How to plant carrots in open ground with seeds

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Unlike other vegetable crops, carrots are not grown as seedlings, but in the spring they are sown directly into open ground. But before planting, you should familiarize yourself with some of the nuances and rules of how to plant a root crop in order to get a good harvest.

Variety selection

Growing any vegetable crop always starts with choosing the right variety. You should not listen to the advice of neighbors and be led by a colorful picture on the package. The variety is chosen only for agrotechnical characteristics.

It is also worth noting right away that today you can buy domestic and imported planting material on the market. The first is not as expensive as foreign counterparts, and varieties are adapted to a specific region. And the second one may be better in terms of agrotechnical characteristics, but when buying, you should make sure that the variety can grow in the local climate.

When choosing a variety, in addition to the manufacturer, it is worth considering the ripening time of the culture:

• early - the harvest can be harvested at the end of June, but the carrots will not be suitable for winter storage;
• mid-ripening - ripen in autumn, carrots are sweet, juicy and well stored;
• late - intended for long-term storage, root crops grow large, but inferior in sweetness to mid-season ones.

Other criteria for choosing a suitable variety include:

• the content of carotene - the more it is, the brighter and healthier the vegetable, according to this indicator, domestic varieties win;
• yield - from 1 sq. m, on average, 5 to 7 kg of carrots are harvested;
• commercial characteristics - carrots of different varieties may differ in shape and color;
• sweetness - varieties of carrots with a high content of sugar and carotene are suitable for baby food and those who spend a lot of time at the computer.

The sweetest varieties of carrots: Emperor, Red Maiden, Orange friend, Karotan, Favorite.

Site selection

Carrots do not belong to whimsical crops, but in order for them to sprout quickly, it is worth knowing some rules on how to plant a vegetable with seeds in open ground. Planting of carrots begins in spring, seeds of early varieties can be sown in the 20th of April, and late ones - from 25 April to 5 May. But first you need to choose a site.

Carrots are very fond of the sun, without it the vegetable will grow poorly, so you need to choose a well-lit area. The sun's rays should fall on the beds throughout the day, because even with a temporary darkening, the yield will decrease, as will the taste of the root crops themselves.

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You can grow a decent crop of carrots only if the soil is fertile, loose and light. The vegetable grows very well in loamy or sandy loam soil, but it is impossible to sow carrots in clay and heavy ones, it will retard its growth.

The acidity level is also important when growing carrots. The soil should have neutral acidity - pH 6, 5-7, 5.

Preparing the beds

In this case, we mean the creation of favorable conditions for growing carrots. Experienced gardeners who share tips on how to plant a vegetable crop recommend preparing the soil in the fall or spring, 3-4 weeks before placing the seeds in open ground.

In the process of preparing the soil and soil, it is worth being guided by the proposed scheme:

1. If nothing has grown on the selected site before, that is, it is uncultivated, then you need to dig it up, remove roots, stones and debris. Moreover, for varieties with long roots, deep digging is important.
2. Provided that the site is cultivated, you can simply apply fertilizer, thereby making the soil more fertile. As a top dressing, you can take compost or humus with the addition of wood ash and bone meal. It will not hurt to feed the soil and mineral fertilizers in the form of potassium sulfate or superphosphate.
3. In addition to fertilizers, sand and peat may be needed, but only if the soil is clayey and very heavy.
4. Together with all the dressings and fertilizers, the beds need to be dug up with a shovel on a bayonet of 25-30 cm, and then loosen the surface well with a rake.
5. 14 days before sowing, it is advisable to level the beds again with a rake, removing large clods of earth from the site.
6. 7 days before sowing, the beds must be treated with a solution of the biofungicide Fitosporin-M, you can simply spill it with hot water, and then cover the area with a film.

Fresh manure cannot be used as fertilizer; it will only harm the plants. The future harvest will be in the form of gnarled fruits.

Seed preparation

Carrot seeds sprout for a long time, about three weeks after sowing. And it's all about the content of essential oils, which inhibit their germination. Therefore, it is important to prepare the seeds to wash out all the oils and thus speed up the process.

There are several ways to prepare planting material:

1. The seeds can be soaked in a growth stimulator (Epin-Extra, Zircon), then dried well.
2. The planting material can be treated with streams of hot air. This method is called bubbling and is best suited for carrots. For this, the seeds are wrapped in a cloth bag and dipped in a glass of warm water (temperature 40 ° C). Place the hose from the bubbler and leave for 24 hours. After the seeds are dried.
3. You can also awaken the seeds with the help of heat treatment. They are placed in a bag and left in hot water for 15 minutes (temperature 50-55 ° C). After that, keep it under running cold water for 15 minutes.
4. For fast germination, seeds can be stratified in the soil. This is a proven method. Seeds wrapped in a bag must be buried in the ground in the spring to a depth of 25 cm 14 days before planting. During this time, the planting material is saturated with moisture and swells. Then the seeds are dug up and planted.

