How to properly plant carrot seeds on a ribbon and how to make them at home

Sowing carrot seeds evenly is not easy, as the diameter of carrot seeds does not exceed a few millimeters. As a result, they are distributed unevenly along the groove - somewhere empty, but somewhere dense. Such sowing gives intermittent shoots, which makes it extremely difficult to care for plants. Thinning, which after such planting has to be carried out several times, takes a lot of time and effort.

Sowing seeds glued to the tape successfully solves the problem. In the material we will tell you in detail how grow carrots in this way and how to make a tape with seeds yourself.

Method description

Way planting carrots the tape is simple: in the grooves on the garden bed, lay a tape with seeds glued to it and sprinkle it with soil. Further care of the crops is no different from the usual.

The essence and principle of this method

The essence of this simple method is that the seeds on the belt are located at the desired distance from each other (4-5 cm). If the quality of the seed is good, then the seedlings will be uniform. This eliminates the need to remove densely growing carrots.

Advantages and disadvantages

Separately, there are the advantages and disadvantages of the tape method of growing carrots.

Benefits:

• carrots do not need to be thinned;
• economical use of seed;
• guaranteed uniform shoots - the seeds glued to the tape will not be washed away by heavy rain.

Disadvantages:

• labor costs for independent production of tapes;
• decrease in yield in case of buying low-quality seed material;
• difficulty in laying tapes, which, after sprinkling with earth and watering, move and come out to the surface;
• dry seeds are glued to the tape: there is no way to soak them in water or stimulants, so the seedlings appear later.

Landing technology

The process of planting carrots in a tape manner begins with the preparation of the site.

Soil preparation

A place for a carrot bed is chosen in the fall, taking into account the rules crop rotation. They dig up the earth, make compost, humus, mineral fertilizers. After that, the surface of the earth is leveled and the beds are marked.

Immediately before planting, grooves are cut 2-3 cm deep in the prepared place. A distance of 15-20 cm is maintained between the furrows. Then the bed is watered so that the bottom of each furrow is well moistened, and planting is started.

Planting instructions

At the bottom of the prepared grooves, spread the carrot seeds on a tape. Then the bed is sprinkled with a layer of earth and watered again.

Council. Moisten the soil well before placing the seed strips. Then the paper will stick to the wet soil and will not move to the side or upward when covered with earth.

Some gardeners put a layer of compost 0.5 cm thick into the grooves to speed up seed germination. In this case, the furrows are made deeper.

When planting in a belt way, about 4-4.5 m of tape is needed per 1 m² of land. The purchased tape is placed with an edge so that it does not interfere with germination if it does not dissolve.

After sowing the seeds, the first shoots appear in 1-2 weeks. Make sure that the soil is constantly moist until sprouts appear.To reduce watering, mulch the garden bed, or cover the ground with a thick, damp cloth.

Self-made ribbon

To make your own seed strips, you need seeds, a ribbon base and paste.

Suitable carrot seeds

The belt method is suitable for planting early, mid and late ripening carrots. Timing landing depend on cold resistance varieties... When planted early, seeds use the spring moisture from the soil and emerge before the carrot fly appears.

Council. You should not buy ready-made tapes in advance, as there is a risk of purchasing old seeds with poor germination.

A guaranteed way to grow a good crop is to buy proven seeds and make your own ribbon.

Material for making strips

Napkins, toilet paper or newspaper strips are used as a base.

Toilet paper

The most popular and economical option. However, when working with this material, difficulties often arise. The paper is thin and tears when drying and planting. In addition, it is wider than necessary.

To solve the problem, the paper is folded in half, the seeds are glued and wound into a roll. It is convenient to use double-layer toilet paper and place seeds between layers.

Napkins

Paper napkins are also used as a base.... A napkin is laid out and carrot seeds are glued at a distance of 5 cm in a row and between rows.

In this case, the furrows are not cut during planting, the napkins are laid out in a continuous layer on the surface of the moist soil and sprinkled with earth.

