How to plant carrots with seeds in open ground in spring: terms and rules for sowing

Carrots are a very healthy and nutritious root vegetable. It is widely used in the preparation of various dishes and culinary delights, as well as juices. In addition, carrots contain a large amount of trace elements and vitamins (the same carotene). It is especially beneficial for the growth and development of children.

Next, you will be presented with all the detailed information about planting carrots in the spring, namely: sowing dates, seed treatment methods, choosing a place and preparing a bed and, of course, correct sowing, as well as many other useful nuances of growing an orange root crop.

When to plant seed carrots outdoors

Planting carrots with seeds must be carried out directly in the open ground.

Carrots are not grown through seedlings! If you pre-sow carrot seeds in seedling cups, and then plant them in the ground, then you are guaranteed to damage young root crops and they will grow crooked.

As a rule, carrots are sown in the spring, although it is allowed and very much welcomedwinter sowing.

When to plant carrots outdoors in spring?

Each gardener has his own experience and is guided by the accumulated knowledge, choosing the optimal timing for planting carrots in the spring. Some adhere to the recommendations for sowing given by the producer of the variety (on a pack), others keep track of favorable days according to the lunar calendar. But best of all, choosing when to plant carrots in open ground in spring, navigate on the weather conditions of that climatic zone, in which your summer cottage or garden is located.

Carrots are not afraid of small spring return frosts, therefore, if you sow them in early springand the temperature will drop, she will be able to withstand a slight cold snap (up to -3 degrees). However, such root crops most likely will not go for long-term storage, because low temperatures will lead to the growth of flower arrows and significantly reduce its keeping quality.

Important! There is no need to soak carrot seeds in the ground for a long period, planting them very early. Seedlings tend to rot, rot or not germinate in such conditions.

The minimum temperature for germination and sowing of carrot seeds in open ground is +4 .. + 6 degrees (or a little less, but the seeds will sprout only when the soil warms up to the named values), but it is better to sow already at +10 degrees (they will sprout faster this way).

Depending on the region and climate

To select the optimal timing for sowing carrots in spring in different regions, it is recommended to focus on the weather conditions (climatic features).

Thus, in the South of Russia, an orange root crop is sown into the ground much earlier than in the Middle zone (Moscow region), North-West (Leningrad region), and even more so in the Urals and Siberia.

For example, sowing carrots in open ground in the south of Russia carried out almost immediately after the snow melts, that is, already in the second half of March-early April.

By the way! To obtain the earliest harvest, carrots are planted in autumn before winter or in early spring (in April). But for the purpose of long-term storage, this is usually done later, i.e. somewhere in May or early June.

In the middle lane (Moscow region) sowing is recommended late April-early May.

In the Urals and Siberia to carry out work on sowing carrots should not earlier than May... Around this time, carrots are planted and in the North-West (in the Leningrad region).

Interesting! Many summer residents recommend not to rush to sow carrots early, but to move it to June, in this case you will save your harvest from carrot flour, because by the beginning of summer, the carrot fly already flies off. In addition, the summer heat is not very suitable for a set of edible root vegetable mass, but the autumn coolness is the most.

According to the lunar calendar in 2020

The lunar calendar will help you decide when to plant carrots in the spring, in what month.

According to the lunar calendar, in 2020 for sowing carrots the following days are ideal:

• in March - 8, 10, 16-19;
• in April - 5-7, 9-15, 17-22, 27-30;
• in May - 2-6, 9, 11, 12, 20-22, 29-31;
• in June - 7-9, 11-14.

In addition to favorable days, there are also unfavorable dates according to the lunar calendar, when it is extremely undesirable to carry out planting work - these are days New moons and full moons, as well as the period when the Moon is in Aquarius, because it is a barren and dry sign - italicized.

So, unfavorable days, according to the lunar calendar,for planting carrots in 2020 are the following dates:

• in March - 9,19-21, 24;
• in April - 8,15-17, 23;
• in May - 7,13-14, 22;
• in June - 5,9-11, 21.

According to the lunar calendar, from the magazine "1000 Tips for Summer Residents".

After what crops is it better to plant carrots

As you know, previous crops play an important role when choosing a site for planting any vegetables (of course, except sideratessince carrots can be planted after all types of green manure).

So after what (what crops) is it best to plant carrots?

There is a sufficient number of vegetable crops, after which the site is most favorable for the red-haired beauty, namely this:

• tomatoes;
• peppers;
• eggplant;
• potatoes;
• pumpkin;
• cucumber;
• white cabbage and cauliflower;
• onion;
• garlic.

Important!Carrot do not plant only aftercelery and parsnips, as well as dill and parsley. And of course after the carrot itself... Those. after crops of the umbrella family.

Joint landing

Carrots are very often grown in the same garden with other crops. So, it is often planted with parsley, radishes, peas, lettuce.

