Carrots: planting and care in the open field

Carrots - vegetable culture, highly demanded in our country. The love of Russian gardeners for the orange root crop explains its high yields, combined with agricultural technology available even for beginners. And, of course, it is difficult to overestimate the health benefits of carrots. It contains in its composition rich reserves of provitamin A - carotene, pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and riboflavin (vitamin B2), carbohydrates, fiber, mineral salts saturated with potassium, sodium, boron, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.

Despite the fact that the popular root crop does not impose special requirements on the environmental conditions and methods of cultivation, not every vegetable grower can boast a stable harvest of selected carrots. If purchased vegetables, as for selection, are even, large and tasty, then a carrot grown in a country house often turns out to be a curve twisted, two-horned and eaten away by pests. This article provides step-by-step instructions for growing high-quality and beautiful outdoor crops.

Carrots - a representative of the umbrella family. During the first year of the life cycle, she is in the process of forming the root system in the form of a taproot of a fleshy consistency, and feathery, dissected leaves are formed. The following season, the root throws out the leaves again and after the development of the flower stem, the plant blooms, forming seeds.

The fruits are impressive variety of forms and are round, conical, resemble a spindle or cylinder. They differ in brightness of colors - from the usual orange and yellow to intense orange with a reddish tinge, indicating a high content of beta-carotene, and an unusual violet.

The genus Carrots, belonging to the family of Umbrella (Celery), is represented by two plant species:

• Wild carrots (ordinary)which grows almost everywhere. Although it is unsuitable for use as a food because of inedible root crops, it is highly valued in informal medicine.
• Crop carrotwidely used in crop production. This variety is divided into two types of varieties - it is table forms and fodder, which are grown as a vitamin feed for the poultry and livestock industry of the agricultural sector. In comparison with table options, root crops of fodder varieties are larger and longer plus have faded color.

Depending on the timing of ripening, table varieties of carrot are:

• Early (early ripening), the duration of the growing season which is limited to 70-100 days. Their cultivation makes it possible to get a very early harvest of juicy, fresh carrots and grow vegetables for sale. However, the fruits ripening in an accelerated mode, have a lower nutritional value, since the content of beta-carotene in them is much lower than that of other varieties of root crops.
• Mid-season. In this case, in order to reach technical ripeness, from the moment of emergence of the seedlings, it takes 70-120 days. The advantage of mid-season varieties, many of which are used for making juices, is a high content of beta-carotene and maximum juiciness.
• Late (late). The duration of the growing season is 90-140 days. Late carrots are grown for autumn processing or storage, as its fruits contain dry matter in large quantities, having a good keeping quality. At the same time, root crops are inferior in the quality of the core to early and mid-season varieties, in addition, they are less juicy.

In order to regularly receive high yields of carrots, it is important to choose the right area for sowing, guided by the biological characteristics of this crop, in particular, the requirements for light and moisture, as well as take into account crop rotation, soil type and acidity.

Carrots staying in watery soil, regardless of the phase of the life cycle, provoke the suppression of its growth and the development of fruit rot.

Carrots are contraindicated for shading, so there should be good solar lighting in the area under the beds. Deficiency of the sun equally affects the appearance and taste of root vegetables. But with abundant illumination of the beds in August and during the autumn, much more beta-carotene forms in the fruit.

For normal growth and development of carrots need a certain soil. Hydrogen index (pH) should be close to neutral values ​​of the acidity level of 5.8 ... 7.

The most suitable soil types:

• sandy, humus-rich and light loamy with a permeable layer of the subsoil;
• chernozem and floodplain land close to it in fertility;
• cultivated, drained peatlands;
• sod-podzolic.

On unstructured clay or loamy soils prone to strong swimming and the formation of a dense crust that prevents air from penetrating, the seeds will not germinate well, and the sprouts will be weak and thinned. In this case, the carrot is very branched, and during storage most likely the fruit will be affected by white or gray rot.

Carrots are a valuable predecessor for many vegetables, but it cannot be called too demanding of its predecessor crops. Like most vegetables, it demonstrates a pronounced responsiveness to fertilizer. For this reason, it is better for her to pick up predecessors who were fed with organic matter in large doses.

Good yield provides alternation planting carrots with disembarkation:

• pumpkin - zucchini, cucumbers;
• solanaceous - tomatoes, early potatoes;
• Cruciferous - early cabbage or cauliflower, radish;
• green crops - leafy greens and onions;
• legumes.

