How to plant carrots in the spring

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

Compliance with the rules for planting carrots in the spring guarantees a good harvest in the fall. In addition, the vegetable, which is known for its unique composition, is completely picky, and even a novice summer resident can grow a root crop.

Preparatory activities

The process of preparing carrots for planting can be conditionally divided into two stages. The first relates to the processing of the land plot, the second - directly to the manipulation of seeds, which is also important. Ignoring such measures significantly slows down the growth and development of plants, and also impairs the quality of root crops.

For planting, it will be right to choose an area where legumes, cabbage, potatoes, cucumbers or tomatoes grew before. Onions will be a good neighbor for a root crop - its odorous substances scare off the carrot fly, and the onion fly is afraid of the smell of carrots.

Vegetable culture feels great in light, loose, permeable soil with the addition of sawdust and peat. A ridge is suitable, where compost or manure was brought in at least a couple of years before planting the root crop.

It is not recommended to plant carrots in an area where the soil was fertilized with chlorine-containing substances, as this contributes to the curvature of the fruit.

The soil should be carefully dug up and loosened, at the same time getting rid of weeds, small stones and other foreign elements, the presence of which can negatively affect the quality of the crop. The depth of processing should be at least 25-30 cm. It is not worth digging deeper, as the roots may grow too long.

At this stage, you can add superphosphate, which is produced in the form of granules. It is a complex fertilizer that accelerates crop growth throughout the growing season.

Next, you need to harrow the soil with a rake, carefully breaking up the lumps. A mixture of mineral fertilizers containing phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen is laid in grooves 7 cm deep.

This is followed by a layer of mulch (peat composition or humus), on top of which the seeds are placed. From above they can be sprinkled with earth or humus and slightly compacted the soil in order to improve the contact of the seed material with the ground.

Now all that remains is to water the ridge and mulch the plantings, and then cover with foil (optional).

Seed preparation

In spring, carrot seeds are prepared for planting by soaking and stratification. In order to improve germination, planting material is placed in the refrigerator directly in the package or poured into a regular plastic bag.

After 2-3 days, the seeds are spread on a piece of bandage and folded so that they are inside. The resulting envelope must be placed in a light pink solution of manganese, while the water temperature should be about + 40 … + 45 degrees.

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Leave the seeds for 60 minutes, then transfer to a nutrient solution. For its preparation, you can use any growth stimulant. The seeds are in this mixture for 3 days, then they are dried and sown on the ridge.

To speed up the emergence of seedlings, you can use the following method. Wrap the seed in a piece of cloth and put it in a bowl of vodka for 10 minutes. This time will be enough for the essential oils covering the seeds to dissolve.

Then they should be rinsed with cool water and dried. After this treatment, the sprouts will appear within 2-3 days after sowing the material.

Seed pelleting

In specialized retail outlets, ready-made pelleted seeds are sold, which greatly facilitates the planting process, and also protects plants from diseases and pests.

But if you wish, you can make such a shell yourself: about 4-5 days before the planned work, you need to pour dry seeds into the bowl (2 tsp. L.), and in another jar prepare a mixture of peat powder (1 tbsp.) and humus (1 tbsp.).

Then add the resulting composition (2 tablespoons) to the container with seeds, close the lid and shake for three minutes. At the end of the manipulation, pour the seeds onto a clean surface and wait for the shell to dry.

Bubbling

Treatment of seeds in water saturated with air will help increase germination rates, enhance crop growth during the growing season, and increase yields. In addition, bubbling will protect the carrots from pests and diseases, and will also shorten the period between sowing and emergence of the first shoots to about 5 days.

To do this, you need to pour water (room temperature) into any container, pour the planting material there and lower the oxygen generating device (an aquarium compressor, for example). Leave for at least 6 hours, preferably for a day, then place the seeds in a cloth bag and put them in the refrigerator on the middle shelf. After 5 days, dry them and sow in the usual way.

Dates for planting carrots in spring

Carrots are not afraid of low temperatures, in the spring the embryos are activated and germinate at a temperature of + 4 … + 5 degrees, but only the emergence of seedlings should be expected no earlier than 15-25 days from the moment of planting. Therefore, experts advise to postpone work until a warmer period, when the air warms up to + 18 … + 20 degrees.

