Summer residents who have experience growing carrots know how important it is that the soil is always loose and drained. After all, then it is easier for the root crop to go deeper and grow to a decent size.

To do this, the soil is dug up in advance onto the bayonet of a shovel, fertilized and saturated with sand and old, already rotted sawdust, and added (3 kg per 1 sq. m).

Immediately a few weeks before planting, special mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil.

Place. Despite the fact that carrots are a moisture-loving plant, the soil on the site should not be oversaturated with moisture, heavy and damp. It is better to water as needed. Then the plant will be less susceptible to diseases.

Another important point to select a plot for carrots - illumination. On sunny places the harvest, as a rule, is many times better than in shade or partial shade.

Neighbours. First of all, those plants can be considered neighbors. Which were the predecessors of carrots. And in the best option, if it is tomatoes, cabbage or potatoes. If the soil meets all the above criteria, then planting carrots in one place for the second year is not problematic.

Beans and peas, onions, all types of lettuce, tomatoes, sage get along well with carrots. Fragrant marigolds repel worms that love to feast on root vegetables. But it’s better not to plant carrots next to celery.

Seed preparation

There are many ways to prepare carrot seeds for planting. In this section we will talk about more traditional ones. First, the seed material is washed warm water from the oils it contains. Then filled with a weak solution nutrient fertilizers. The swollen seeds are washed with water and laid out on a damp cloth. And in this form they should be placed in the refrigerator for hardening. After a couple of days, the seeds are ready for planting in open ground.

Sowing

Let's talk about the in a simple way how to plant carrots. The distance between the rows should be at least 20 cm. If the soil on the site is “light”, then the depth of the holes should be 2-3 cm (if the soil is “heavy”, the seeds should be planted no deeper than 1.5 cm). The furrow becomes compacted and the seeds can be sown. Then water and dig in, lightly compacting the soil.

How to grow carrots. Secrets of summer residents

Care

Growing carrots can be an absolutely simple and uncomplicated task if:

• plant the crop in due time;
• water moderately, if necessary;
• fertilize;
• weed the ground near the plants;
• thin out;
• know how to protect against diseases and pests.

Caring for plants begins with choosing the timing of planting. If seeds are sown in hot weather in dry soil, then pests will not give the plant the opportunity to fully develop. A additional watering It will only compact the earth.

When overmoistened, root crops are exposed to an additional threat of disease or hypothermia. If watering is insufficient, then they suffer taste qualities root vegetable Watering should be done once every 3 days (4 liters of water per 1 square meter), except when it rains. Closer to harvest, watering should be reduced and stopped altogether 2 weeks before.

With the appearance of the 6th leaf, mineral fertilizers should be applied to the young plants. 1 tbsp. l nitrophoska per bucket of water. Water at the rate of half a bucket of solution per square meter. m. landing. After half a month, repeat this procedure, increasing the volume of water to 8 liters per square meter. m landing.

One weeding replaces watering. Plant soil should not be allowed to become compacted and hardened. While loosening the soil, you need to hill up the carrots so that the “shoulders” of the root crop do not become covered with greens. Weeding is carried out only in the evening or on days when it is cloudy.

Thin out carrots in several stages, starting from small sprouts and as the seedlings grow. This will allow the soil to be loosened in a unique way during the planting itself, and will give the remaining root crops room to grow. If you don't let the plants thicken, the carrots will grow healthier.

What will help protect against pests? In addition to the above means, namely: early boarding carrots, hilling, thinning, and planting next to those plants that repel pests with their odors, there are also specific types of prevention. For example, covering plants with ash, spraying with infusions of onion peels, tobacco or garlic. There are also biological and chemicals, such as attracting beneficial insects and birds, or mix naphthalene, 1 part and sand, 10 parts, this should repel pests.

Collection and storage

You can harvest carrots only when the weather is dry. Having shaken the root crop off the ground and trimmed the tops (leaving only a centimeter), the carrots should be dried in the shade for no longer than 3-4 hours.

Then put it in boxes with a thick layer of sawdust at the bottom. Sprinkle each layer with sand. Carrots should be stored in refrigerated areas.

Growing carrots in the country in different ways

Over time, everyone develops their own rules for growing carrots and secrets. These principles apply to all 5 main stages of growing a crop.