Since this crop belongs to the celery (umbrella) family, alternating with parsley, celery, cumin, fennel, parsnip, anise, or dill greatly increases the risk of damage to plantings by remaining pests in the soil.

Far from the last role in the agrotechnology of carrots is the proper conduct of preplant preparation. The need for this event is due to the slow germination and low field germination of seeds (50-75%), because their protective sheath is saturated with hydrophobic essential oils that limit the free flow of moisture to the embryo.

To accelerate the emergence of shoots in several ways:

1. Soak. Seeds in tissue bags are placed in a container with warm water (t 27-30 ° C) and left for 24 hours. Water should change every 3-4 hours. Soaking + hardening is very effective. Immediately after soaking, the bags with seeds are placed in a container, put it in a refrigerator and left for 3-5 days.
2. Bubbling. Water is poured into a deep container (t 23-25 ​​° С) and planting material is poured into it. Water is aerated with an air pump or a regular aquarium compressor for 24 hours. The treated seeds are placed in a container and left in the refrigerator for 5 days. Thanks to bubbling, they will sprout a maximum in a week.
3. Preparation in cold ground. On the plot for sowing, dig a hole to the depth of a spade bayonet and place bags with dry planting material for 10-14 days. In this case, the emergence of shoots can be expected already at 4-5 days.

Regardless of the method of preparation, the processed seeds must be dried to a granular state, using parchment or dry matter, and then sown.

Ideal beds with carrots are straight rows with evenly distributed vegetables along the entire length of the grooves. To achieve this is not so difficult if you use paper tapes with glued planting material when planting. You can buy ready-made rolls with glued seeds or make them yourself.

To do this, prepare an adhesive solution from the water with flour, take toilet paper or paper towel and cut into strips. It remains to stick the seeds on the tape, making sure that the distance between the seeds was the same (3-4 cm). When sowing strips are placed directly in the grooves, pre-spilling the soil.

Following the step-by-step agrotechnology of carrot cultivation will help avoid unnecessary work when planting in open ground and collect high-quality crops.

Plot under the beds begin to prepare in the fall, to simplify and facilitate the work during the spring planting.

What do they do for this:

1. Get rid of stones, green mass after its predecessor and other debris.
2. Perform the digging of the soil, delving on the bayonet of the shovel and turning the layers. When digging medium-sized soil, a mixture of peat and wood chips is added. Application rate - 3 kg / m2.
3. If necessary, reduce the acidity of the soil by alkalization. For deoxidation use chalk, fluff or dolomite flour at the rate of 280 g / m2 or wood ash, contributing 560 g / m2. The concentration of these agents may vary according to the initial pH value.
4. Improve the structure of heavy soils with river sand, sawdust or peat. Poor soil is enriched with humus or immature compost at the rate of 10 l / m2. After a rough autumn digging, it is good to add mineral complexes.

In the spring, they carry out surface tillage - the lumps remaining after the winter are crushed, removing the remnants of the rhizomes of weeds and maximally level the ground.

Mineral fertilizers are applied under the preplant preparation of cultivated or medium fertile soils. The rate of application of nitrogenous tuk is from 50 to 60 g / m2, phosphoric - from 40 to 50 g / m2. It is possible to use nitroammophos or ammonium phosphate at the rate of 70-80 g / m2 or universal garden mixed fertilizer in the same dosage.

If the soils are highly fertile, then under the main treatment the concentration of the listed compounds should be twice lower.. In some cases, limited to the use of organic matter - wood flour 280 g / m2, followed by additional dressing of vegetative plants. In areas with marginal soils, the dosage of fertilizer mixtures does not increase, but provides the crops with an enhanced nutrient supply at the beginning of growth.

When choosing the optimal time of sowing carrots take into account:

• soil temperature and humidity;
• local climatic conditions;
• type of variety;
• harvest destination.

Carrots are characterized by cold resistance, which makes early spring and underwinter crops of this crop available to vegetable growers. The seed germination rate depends on the soil temperature: at t 8-9 ° С they will germinate in 23-25 ​​days, 10-12 ° C - in 15-17 days, 18 ° С - after a week.

