When to sow carrots in open ground in spring

Carrots are included in the list of crops required for growing in garden plots. This vegetable requires minimal seed and soil preparation. To ensure good seed germination, you need to choose the right place and time for planting. When to sow carrots depends on the climate and weather conditions.

The time chosen for planting affects the harvest. Sowing is done in spring or summer. It is allowed to carry out planting work in the fall when frost occurs.

Selecting a landing site

Carrots prefer sunny places where there is no darkness. With a lack of lighting, the growth of the culture slows down and its taste qualities deteriorate. The bed should be lit by the sun all day.

You can plant carrots on the site where legumes, greens, cabbage, tomatoes or cucumbers previously grew. Every year the planting site of this vegetable changes. Onions can be planted next to carrots to protect plants from pests.

Soil preparation

Before choosing the time when to plant carrots in open ground, you need to prepare the ground. Carrots prefer fertile soil rich in nutrients. This crop is grown everywhere, but if the soil is not properly prepared, the harvest will be poor.

Excess fertilizer leads to a change in the shape of carrots and impairs their taste. Manure and compost are not recommended for use in the garden. When planting, the mechanical composition of the soil is important, which must first be dug up and loosened. Peat or sawdust is added to the soil.

In autumn, the earth is dug up, stones, weeds and other solid particles are removed from it. Phosphate- or potassium-based fertilizers may be used. If the soil is peaty, then sand is added. Humus and peat will help improve the properties of clay soil. Chernozem does not require special preparation, it is enough to add sand immediately before planting.

Seed preparation

Carrot seeds can be stored for several years and produce good seedlings. To ensure fast germination, the seeds are pre-treated. The following methods are considered the most effective:

• Use of special stimulants. The procedure is indicated in the instructions for the drug. The process takes up to 20 hours and guarantees high seed germination.
• Putting the seeds in the soil. A long-known method, in which the seeds were wrapped in cloth, and then buried in the ground to a shallow depth. After 10 days, the fabric was taken out, and the sprouts were planted in the garden.
• Seed soaking. This will require cotton wool or a piece of cloth where the seeds are placed. A day later, landing work begins.
• Boiling water treatment. Seeds are placed in a cloth and dipped in hot water for 20 minutes. Then the contents must be cooled with cold water.

Ways of planting

How to properly plant carrots in open ground, describe the following methods:

• in bulk, when the seed material is scattered over the garden;
• in rows with a distance of up to 10 cm;
• furrows in narrow beds.

The first way you can plant carrots in spring and summer. As a result, seedlings will be uneven, and there will be difficulties with their weeding. If you use this method for early planting, then you need to take measures to control weeds. Otherwise, weed grass will not allow carrots to grow normally.

When planted in rows in autumn, the seeds are often washed out of the ground by melt water. This method will not work if the region has a rainy spring or summer. Furrow sowing is used regardless of the season.

early boarding

If you need to get a carrot harvest as soon as possible, then planting begins in early spring. This is a moisture-loving plant, so you can start work immediately after the snow melts.

When to plant carrots depends on the temperature of the soil and air. The plant is resistant to frost and low temperatures. You can start planting after the soil warms up to + 5 ° С. The air temperature should reach +15°С. The third decade of April is suitable for this.

If seeds are planted earlier, they will take longer to germinate. For the formation of a root crop, an air temperature of up to + 20 ° C is required.

It is enough to loosen the prepared beds. If the soil was not dug up in the fall, then this is done in the spring.

Planting carrots in the spring is necessary in compliance with the sequence of stages:

1. Furrows are made to a depth of 5 cm. Leave 15-20 cm between rows.
2. The resulting recesses are sprinkled with peat, humus or sand, and then watered.
3. Carrots are sown along the furrow, covered with earth and lightly tamped.
4. Sand or peat is poured on top.

To speed up the germination of seeds, the bed is covered with a film. After the appearance of the first sprouts, the covering material is removed.

late boarding

If a decision has not yet been made when to plant carrots in 2018, then you can postpone the procedure until the summer. Sowing late will allow you to get a crop in August-September. For this, the period from the beginning of May is suitable. Work is allowed until the end of July.

Late planting carrots has the following advantages:

• the opportunity to disembark after the main work in the spring;
• by autumn, the culture retains its taste, does not outgrow, does not crack;
• planting is done in warm soil, which ensures good germination;
• frost protection is not required;
• increases the storage time of the crop.

Late boarding includes the following steps:

1. The soil is dug up, weeds are eliminated.
2. The bed is divided into furrows up to 5 cm deep.
3. Peat, humus or other fertilizer is poured into the bottom of the recesses.
4. Sow carrots in furrows.
5. The landing site is sprinkled with earth and peat.

Landing in winter

When to sow carrots to get an early harvest? In this case, landing is carried out in the winter. For this, site preparation begins in September. A place protected from the winds is pre-selected. To avoid flooding the beds with melt water, it must be located on a hill.

The procedure for planting carrots in the fall is as follows:

1. The surface of the beds is cleared of weeds and plant residues.
2. The soil is dug up, organic and complex fertilizers are introduced into it.
3. After the first frost, the soil is leveled, and 5 cm deepenings are made in it.
4. Peat or sand is placed at the bottom of the hole.
5. At an air temperature of 5 ° C, we sow carrots.
6. A layer of humus or peat is applied to the landing.
7. When the bed is covered with snow, it is covered with spruce branches. After the thaw, snow cover will remain under it.

Carrots planted in winter germinate a couple of weeks earlier than those sown in early spring. Its seeds are hardened in winter conditions, so the seedlings are resistant to frost. In the spring, due to the abundant exposure to moisture, the root system of carrots is strengthened.

Carrot care

To grow a good crop, you need to provide the plants with the necessary care. This includes watering, loosening, weeding and fertilizing. The harvest starts in three months.

Immediately after planting, the seeds require watering. Then the soil is moistened incrementally. The most intensive watering occurs in July. Since August, plantings are watered less and less.

Watering is done in the evening with warm water. On average, seedlings need to be watered every 10 days, taking into account the precipitation.

As the carrot grows, it is weeded. Not only weeds are removed from the soil, but also too dense seedlings. Loosening the soil will be performed between rows to a depth of 5 cm.

After the appearance of the first leaves, carrots can be fed with nitrogen fertilizer. Up to 15 g of urea is required per square meter of plantings. Plants respond well to phosphate and potash fertilizers.

To summarize

The timing of planting carrots is determined taking into account weather conditions. If it is too late to carry out early sowing, then this year it is allowed to work in late spring. Summer planting significantly relieves the intense spring suffering. Sowing in winter will allow you to get an early harvest next year. The yield of carrots largely depends on the soil and the place chosen for planting.