Instructions for growing carrots in the country for beginners

Growing carrots in the country, at first glance, does not present much difficulty - dig up a garden bed, pour the seeds out of a bag, water, feed several times and harvest in the fall. However, this primitive agricultural technique does not give the expected results. It is important to choose and prepare the site correctly, decide on the variety and increase the germination of seeds, observe the timing and sowing scheme, provide further plant care, prevent diseases and neutralize pests.

If you want to know how to grow good and healthy carrots, this article is for you.

The best varieties of carrots for growing in the country

Carrots are divided into early, mid-season and late varieties. There are also hybrids with better characteristics of "parents", high productivity and disease resistance. There are varieties with the familiar orange, exotic purple or white color.

For beginner summer residents, varieties and hybrids that do not require special care, are resistant to fungal diseases, with high yields and excellent taste are suitable. Their characteristics are presented in the table.

Sowing dates

Sowing carrots depends on the region of cultivation and the desired timing of the harvest.

To collect early carrots in June - July, sowing work begins in mid-April and ends in early May. In August, carrots are harvested, which has reached full ripeness.

Summer sowing is planned for mid-May - early June. Such carrots are suitable for winter storage.

To harvest young carrots in the fall, seeds are sown in mid-July.

Subwinter sowing is performed from October 20 to November 15. Root crops are harvested in early summer. For planting, select areas with light sandy loam soil and early snow melting. The seeds are disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate, dried and immediately sown. In spring they swell and germinate quickly.

Sowing terms by regions of Russia:

• in the middle lane (Moscow region) - late April - early May;
• in the Urals, North-West, in Siberia - May;
• in the south - the second decade of March - early April.

Seat selection

An important rule of successful carrot cultivation is crop rotation. It is better to plant the crop after tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, garlic.

It is not recommended to plant carrots after dill, parsley, celery, parsnips - fungi and bacteria accumulate in the soil, which infect root crops.

A plot is allocated for the beds located on the sunny side of the garden. The soil should be loamy, nutritious, with a neutral pH = 6.5-7 units. In heavy clay soil, root crops do not germinate well and are deformed.

Preparing the beds

The plot for planting carrots is prepared in autumn and spring: plowing is carried out, compost and humus are added, loosened and leveled.

Acidic soil is deoxidized with ash, slaked lime or dolomite flour - 400-500 g per 1 m². Then the site is dug up.

The soil is fertilized with organic matter (except for fresh manure) and complex additives with potassium and phosphorus: 10 liters of peat, 5 liters of humus, 30-40 g of superphosphate are added per 1 m².

Seed preparation

Carrot seeds contain essential oils that impede the access of moisture to the embryo and their further germination. Pre-sowing soaking in water and growth stimulants will help to increase the germination rate. Prepared seeds germinate in 4-6 days, unprepared ones - in 15-20 days.

Pre-sowing treatment methods for planting material:

1. 7-10 days before sowing, place the seeds in a linen bag and bury them in the ground to the depth of a shovel bayonet... On the day of sowing, dig out a bag, dry the seeds until flowable for 30-60 minutes. The advantage of the method is that the seeds increase in size, easily absorb moisture and sprout in 4-5 days.
2. Bubbling - a method of processing seed material, providing for soaking in water at a temperature of + 25 ... + 27 ° C and oxygenation using a special device. The duration of the procedure is 24 hours. Next, the seeds are wrapped in a cloth and placed in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Then the seeds are dried until flowable.
3. Pelleting - This is the covering of seeds with a shell 3-5 days before sowing. To do this, take 200 ml of liquid mullein, 200 g of peat in powder, 200 g of humus and mix in a deep container. 2 tsp seeds are poured into a jar with a capacity of 1 liter, add 2 tbsp. l. nutrient mixture, close the container with a plastic lid and shake vigorously for 2-3 minutes. Then add another 1 tbsp. l. mixture and shake again. After the grains are covered with a shell, they are poured onto paper and dried.
4. Soak in a nutrient solution based on sodium humate, "Effekton-O" (1 tsp. per 1 liter of water + 30 ° С) or wood ash (1 tbsp. l. per 1 liter of water + 30 ° С). The seeds are placed in a tissue bag and immersed in the solution for 24 hours. Then washed with clean water, placed in wet gauze and sent to the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Before sowing, the material is dried to flow.