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Novice gardeners are interested in whether and how to plant carrots with seeds in open ground without soaking. Of course, you can sow seeds without preliminary preparation, but then the grooves need to be well moistened and covered with agrospan or any other material that will prevent rapid evaporation of moisture.

The seeds should not germinate during the soaking process. If shoots appear, they can be damaged during planting, then there will be no shoots.

Planting methods for carrots

There are several ways to properly plant seed carrots outdoors. For example, use the standard landing pattern:

1. On the garden bed, we make grooves 2-3 cm deep, and do not forget to observe the distance between the grooves of 15-20 cm.
2. We water the grooves with hot water, or better with a solution of Fitosporin, which is an effective antibacterial and antifungal drug.
3. For the prevention of pests, it is advisable to sprinkle the grooves with tobacco dust or wood ash.
4. At a distance of 2-3 cm, we sow seeds into the grooves, then cover them with soil and slightly compact the grooves.
5. To preserve moisture and heat, it is advisable to cover the beds with agrofibre.

After 1-2 weeks, the covering material must be removed, otherwise the seeds will simply rot.

On tape

You can plant carrots with seeds in open ground on a tape. This method attracts many gardeners, because it frees them from the tedious work of pulling carrots.

Tape planting material is a narrow and long paper strip on which the seeds have already been glued using a special compound.

The belt planting scheme is very simple:

1. On the garden bed, at a distance of 20-25 cm, we draw grooves with a depth of 3 cm.
2. If the soil is not moist enough, then water the grooves with warm water.
3. We put the tape with seeds in the grooves (preferably with an edge, that is, sideways, so the material will germinate better).
4. We fill the grooves with earth, tamp them slightly and pour them from a watering can with a fine spray.
5. Cover the top with any covering material or pour a small layer of fine mulch.

For 1 running meter, approximately 4-5 meters of planting tape will be required.

On toilet paper

Band sowing is quite simple, but for some it causes difficulties due to the high cost of the material and poor germination. Therefore, gardeners have found a more affordable way to plant carrots - on toilet paper:

1. Using such an unusual technology, sowing is quite simple, but first you need to prepare a paste. To do this, dilute 2 tablespoons of starch or flour in 200 ml of water. Then 800 ml of water is put on the fire, after boiling, a solution of starch is poured in, boil for 3 minutes with constant stirring. Cool the finished paste.
2. At a distance of 15-20 cm, grooves are made with a depth of 2-3 cm and a strip of toilet paper is placed on the bottom.
3. The paper is gently greased with the prepared paste and carrot seeds are laid on top at a distance of 3-4 cm.
4. The grooves are covered with earth and watered abundantly.

You can replace toilet paper with thicker paper tape. With the help of paste, seeds are glued, after drying, they are rolled up, and carrots are planted at any convenient time.

Kissel method

The paste mentioned above is often used in garden work. This method of planting carrots may seem ineffective, but many gardeners like it very much.

Sowing technology of vegetables with the jelly method:

1. According to the instructions (see above), we prepare the paste, but you can do it much easier and stir the starch in boiled water (for 1 glass - 1 tsp. Starch).
2. Using one of the above methods, we prepare the seeds for planting.
3. Pour the kissel into a bottle and fill it with seeds (for 1 liter - 1 tbsp. L of planting material).
4. Mix the contents of the bottle well, tighten the lid, in which we make a hole.
5. We do the garden beds on the site.
6. Pour jelly with seeds into the grooves.

Another easy way to plant a vegetable is with sand. To do this, mix the planting material with fine sand and simply scatter the mixture into the grooves.

Using egg packaging

This method can be called the most popular and simplest. The main thing is to prepare cardboard boxes a month before planting a vegetable crop and adhere to the following scheme:

1. Egg packages are placed in a tray that is not afraid of moisture and holes are made in the cells.
2. Soil is poured into the trays, 2-3 seeds are placed in each cell, watered and subsequently do not dry out.
3. As soon as the seeds germinate, only the strongest and best sprout is left in the cell.
4. Plant carrots in open ground directly in egg trays.

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You can sow seeds in trays at home and, without waiting for shoots to appear, plant them in open ground.

There is nothing difficult in growing carrots, and thanks to the original ideas of gardeners, you can simplify agrotechnical work and get a good harvest. If you have questions about how to plant carrots with seeds in open ground in the spring, you can always watch a video for beginners.

Outcomes

1. You can plant carrots as early as the 20th of April, but it all depends on the region and variety.
2. The soil for growing root crops should be fertile, loose, with a neutral level of acidity.
3. Before sowing, the seeds must be prepared for better and faster germination.
4. You can plant carrots in different ways: standard, tape, jelly and others.