Boarding time

Sowing carrot seeds for the winter. In early November, before the onset of stable cool weather, when the air temperature has not dropped below 2 degrees, you can sow carrot seeds without pre-soaking. It will only be necessary to rinse off the oils that cover the seeds with warm water.

Spring planting. If you sow seeds in early spring, once the earth warms up, this provides double benefits:

• provides additional moisture to the crop,
• protects root crops from pests.

Landing location

Raised beds. All summer residents agree that it is most convenient to grow carrots in high beds. Thanks to such a simple device as a box, you can keep the soil light and loose. High beds are not washed away by watering and rain. The soil in them warms up faster, which means carrots can be planted much earlier. And the carrots really like the warmth that is retained in the box.

Greenhouse. The greenhouse makes it possible to grow very early varieties. There are no particular difficulties in caring for carrots in a greenhouse. There are no problems with pests or diseases.

Methods for preparing seeds and planting material

With sand and fertilizer. This method has a number of advantages. Firstly, fertilizers, gradually dissolving, begin to feed the crop. Secondly, carrot seeds are sown less often than usual. Sand provides additional drainage.

Burying seeds in the soil. This method is usually used in the fall. To do this, 10 days before planting, loosely wrap the seeds in cloth. And bury this bag to a depth of 20 cm, or the bayonet of a shovel, into the ground.

Planting on tape. This is an excellent way to plant carrots, which will help you avoid thinning in the future. To do this, seeds are attached to a thin paper strip with a paste of flour and water at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other. This labor-intensive process can be replaced by purchasing a ready-made tape with seeds.

Mixed method. By mixing carrot seeds with the seeds of other plants, such as radishes or lettuce, you can take care not to sow the area too densely with carrots, which means you won’t need to dig up the plants again.

Carrot seedlings. ready for planting in open ground already with the appearance of the first true leaf. The main thing is to water the plant abundantly. Then the earthen lump will not disintegrate during transplantation.

In "jelly". One of the most innovative and original ways growing carrots - on jelly. To do this, semi-liquid jelly is cooked from flour (starch) and water; complex fertilizers with microelements can be added to it. The sprouted seeds are poured into the cooled paste. Mix carefully using a pastry syringe or plastic bottle with a hole in the lid, this slurry is poured into the prepared grooves. Thus, there is no need for further thinning of the carrots. The seeds are fertilized and moistened, since the jelly retains moisture well. This planting guarantees fast and healthy shoots.

Any of these secrets deserves attention. And it helps to have decent harvests carrots in the country without much hassle.

Growing delicious sweet carrots - video

Carrots are one of the healthiest vegetables that can be grown on personal plot. This culture is quite unpretentious. To get a rich harvest of this tasty root vegetable, you need to follow a few simple rules.

Carrots love light, so you should choose a site for planting it that is exposed to the sun all day. You cannot plant carrots after parsley, parsnips, celery and dill. It grows best in beds where the following year they grew: tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, onions and garlic. To obtain an early harvest, planting before winter is practiced. But here there is a high probability of seeds freezing even under good snow cover. Therefore, it is better to carry out early immediately after the top layer of soil warms up. Carrot varieties for spring sowing: “Minicore”, “Nantes”, “Vitaminnaya”, “Touchon”. The best stored varieties are: “Incomparable”, “Flakoro”, “Flakke”, “Queen of Autumn”. These varieties have a long ripening period, and they need to be planted after stable heat has been established.

Seed preparation. Pour warm water over carrot seeds and remove any that float after 10 hours. To speed up germination, seeds should be placed on a damp piece of cloth and kept at room temperature for several days. Under these conditions, the seeds will quickly begin to germinate. Sowing. Dig grooves 2-3 cm deep. Water them generously. The distance between the grooves should be about 15 cm, and between the seeds - 2 cm or more. To sow sprouted seeds, you will have to resort to the liquid sowing method. To do this, prepare a regular paste. Make holes in the garden bed. Place the seeds in a bucket with paste and mix before planting. Using a glass with a spout, pour seeds into each hole. Immediately after sowing, cover with loose soil. Caring for garden beds. Weeds must be weeded immediately after they appear, because... they have a bad effect on germination. Dense soil deforms root crops, so the soil in the garden bed should always be loose. When the first true leaves appear, you need to thin out, leaving a distance between shoots of about 3 cm. Repeat weeding after a few more leaves appear, doubling the distance. Insufficient watering may result in a bitter taste. Carrots need to be watered often and abundantly.