Newspaper

Another economical base option. Newspaper sheets (not glossy) are cut into strips about 2 cm wide and seeds are glued onto them at the required distance from each other.

Other materials can be used as a base, the main thing is that the base should be well soaked in water so as not to interfere with seed germination.

How to glue

Only dry seeds are glued. Paste is used as an adhesive: ordinary glue, hardened, will interfere with germination.

To prepare the paste, you will need flour and water. In boiling water (1 glass) gradually pour 2 tbsp. l. flour. The mixture is boiled, stirring, until thickened and cooled to room temperature.

If flour is not at hand, then they cook a paste of starch. For this, 1 tbsp. l. starch is dissolved in 50 ml of water and the resulting mixture is poured into boiling water (1 glass). The cooked jelly is cooled.

Droplets of the finished paste are applied to the paper with a match, toothpick or syringe. Then the seeds are glued to the base with tweezers. Another option is to dip the grains in glue and stick them on paper. The distance between the seeds is kept 4-5 cm.

The finished strips are hung to dry. After complete drying, the tapes are wound into rolls and stored in a dry place until sowing.

Common mistakes

We list the most common mistakes that gardeners make when making tapes on their own:

• use of low-quality seed material - trust only trusted producers that have good reviews;
• purchase of old seeds - check the expiration date when buying, choose those that are fresh (the shelf life of carrot seeds is 1-2 years);
• use of seed material without taking into account the climatic conditions of the region - choose heat-loving or frost-resistant, moisture-loving or drainage-resistant soils, adapted to the types of soils in your region;
• insufficient soil moisture during and after planting, as well as the formation of a crust through which it is difficult for sprouts to break through;
• the location of the purchased tape is flat - the factory strips are less soaked than toilet paper, so they are laid on the edge;
• deep planting - if the tape lies deep, then it will be difficult for the sprouts to break through to the surface, the optimal depth for spring planting is 2 cm, for planting before winter - 4-5 cm.

The timing of emergence

Germination of seeds planted using the belt method takes a little longer than seeds planted in the usual way... This is due to the fact that dry unprepared seeds are glued to the strips.

Also, the timing of emergence depends on the air temperature and the variety of carrots. If the air and soil are well warmed up, the carrots will sprout in 1-2 weeks. If the street is only + 8 ° C, then you will have to wait 3-4 weeks for seedlings.

What to do in case of rare seedlings

It happens that, despite all the efforts, the seedlings are not encouraging. The germination rate is influenced by the quality of the seed and the weather conditions.

If after 3-4 weeks the carrots do not sprout or sprout rarely, then new seeds are added. It is better to make new grooves between the old ones, spread the ribbons in them or sow in the usual way.

Reviews

Here are a few reviews of experienced gardeners about planting carrot seeds using a tape method.

Lidia Valerievna, Novosibirsk: “I am very happy with this method, I have been using it for 5 or 6 years. I cut the toilet paper in half along its length and apply drops of paste in a checkerboard pattern closer to the edge of the strip. There is no need to thin out! "

Tatiana Petrova, p. Shkolny: “I also make such a tape. A sticker on toilet paper is a short-lived affair, children are happy to help. I immediately mix all the seeds with paste and distribute the match on the tape. Then I hang it up to dry and roll it into rolls until spring. Planting is a pleasure. "

Nina Nikolaevna, Osinniki: “I make it even easier - I moisten a toothpick in jelly, take one carrot seed and put it on the tape. Little kissel remains on the tape, shoots appear quickly. Dry the stripes on the back of the chair. Before landing, I spill the grooves with water with "Epin", lay out the ribbons, cover them with earth and cover them with foil.

Conclusion

The use of belts with seeds when sowing carrots greatly simplifies planting maintenance and saves seed. The main thing when making strips on your own is not to save on high-quality seeds and use a paste made of flour or starch. It is better to procure such tapes in advance, before the start of the summer season.