Young plants are able to tolerate frosts up to 4 ° C, but lowering t to 8 ° C can cause their death. The growth of carrots begins already at t 8 ° C, the leaves grow well at 14-16 ° C, the temperature rises to 20-22 ° C and more contributes to the intensive growth of tops, while at the same time slowing it in fruits.If the thermometer exceeds the level of 30 ° C, the plants suspend the formation of productive organs and the roots grow rough, acquiring a bitter taste.

To get an early harvest, planting carrots in open beds is carried out in April, starting from the 15th day and beginning in May. The advantage of early spring sowing is the possibility of harvesting twice a season. In the period June-July, fresh sheaf products are obtained, and in August, full-fledged root crops for eating.

When the weather is stable and warm with an average daily temperature of 16-18 ° C, you can switch to summer planting, starting from the second half of May until June. This carrot is grown for storage. Sowing short varieties in July allows you to harvest young carrots in the middle of autumn.

It is possible to engage in podzimny sowing when the ground is slightly frozen, beginning in the second half of October and until mid-November. In this case, a very early harvest is obtained, but only for consumption in the summer, since the fruits have poor keeping quality.

The most common pattern of growing carrots - furrows. The ridges are made narrow up to a meter wide. For cutting grooves for sowing using chopper or hoe. The distance between the furrows is 20 cm, the depth of the furrows should not exceed 2 cm, otherwise the seeds will slowly germinate.

Before sowing, the furrows must be shed with water, after which you can perform the laying of seeds. Then the seeds are covered with loose sifted soil or peat mixed with sand to ensure the flow of moisture and the best contact of the planting material with the ground. To keep the soil moist and warm up faster, the ridges are covered with polyethylene before germination.

The primary tasks of carrot care after sowing are to ensure the emergence of friendly, full shoots and the destruction of weeds.

The beds are weeded and loosened all summer, when the need arises. The past rain, like regular watering, is a must for loosening.

Thin crops begin when the first shoots appear with 1-2 true leaves, leaving at least 2 cm intervals between large, developed plants. resort to loosening the soil. After finishing thinning the beds, planting watered and spud.

The frequency of irrigation and water consumption rate will depend on the growing season of plants and the weather. During the first phase of development, from the moment of planting and until shoots appear, it is necessary to maintain a high humidity of the topsoil. Watering crops at this time is carried out in the evening, and for mulching between the rows, use small mulch, laying it in a thin layer of 3 cm.

From the moment of emergence and until the fruit is grown, the culture will need weekly watering. Water consumption rate - 3 l / m2. In proportion to the growth of root crops, the rate of water consumption increases to 10–20 l / m2, taking into account weather conditions. In August, the frequency of irrigation is reduced to 3 times a month, but it is carried out with increased rates of 9-10 l / m2. 14-21 days before harvesting the plants stop watering.

In the list of vegetables, consuming the largest number of mineral elements, carrots are in second place after the representatives of the cabbage family. Therefore, fertilizing is important to her. Without them, it is possible to do on the originally fertile soils containing rich reserves of nutrients. However, in the areas of the middle runway, chernozem plots are rare, and in order to grow a rich harvest of carrots in the country, it is necessary to feed the plants.

As soon as the first shoots appear, root dressings become very important, since during this period seedlings especially need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The first dressing is carried out on young plants with 3-4 leaves with a solution of nitric ammonium (35-40 g per 10 l of water).After the final breakthrough, they are fed with superphosphate (30 g / m2) and potash fertilizer is introduced in similar doses. The main task of the second feeding is to support the active development of root crops.

The secret to obtaining a rich harvest of sweet roots with good quality is humic foliar dressing. Spend them for a fortnight before cleaning. For spraying tops to prepare a solution of potassium humate (10 liters of water, 1 g of substance) with the addition of nitrogen mixture.

1. When non-sprouting planting material is used for sowing, the seeds should be ground in the hands before removal to the soil to remove spines from the protective shell.
2. The ideal precursor for carrots is potatoes. After cleaning the soil will be guaranteed to remain loose. When harvesting vegetables will enjoy a smooth cylindrical shape.
3. As mulch is best to use sawdust or small chips. The mulch cover of them ensures the preservation of moisture, does not allow weeds to break through and protects the crops from pests.
4. Effectively store carrots in a “glaze” of clay. Clay should be diluted with water to a creamy state and alternately dip vegetables in it, laying out on the grill to dry. Due to the shell, preventing the loss of moisture, roots remain fresh for a long time.

On the methods of planting carrot seeds in open ground, see the following video.