Feeding. Stir a tablespoon of nitrophoska or two glasses of wood ash in a bucket of water. It is enough to feed 2 times per season. The first time 2 weeks after the first shoots, the second time 2 months later. You can use ready-made

complex fertilizers

: “Agricola”, “Planta”, etc. Pests. The carrot fly is the worst enemy of carrots. It appears on overgrown and overly moistened beds. It is quite easy to deal with it with the drugs Actellik and Intavir. Carrots get sick a little. A 1% Bordeaux solution will help you avoid diseases. The carrot harvest is harvested before the first frost - from the second ten days of September to the third ten days of October.

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.

During 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's no secret that carrots are an unpretentious root vegetable, but to get a rich harvest you still need to create comfortable conditions. When choosing a place 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 vegetables correct form grow up on peat soils, which were formed after the swamps dried out. And on clay soil, carrots will take on an ugly shape due to strong resistance during growth.

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 strips in the garden bed, cover them with soil, water them well and fertilize them. Shoots will appear evenly, but a little later.
5. Liquid paste cook from potato starch, cool until 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 soil is selected for sowing planting material, then 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 with clean water and dried.

Some gardeners use specialized plant growth stimulants already at the seed preparation stage. But to obtain environmentally clean 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, fertilizers and folk remedies

A gardener will reap an average harvest in terms of quality and quantity if he limits himself to applying fertilizer at autumn digging 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. nitrophoska is a 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 rare 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.

At the 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 real 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 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 a rich and high-quality harvest of a 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.

It is in vain that some gardeners believe that grow carrots on a summer cottage is a simple matter. Despite the simple and accessible agricultural technology of this root crop, in order to get a decent harvest, you have to work hard.
Any gardener can grow long and even root crops. Just don't be lazy. Follow necessary work on caring for carrots, and get good harvest.

How to grow carrots in your garden

The first step is selection suitable place for planting and soil preparation. The type of soil directly affects the quality of carrots. This unpretentious vegetable is planted on light-textured, fertile soils with good drainage. In addition, it is necessary to choose a level, maximally open and well-lit place for the beds. It is best to plant carrots in places where onions, cabbage, and early potatoes were previously planted, especially if the soil was fertilized with organic fertilizers.

And in places where there were previously beds of celery (celery, cumin, dill, fennel), as well as carrots, it is better not to plant carrots, since you will not get a good harvest. In small areas with complex rotation, you can grow carrots. Do not consider this situation hopeless - heavily alkalize the soil: take wood ash in an amount of 0.2-0.3 kg, and scatter it over one square meter soil. Then dig again. Do this twice during the year.

The soil itself is prepared in the fall so that the soil is stable before sowing. Clear the places where you plan to plant vegetables from stones, carefully dig them up (by one or two bayonets), forming high beds.

If necessary, feed poor soil with humus, heavy soil with peat, sawdust and river sand, add chalk or lime to acidic soil. Application of fresh manure is not recommended to avoid producing malformed roots. If carrots are grown in soils with high level groundwater, without raising the height of the beds, it can grow ugly.

In the spring, the beds warm up, and 7-10 days before planting carrots, thoroughly loosen the soil and disinfect it with a solution copper sulfate, prepared at the rate of 1 table. spoon for 10 liters of water. Then water the beds with warm water (about 40 degrees), and cover the planting site with dark plastic film. Thanks to these last steps, the earth will warm up and retain moisture. In hot spring and snowy winter, and also if you are waiting for a late harvest, this is not necessary. If you are fully confident that the carrot seeds are of high quality and frost is not expected, you can refuse to warm them up.

Sowing carrots depends on the amount of moisture in the ground and the climatic conditions in which it is grown: in central Russia, sowing is carried out between April 20 and April 25. A little earlier (one to two weeks), root crops are planted when three weeks have passed since the snow melted, after relatively warm weather has established, excluding night frosts.

Carrots are planted even later if frost persists at night. But don’t delay the landing - optimal time- no later than May 5. Southern regions can plant root crops in two stages: for summer use - March 10-20, to obtain seeds and winter use– June 10-15.