Intensive growth of root crops and greenery is observed at a temperature of + 15 … + 19 degrees, and warming up to +20 degrees and above can slow down the development of rhizomes and accelerate the formation of green mass.

In the heat (+35 degrees and above), the tops stop growing, and the root crop begins to coarse. This is especially noticeable with too rare and poor watering.

As for the timing of planting carrots in relation to the periods of development of a particular variety, then it should be sown, focusing on the growing season:

• full maturation of early maturing varieties occurs in 80–100 days;
• mid-season - after 100-120 days;
• late-ripening - in 120-140 days.

Taking into account the temperature preferences of the crop, as well as its varietal affiliation, one can easily calculate the optimal planting dates, of which there will be two: for an early harvest and for the purpose of growing root crops intended for storage.

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If the vegetable is planned to be consumed fresh, it is necessary to sow seeds in early spring, focusing on the meteorological conditions of the region:

• Ural and Siberia - throughout May;
• Moscow region and middle zone of Russia - end of April - beginning of May;
• southern regions of the country - late March - early April.

If you plant early carrots in early May, you can get the first harvest by August. But such a vegetable is not subject to long-term storage; for this purpose, mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties are used.

In this case, the timing of planting in the spring is determined by the time of harvesting root crops. This is usually done after the thermometer drops to +4 degrees.

This usually happens at the end of September. If we take into account the indicated dates, then the sowing of seeds of mid-season varieties is carried out in mid-June, late-ripening - at the beginning of the same month.

How to plant carrots correctly

In private farms, as a rule, a row seeding scheme for long narrow beds is used, which greatly facilitates the care of the crop. The spacing between seedlings should be at least 30-50 mm, row spacing - 20-30 cm, depending on the availability of free space, soil fertility and seed variety.

Carrot seeds are very small, so it would be wrong to bury them in the soil. The planting depth should not exceed 1-1.5 cm, seeds can be buried in light sandy soil by 2 cm. If they are planted deeper, the sprouts may not break through, since they simply will not have enough strength for this.

Summer residents use several methods of sowing carrots, each of which has its own characteristics.

Traditional planting method

This is the simplest and most widely used method. It is necessary to make shallow grooves on the ridge in which to place the seeds. It is recommended to use pegs and twine to make the rows even, and the distance between them corresponded to the norm.

You can adhere to the set depth using a long wooden lath, which is pressed into the ground with an edge, after which it is removed and the same indentations are obtained. If necessary, they are spilled with water and planted.

Next, the seeds should be sprinkled with peat, soil or compost and lightly tamped. With early sowing, it is recommended to cover the ridge with a film, which allows you to retain moisture and protect the sprouts from frost.

Sowing on paper strips

This method is used in order to save time when planting, as well as to reduce the number of seeds. In addition, it is easier to adhere to the indicated distance between the plants, which frees the gardener from further thinning.

Carrot seeds are glued to pieces of paper equal in length to the size of the ridge at intervals of 3-5 cm. The adhesive is prepared from starch or flour and water are kneaded until the consistency of sour cream.

It is better to place the seeds in pairs, in case one of them does not come up. When the time comes to sow, the tape is cut into narrow strips, lowered into the prepared furrows and sprinkled with soil.

Granular seeds

The method of sowing granular seeds is intended to facilitate the planting process by increasing their size. The granules are planted on a ridge, keeping a distance of 5-7 cm.

Using the seeder

Any containers with holes are used as a seeder. This can be a strainer, a salt shaker, or a small plastic container with holes slightly larger than a carrot seed in the lid.

Sowing with river sand

Carrot seeds are mixed with coarse river sand in a ratio of 1: 5 and the mixture is sown into prepared grooves, sprinkling with a thin layer of soil on top. Having tamped the plantings a little, they pour a little peat into the groove and cover the ridge with a film, which will accelerate the emergence of seedlings. Using this method avoids the mandatory thinning of plants and reduces the consumption of seed.

Summarize

1. Carrots are cold-resistant crops, so they can be sown in early spring.
2. Planting dates are determined by the climatic conditions of the territory of residence and the variety of seeds.
3. Further growth and development of the culture, as well as the quality of the crop, depends on compliance with the planting technology.
4. There are several ways of planting carrots, from which the summer resident can choose the most suitable for himself.