A common mistake of novice summer residents is sowing seeds without checking for germination. How to carry it out? 30-45 days before sowing, the material is soaked in salted water (1 teaspoon per 200 ml) and left for half an hour. The floating seeds are thrown away, the ones remaining at the bottom are used for sowing.

Planting instructions

Beds for carrots are formed 90-100 cm wide, 15-20 cm high... In areas with a close location of groundwater, the height is increased to 35 cm. The length of the beds can be arbitrary and depends on the needs of the summer resident in the harvest and the area of ​​the site. It is recommended to install wooden bumpers to prevent water runoff and erosion of the beds when watering.

Furrows with a depth of 2 cm are formed on the site, observing an interval of 20 cm. The seeds are sealed at intervals of 2-4 cm. The furrows are pre-shed with clean water, the seeds are mixed with sand to make them heavier. After sowing, the beds are mulched with humus, compost, biohumus, peat. This prevents the spread of the carrot fly, which lays eggs in the topsoil.

Important! The place of sowing of carrots is not watered until sprouts appear in order to avoid washing out the seeds.

To retain moisture in the soil, the plantings are covered with plastic wrap, and after germination it is removed.

Another popular method of planting carrots is Jacob Mittlider sowing in narrow rows. Such beds differ significantly from the standard ones with high side bumps and wide aisles. Tall beds protect seeds from gusty winds and weeds and look neat on the outside.

The procedure for arranging the beds:

1. Borders are marked with wooden pegs. The optimal width is 45-50 cm, the length is arbitrary. The width of the passages is 1 m.
2. Wooden boards are nailed along the perimeter, forming sides 10 cm high and 5 cm wide.
3. The row spacing is covered with gravel or compacted to prevent the growth of weeds and the appearance of moles.

Place the beds in an east-west direction for better lighting.

Further care

Carrot care rules:

1. Regular loosening of the earth crust after every watering and rain. To minimize labor costs, the beds are covered with mulch.
2. Thinning of crops after the appearance of 2-3 true leaves. The optimal spacing between shoots is 3-4 cm.The procedure is repeated after 2 weeks, leaving a distance of 4-5 cm.First, the earth is moistened, then the greens are pulled out, without loosening, so as not to damage the main root of the neighboring plant, otherwise lateral roots will appear, and the root crop will grow ugly shape. Holes in the ground are covered and compacted.
3. Hilling is carried out as the roots grow, sprinkling the tops with earth. Bare areas turn green, solanine is formed in them, giving the carrots bitterness.
4. Moderate watering. Root crops are formed at the end of the growing season and do not tolerate excess moisture well, becoming covered with cracks. In drought, the beds are watered 3 times a week, in moderate weather - 1-2 times in 7 days. Watering rate - 4 liters per 1 m². As root crops grow, the water consumption is increased to 8-10 liters per 1 m².

Plantings are fertilized 2-3 times per season:

1. I feeding - one month after full germination: 25 g of "Nitrofoski" per 10 liters of water.
2. II top dressing - 15 days after the first: 1 liter of wood ash per 10 liters of water.
3. III foliar feeding - at the beginning of August: 10 g of boric acid per 10 liters of water.

Diseases and pests

The plant is most often attacked by a carrot fly. The main signs of damage are twisted, sluggish tops and larvae in root crops. The first wave of flies appears during the flowering period of mountain ash and apple trees, the second - in late June - early July, when root crops are formed.

For prevention, onions, marigolds, cilantro, garlic are sown next to carrots. Plants have a strong odor that repels insects.

The most effective way to prevent the spread of the pest is to mulch the beds with peat or sawdust with a layer of up to 5 cm or agrofibre. The mulch layer is constantly renewed. A more expensive, but no less effective way to protect plantings is to cover with lutrasil or spunbond.

If the infection could not be avoided, the tops are sprayed with chemical preparations "Aktellik", "Karbofos", "Inta-vir".

