What is the best way to add to the soil when planting carrots: the secrets of a rich harvest

In order for carrots to please you with a rich and healthy harvest, you need to know some secrets of its cultivation, namely, what fertilizers and when to use when planting this popular vegetable.

How to prepare the soil before planting carrots

Create a comfortable environment to harvest carrots... Choose well-lit beds, but observe the rotation. Carrots should not be preceded by relatives of the umbrella family: celery, cumin, coriander, dill, fennel, parsnip and herself carrot.

This vegetable prefers to grow in loose, permeable soil. This soil is obtained after digging up potatoes, so it is considered the best precursor for carrots. These crops do not have common pests, which means that they will not remain in the ground, waiting for a new harvest.

Attention. In addition to potatoes, good predecessors are considered cucumbers, tomatoes, legumes and cabbage.

Immediately before planting, do not fertilize the soil with manure. Carrots react negatively to it - root crops are branched and tasteless. Therefore, you should choose a site where manure was applied a year or two ago.

In the fall, the selected area is dug to a depth of 30 cm, large stones and roots are removed. In the spring, the bed is loosened, all weeds are removed and leveled. If the soil is heavy, sand, sawdust or eggshells are added to loosen the structure. Otherwise, the carrots will feel a lot of resistance during growth and will bend and take on an ugly shape.

What fertilizers can be applied

Some gardeners believe that if the land is not very depleted, it does not need to be fertilized. This is not true if you want a good harvest. Therefore, throughout the entire growing cycle, various types of organic and mineral fertilizers are used.

Mineral

Mineral fertilizers are applied during the preparation of the beds, that is, 2-3 weeks before planting. Although you can do this before the onset of winter.

Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied to the soil at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate and 2 tbsp. l. nitrophosphate per 1 sq. m of soil in clay and podzolic soils. If the soil is peaty, then 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate, 1 tsp. urea and 1 tbsp. l. potassium chloride. And only superphosphate is added to black soil in the amount of 1 tbsp. l. per sq. m.

Potassium fertilizers are used later as root dressing.

Reference. Fertilizers with potassium are most often used in liquid form, so carrots absorb it better.

Organic

Organic fertilizers are not applied immediately before planting. If the soil needs to be fertilized with organic matter, then they do it in the fall so that the fertilizers turn into humus. For 1 sq. m it is recommended to add 6-8 kg of manure or compost.

Attention. If in the previous year humus was already applied to the selected place, then in the fall you can not do this, since there will be enough nutrients.

If the soil is too acidic (pH less than 5.5), liming is done, otherwise the carrots will become unsweetened. Add chalk, ash or dolomite flour. But between the procedures for liming and applying humus, about a month should pass.

Folk remedies

Many growers are reluctant to use chemicals in their garden. In this case, folk remedies help. But with them, as with factory fertilizers, you should not overdo it.

1. The most popular folk remedy is ash. It is applied in the fall in the amount of 100-200 g per 1 sq. m.Ash is scattered over the surface of the beds and dug up. Ash supplies the soil with phosphorus and potassium, and additionally loosens the soil and reduces acidity.
2. Ash infusion is also used. To do this, 100 g of ash is poured into 10 liters of water and insisted for 6 hours. the plant is watered with this solution at the root.
3. To increase yields, craftsmen use yeast feeding. 100 g of sugar and the same amount of fresh yeast are dissolved in 3 liters of warm water and left to ferment for a day. For feeding, 1 glass of "fertilizer" is diluted in a bucket of water and watered at the beginning of the growing season.
4. Bread infusion can be used instead of yeast. A 10-liter bucket is filled by a third with breadcrumbs and filled with warm water. In order to prevent mold from bread, it is pressed down with a load in order to exclude contact with air. Leave in the sun to infuse for a week. The resulting infusion is diluted in a ratio of 1: 3 and vegetables are fed at the beginning of the growing season 2-3 times with a break of two weeks.
5. To accelerate the growth of carrots and protect them from pests, an iodine solution is used. To do this, 20 drops of iodine are diluted in a bucket of water and watered with this solution between the rows of carrots.

How to properly fertilize before planting

If you haven't managed to fertilize the soil in the fall, do it right before planting.

Safe recipes:

1. Stir 1 tbsp in a liter of water. l. ash. A bag with carrot seeds is soaked in this solution for a day. Then the seeds are dried, sown in the ground and covered with foil.
2. The next way to plant carrots is with paste. A paste is boiled from flour, cooled, mineral fertilizers are added. Then, carrot seeds are poured into this paste and, using a pastry syringe or an ordinary large one, squeeze the resulting mixture into the prepared grooves.
3. Dissolve 0.3 tsp in a liter of water. boric acid and 0.5 tsp. nitrophosphate. The seeds are soaked in this solution for a day.

How to feed depending on the season

Depending on the season, carrots require different fertilizers, as the stages of plant development change.

In the spring

The task of spring feeding is to improve the quality of the soil and prepare the seeds for planting. Before planting, the seeds are soaked in a solution of wood ash or paste.

The first feeding of the plant is done after the appearance of 2-3 leaves. To accelerate growth, use a mixture of nitrate, superphosphate and potassium. For 1 sq. m take 20 g of ammonium nitrate, 30 g of potassium chloride and 30 g of superphosphate.

The second feeding is carried out 20 days after the first one to maintain the active growth of seedlings with the same composition.

Attention. Top dressing is done after rain or abundant watering so that nutrients are not washed out of the soil.

Summer

Summer top dressing saturates carrots with useful substances, strengthens roots, protects against pests and prepares them for winter storage.

In June, the bed between the rows is sprinkled with a mixture of ash and mustard powder in a 2: 1 ratio. This is done to protect the vegetable from carrot flies.

During the formation of the root system, around July, the tops are sprayed with a solution of boric acid. For 10 liters of water, take 2 g of boric acid.

In June-July, nitrogen fertilizers are used to make the root crop sweet. But be careful - from the excess of this element, all the forces of the plant will go into the growth of the tops. In 10 liters of water, dilute 1 tbsp. l. azofoski and 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate. Instead, you can use a solution of mullein or chicken manure in a ratio of 1:10, which is diluted another 10 times before use.

If the plant lacks phosphorus - the leaves dry, curl, red spots appear - in June, top dressing is done with a solution of 10 liters of water, 15 g of superphosphate, 15 g of urea, 20 g of nitrate.

In July, carrots are fed with potash fertilizer. In 10 liters of water dissolve 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and 1 tbsp. l. azofoski.

Reference. Potassium protects the plant from disease and fungus, and is essential for photosynthesis and growth.

Tips from experienced summer residents

Take advice from more experienced gardening mates:

1. Do not apply manure when planting a crop, otherwise the roots will become tasteless, rough and have an uneven color.
2. In the same place, carrots can be planted every three years.
3. Carrots are planted in soil with a neutral pH. If it is acidic, liming is carried out.
4. When the seedlings reach a height of 5 cm, they are thinned out. The distance between plants should be at least 5 cm, then they will have enough light and nutrients.
5. In the middle of summer, thin out a second time. Small carrots can be eaten, and the remaining root vegetables are suitable for long-term storage.
6. In dry weather, carrots are watered every other day, in normal weather - 1-2 times a week.
7. Root crops are harvested in dry weather. They are laid out on the garden bed, dried, then sorted and stored.

Conclusion

Although carrots are an unpretentious culture, it is important to follow the rules for its cultivation, prepare the soil well before planting, water and fertilize on time. Top dressing is applied during the entire growing season, as well as in the fall to saturate the soil with organic matter.