Planting and growing carrots

Carrots grow well in warm, loose soils. Ph acidity of which is 5.5-7.0. Photophilous. Preparations for growing carrots begin at the end of April. You should not plant it after beans, carrots and parsley. The best predecessors for it are zucchini, potatoes, cabbage, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. Especially in the case when organic fertilizers were applied to them. Caring for carrots consists mainly of thinning seedlings, watering, fertilizing and weeding. This vegetable is quite drought-resistant, so watering carrots is required during dry periods. The optimal water consumption is five liters per square meter.

Features of sowing (planting) carrots

Carrot seeds must be pre-treated before planting. They should be soaked for a day in cold water.

For best results, you can rub the seeds between your palms - this will help polish them to get rid of lint on the surface of the seeds. During the entire soaking time, the water should be changed until it becomes completely clear. Usually this is at least six times.

The last time the seeds are filled with a solution of microelements. When they swell, they are dusted with chalk so that they are better visible. The seeds are then left to dry until they flow.

Seeds can be mixed with moistened non-acidic peat. Leave the mixture for a week in a warm place, maintaining its moisture and access to oxygen. Then the sprouted seeds are sown in the beds in the usual way.

You can also stick the seeds on paper tape. This will improve the landing accuracy. Paste is made from starch or flour.The fold along the strip prevents the seeds from shedding. When the tapes are dry, they can be rolled into rolls.

It should be remembered that seeds can take a very long time to germinate. About three weeks.

The seeds are planted to a depth of two centimeters. After sowing carrots, mulch the soil. It is necessary to ensure that a crust does not form on the surface of the soil. It will hinder the growth of seedlings.

How to feed carrots - the best fertilizers for feeding carrots

Carrots need to be fed using only mineral fertilizers. Typically, carrots are fertilized three to four times in one season. The first occurs three weeks after seedlings appear. Or after the first thinning. For one bucket of water take one teaspoon of urea and potassium magnesia. By adding an extract of 1 - 1.5 tablespoons of superphosphate. The second feeding is carried out two to three weeks after the first. Growth 2, mortar, nitrophoska, kemira-universal, nitroammofoska - this is what you can feed carrots with a second time. During the period of active growth, a third feeding is carried out. Ash is poured over the damp soil and loosened to avoid the formation of a crust. You can use not dry ash, but its infusion.

It is useful, in addition to basic fertilizing, to spray the leaves with boric acid. The proportions are two grams per ten liters of water.

The best carrot varieties for planting:

Moscow Winter A-515

Olympus

Napoli

Losinoostrovskaya 13

Vita Longa

Callisto

Chantenay 2461

Vitamin 6

Nandrin

Various carrot diseases and carrot pest control

White rot. Characterized by a white coating on the root crop. The source of this disease can be contaminated soil. Application of excess nitrogen fertilizers provokes the formation of white rot.

Spraying vegetables with copper-containing preparations helps combat it.The formation of white rot can be prevented by frequent ventilation and disinfection.

Bacteriosis of carrots. Initially, the lower leaves are affected by small yellow spots. Then the spots turn brown and the rest of the leaf turns yellow. As a result of severe damage, leaves may curl and dry out. The disease is spread by seeds and plant debris. It is recommended to take seeds only from healthy plants. And then keep them in water for ten minutes. The water temperature should be +52°C.

Felt disease (red rot). Characterized by purple and brown spots on root crops. Over time, black fungal sclerotia form in place of the spots. The cause of the disease is fungi. High temperatures and high humidity when storing carrots can provoke the formation of rot.

Often the disease affects vegetables during their growth period, but develops already in storage. It is recommended to store the affected crop separately from healthy root crops.

Gray rot. This carrot disease affects the root crop during storage. A gray felt coating begins to form at the tip. To prevent the formation of gray rot, it is necessary to strictly follow all the basic rules of plant care. Disinfection and timely removal of affected leaves and fruits is important.

Gray rot is spread from affected plants by fungal spores using the wind.

Phoma of carrots. Gray-brown oblong spots affect the veins and petioles of leaves. The stems of the testes and inflorescences may also be affected. Seeds from such plants are contaminated. Brown spots appear on any part of the root crop. To avoid Phoma, it is recommended to promptly remove any plant debris from the beds and follow the rules of crop rotation. Affected and diseased plants must be removed.Phoma can affect both growing vegetables and harvested crops. It is better to harvest carrots in dry weather. The tops are cut off. Sluggish and damaged vegetables are discarded.

Hogweed. The pest of carrots is the small motley fly. It can be black, brown or yellow-red. When damaged by borer, the leaves turn brown and dry out. Control measures: timely harvesting of crop residues and removal of weeds. In autumn it is necessary to dig up the soil.

Hawthorn aphid. An insect up to two millimeters in size. May be black or green. Aphid eggs spend the winter on hawthorn. In April, aphids hatch and feed on the sap of this plant. In May, aphids settle on the petioles of leaves and roots of carrots. Until autumn, aphids live and reproduce there. Affected plants are stunted in growth. In September, insects return to the hawthorn.

At the moment, there are no effective chemicals to combat this pest. To avoid the appearance of aphids, it is necessary to follow all agrotechnical rules. Plants should not be planted near hawthorn plantings.