The biological product Fitoverm has a more gentle effect. To prepare a working solution, 10 ml of the drug is diluted in 5 liters of water. This amount is enough to process 10 m².

For those who prefer products that are safe for humans and the environment, there are folk methods of dealing with the pest:

1. Mix 100 g of tobacco dust, 50 g of slaked lime, 100 ml of water and add to the soil at the rate of 10 g of the mixture per 1 m². Carry out processing 2-3 times after 10 days.
2. Grind 3 kg of tomato tops, put in a barrel or bucket, pour boiling water to the top, leave for 48 hours, stir in 50 g of soap shavings and spray the plants 1-2 times a week.
3. Pour 1 kg of yarrow with 10 liters of water, leave for 3-4 days, use for watering the beds. Consumption rate - 1 bucket per 3 m².
4. Chop the head of garlic and pour 1 liter of water, leave for 4-5 days, add 50 g of soap shavings. Dilute with water 1: 2 before watering.
5. Pour 200 g of coniferous needles with 10 liters of water, leave for 24 hours, strain, pour into a container with a spray bottle and process the carrots.

Subject to the rules of crop rotation, timely cleaning of weeds and disinfection of seeds before sowing, infectious diseases rarely occur. The most common are alternariosis ("black leg"), brown rot (phomosis), rhizoctonia (felt disease). It is easy to prevent them by watering the beds before sowing with a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate or potassium permanganate, adding slaked lime.

Harvesting and storage

Root crops that have reached milk ripeness are removed from the soil for fresh consumption. This unplanned thinning creates more space for the carrots left in the ground to grow and feed.

Further harvesting depends on the variety.Early carrots are harvested in July, mid-season - in August, late - in the second half of September - first half of October.

It is advisable to collect root crops before the onset of the first frost. Frozen carrots are poorly stored and rot.

From light soil, roots are pulled out by the tops, from dense soil they are dug with a shovel. The excess soil is shaken off, the vegetables are sorted: the whole is sent for storage, the damaged ones are sent for processing, the sick are thrown away.

The tops are cut to the head, the root crops are dried under a canopy for 4-6 days and put into wooden or plastic boxes in layers, sprinkled with wet river sand, onion husks, crushed chalk or shifted with moss. The harvest is stored in cellar at a temperature of –2 ... + 2 ° C and an air humidity of 90-95%.

Glazing is an original way of storing carrots. A mixture is prepared from clay and water, achieving the consistency of thick sour cream, carrots are dipped in it and laid out on a wire rack for drying. The clay shell retains moisture inside the root vegetable and prevents rotting. Optimum temperature storage - 0 ... + 2 ° С. The storage must be dry.

Tips from experienced summer residents

Properly prepare the plot, seed material and grow rich harvest carrots will help the advice of experienced gardeners:

1. When planting a crop after cucumbers, add 1-1.5 kg of mullein and 5 kg of chopped corn leaves to the soil.
2. When growing vegetables on black soil, add 1 kg of river sand per 1 m² for loosening and additional aeration.
3. Observe the rules of crop rotation: plant carrots in the same place no earlier than 3-4 years later, avoid planting after umbrella crops. Carrots grow best after potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage.
4. Mix carrot seeds with lettuce or radish seeds. These crops grow faster than carrots and help to mark the crop area for shallow soil cultivation. By pulling the radishes out of the soil, you will be thinning the carrots at the same time.
5. Plant carrots next to onions and garlic to prevent carrot fly infections.
6. To distribute the seeds evenly in the furrows, mix them with a paste of water and flour.
7. Avoid stagnant water in the beds to prevent the spread of fungal diseases.

Conclusion

In order to grow large, juicy and healthy carrots, it is important to follow the technology: crop rotation, selection of a plot on the south side of the garden, normalization of acidity and increasing the nutritional value of the soil, pre-sowing seed treatment, loosening of the earth crust, weeding, thinning, hilling beds, moderate watering and the introduction of organic and mineral dressings.

Avoid using fresh manure to fertilize the soil so that the roots do not grow "bearded". Observe the sowing dates, they are different for each region. Harvest carrots before frost to prevent rotting during storage.