In order for the seeds to swell and moisture to pass through the crust, which contains a sufficient amount of hydrophobic essential oils, they are rinsed two to three times with warm water and then covered with a dampened cloth. If you ignore this, most likely, seedlings will be delayed by 2-3 weeks, and the ripening of root crops will worsen.

To speed up germination, the following procedures are necessary:

Bubbling

Place carrot seeds in a vessel in which the water has a temperature of approximately 25 degrees. During the day, the water is aerated with an air pump, and then the seeds are stored in the refrigerator on the middle shelf for about 5 days. Before sowing (12 hours before), the seeds are taken out of the refrigerator and dried well. Then they are planted in the beds. They will germinate within 5-7 days.

Digging into the soil

Dry seeds are placed in a bag made of natural fabric and buried in the beds (depth - the bayonet of a shovel). They are not watered or fertilized. After a couple of weeks, the bag is removed and the seeds are dried on a dry cloth or parchment. Then they are planted in beds. They will germinate in 4-5 days.

Using the Nutrient Solution

The seeds are laid out on a cloth and a linen is placed on top. All this is uploaded for a day nutrient solution. The nutrient medium may be different:

1. Mixable boric acid, nitrophoska and water in the ratio: 1/3 teaspoon: 1/2 teaspoon: 1 liter.
2. In a liter of water, potassium permanganate is mixed with water until a red solution is obtained, and ½ teaspoon of fertilizer is added.

After soaking, you need to rinse the seeds with warm water and put them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Before planting, they are dried until they flow. Then they are planted in the ground.

Carrots are planted in grooves that have been previously made in the beds. The optimal planting is as follows: a furrow the width of a matchbox, half its depth, distance 200-240 mm.

The outermost furrow should be positioned 120 mm from the edge of the bed. The furrow should have a width not exceeding 900 mm, and the ridge should not exceed 1.1 meters. Before planting the seeds, water the bed with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. Scatter the seeds in a snake pattern (step – 10-15 mm). Then mulch using soil, peat or peat-sand mixture. Cover the planting with film, leaving a ventilation gap (120-150 mm). Thanks to covering with film, heat and moisture are better retained, and the film also prevents the appearance of a pest (carrot fly) that can destroy the crop.

Procedure for caring for planted carrots

In order to grow a good harvest of carrots, proper care is required, which will not be special labor. This includes timely thinning of the beds, loosening the soil, weeding, fertilizing and watering root crops.

Getting a rich carrot harvest at your summer cottage.

Thin carrots as the tops grow

As soon as the first shoots appear, the smallest shoots are pulled out, maintaining an interval of 20-25 mm between root crops. Thin out the second time in June or July, maintaining an interval of 75-100 mm. During the second thinning, the carrots removed from the ground are suitable for food for people and animals. You can thin out three times if the root crops interfere with each other’s growth.

Feed the carrots

When the fifth or sixth leaves appear, after 2-3 days it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers. After feeding the plant, hill up for the first time, repeating it after each thinning, and then once every 2-4 weeks. Thanks to hilling, the fruits are hidden in the ground and do not suffer from sunburn and greening of the shoulders.
When growing carrots, some gardeners use a three-phase method: 5, 7, 10 leaves. In all cases, the required soil depth for root crops is approximately 50 mm.

How to water carrots

Carrots need to be watered intensively so that the soil does not dry out, but not excessively so that it does not become overcooled. It is optimal to adhere to uniform watering: if there is not enough water, the carrots will be rough, and if there is too much, they will be small and tasteless. Follow the following pattern when watering:

1. From the appearance of the first shoots until the formation of root crops, regular watering is necessary: ​​once every 3-4 days. At the same time, per 1 sq. 3-4 liters of water are poured per meter.
2. When carrots appear and until the end of summer: once a week (10-20 liters of water). The amount of water depends on the weather. If the weather is dry, there is more water. When precipitation continues for 5 days, watering is carried out 5 days after its end.
3. From the end of August: once every 1.5-2 weeks (8-10 liters of water per 1 square meter).
4. Two weeks before harvesting, stop watering root crops.

How to properly harvest and store crops

Harvest time is late September - early October. Root crops are removed from the ground by the tops and placed side by side on the ground to remove excess moisture from their surface.

If, while growing carrots, you loosened the soil and weeded the beds irregularly, the soil may harden. Then you will have to extract the root crops by digging them up with a garden staple. This is done very carefully to avoid damage to the carrot fruit.

When harvested in the rain, the carrots are then laid out in a dry place. Drying can continue for 1-1.5 hours until the surface is completely dry.

Then the tops are cut using a garden knife or pruning shears. It is cut off at the root, trying not to damage the root crop itself. At the same time, the crop is sorted: damaged, rotten and crooked fruits are discarded. The rest of the carrots are stored in a ventilated box in a cool and dark place.

Carrots are a very useful vegetable in the kitchen! All year round We add it to hot dishes, eat it fresh and mix it into salads. The cost of carrots in the store is low, so maybe it would be more convenient to just buy root vegetables as needed, without spending time growing them? However, closer to spring, store-bought carrots begin to rise in price significantly, their quality noticeably deteriorates, and those who did not stock up on time have a hard time.

That is why every garden must have a bed for this beloved plant. vegetable crop, and experienced gardeners exchange experience with beginners on how to properly plant carrots in order to obtain a rich harvest of healthy root crops.

If you have never had to grow vegetables before, and you have no idea how to plant carrots, or you just can’t grow normal, tasty root vegetables, our article will definitely be useful to you. We will talk about how to plant carrots with seeds, how to care for young seedlings, and how to protect the garden bed from...

Video about preparing carrot seeds for planting

Depending on what variety of seeds you bought, the timing of their sowing will vary. So, in the twentieth of April you can start sowing early ripening varieties, from April 25 to approximately May 5 they begin to sow mid-season varieties, and planting carrots intended for winter storage is carried out on June 10-15.

For a carrot bed, it is recommended to choose an area where there are not too many weeds, since the weeds will sprout before the carrots and prevent them from growing. The soil should be loose, preferably containing sand. In heavy soil, root crops can turn out curved, clumsy, and small. If there is a constantly high level of moisture in the soil, the root crops will rot, and in dry soil the carrots will turn out “wooden”.

Also consider after what crops you will sow carrots. It is best to choose those areas where cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, onions, cabbage, potatoes or greens (except lettuce) grew last year. It is better not to plant carrots after parsley, as pests that are dangerous for carrots may remain in the soil.

In heavy soil, root crops can turn out curved, clumsy, and small

Dig up the soil in the garden bed in the fall, and in the spring, go over the ground with a flat cutter. There is no need to dig additionally - settled soil is preferable for carrots. The most important thing is not to apply fresh manure to the soil, since carrots do not tolerate its acidity. The bed can be fertilized with mineral fertilizers a couple of weeks before planting carrots.

Carrots are planted with seeds directly into open ground. Prepare the seeds in advance:

• soak for two hours in clean water room temperature;
• scatter the seeds on a damp cloth and cover with another damp cloth on top;
• keep the seeds in the room, stirring them gently from time to time;
• soak the fabric when dry;
• When the seeds are completely swollen and begin to hatch, move them to the refrigerator for 10 days for hardening.

Simple and accessible information on how to plant carrots correctly

It is enough to maintain a distance between seeds of 1.5 cm

Sprinkle the bed reserved for carrots with ash, cut each groove in it up to 2.5 cm deep, leaving row spacing of 20 cm, and 12 cm along the edges of the bed. Sprinkle the grooves with water and sow the prepared seeds. It is enough to maintain a distance of 1.5 cm between seeds. Level the furrows with earth. It is recommended to stretch the film on top of the bed at a height of 15 cm so that seedlings appear faster, and when greenery appears, the film can be removed.

Experienced gardeners, in an effort to simplify the process of sowing seeds, sometimes come up with quite unusual methods how to plant carrots: some people mix the seed material with sand before sowing, while others first stick one seed at a time onto thin paper strips (you can use toilet paper). Pick up a carrot seed with a toothpick and dip it in paper glue or in a paste and applied every 5 cm on paper. Such paper strips are laid in furrows and sprinkled with soil on top.

Video about growing carrots

Plant radishes along the edges of the bed; they will sprout quite quickly, marking the carrot rows, and you can start loosening the rows earlier (carrots really like frequent loosening). It is also very useful to plant on carrot bed onion, since its smell drives away carrot flies - the most dangerous pest carrots.

At first, the garden bed should be watered abundantly, and when the first shoots turn green, reduce watering to twice a week. Although not all of the seed material will sprout, the seedlings will still need to be thinned out after the formation of the first leaf, leaving the strongest plants.