Especially often I plant carrots together with onion sets or leeks.

For example, you can alternate between rows of carrots and onions, or alternatively plant onions around the perimeter of the carrot bed.

Thus, onions and carrots are ideal mutually beneficial neighbors: onions scare away carrot fly, and carrots, in turn - onion fly (this is in theory, in practice everything is not so happy).

However! Do not plant them alternately or too close to each other, because onions grow much faster and can simply crush carrots. In addition, it will be very inconvenient to thin out. Also, carrots require much more frequent watering than onions.

Video: planting onions and carrots together

Similar to onions, they have a similar deterrent effect. marigold, which you can also plant around the perimeter of the garden.

Interesting! Sometimes carrots and radishes are planted together by mixing the seeds. This way, after you pluck and eat all the radishes, there will be enough space between shoots, which means you do not have to thin out the carrots.

How to plant seed carrots in open ground

In order to properly plant carrots in open ground with seeds, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with important information on seed preparation and soil quality requirements before planting. You need to know how to sow carrot seeds correctly in the spring so that they sprout quickly and well. And also to fulfill the necessary conditions for planting, sheltering seeds and caring for them after sowing.

Choosing the right variety

Note! The site has overview material about the best varieties of carrots in terms of ripening and purpose.

Seed preparation

Carrot seeds are rightly considered one of the most tough-similar (like all other umbrella crops, which include carrots), which means that they require mandatory pre-sowing treatment (soaking).

Advice! The site has a detailed article about how and what to process carrot seeds before sowing so that they sprout quickly and amicably.

Choosing a place for the garden

First of all, you need to chooseoptimal place for placing a carrot bed in the garden. As you know, carrots are sunny vegetable, therefore it should only be plantedin open areasso that she spends the whole day in the sun.

Even a little shading will noticeably retard the growth of root crops, and as a result, they form small.

In general, it is ideal if it is a warm (high) bed.

An orange root vegetable will do the best on light and loose soils. Ideal if it is cultivated and fertile loamy, sandy loam or peaty soil... As for her aciditythen it should be neutral or slightly acidic (6-7 pH).

Note! If the soil will be too dense, then the carrots may growbranched (horned).

Preparing the garden

For spring sowing carrots, in advance, preferably more in the fall, prepare a bed.

During the preparation of the intended area, it is necessary to dig up the bed (on the bayonet of the shovel = 20-25 cm) and add more humus or compost (1 bucket per 1 sq. M.), And wood ash and bone meal... If you allow the use of mineral fertilizers, then instead of ash and bone meal, you can add superphosphate and potassium sulfate (potassium sulfate).

If you have very heavy soil, then be sure to also add about 1/2 bucket of river sand and peat (per 1 square meter of the garden).

During the preparation of the garden, it is imperative remove all weeds and thoroughly select all large pebbles.

As you know, carrots does not tolerate fresh manure and lime.

Note! If you sow carrots on a garden bed previously fertilized with fresh manure (even in autumn), then root crops can grow ugly (clumsy).

And already in spring, a couple of weeks before sowing seeds in the ground, if you prepared the bed in the fall, you do not need to dig up the soil (if you are cooking in the spring, then you just need to do this and just in 2 weeks), you just need to carefully level the soil surface, and also break up large lumps of earth (in other words, shallow loosening ).

If you allow the use of mineral fertilizers, it is also advisable to add 10-15 grams of urea (urea) per 1 sq. M. beds.

Direct fit (classic)

Advice! For planting, it is optimal to choose the day when the weather will be warm and calm (windless).

Step-by-step instructions for the classic sowing of carrot seeds in open ground:

• A week before sowing seeds, pour abundantly the future carrot bed with hot water (even better with the addition of Fitosporin)and then cover with plastic wrap to keep it moist and warm.

• Immediately before sowing, make grooves 2-3 cm deep, cutting them at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other.

A deeper sowing of carrots will noticeably delay the emergence of seedlings, but, on the contrary, a shallower one can cause the death of germinated seeds.

A distance of 15-20 cm is quite enough so that the rows of carrots do not shade each other.

• Next, moisten the grooves with hot water or a warm solution of potassium permanganate, or even better with a solution Fitosporin.

• Then the grooves should be lightly powdered with wood ash (potash fertilizer) and tobacco dust (from pests).
• Next, spread the seeds at a distance of at least 1 cm from each other, or better - 2-3 cm.

Do not thicken the crops too much, because you will need to thin out more.

• That's it, you just have to fill the furrows with fertile soil and compact to improve the contact of seeds with the soil. Optionally, you can also mulch with peat chips.
• In order for the soil to remain moist for a longer time, it retains heat, which means that seeds germinate faster (seedlings appear), the bed follows again cover with foil, or even better with spunbond, because it may be too hot under the film and the seedlings may burn.

Attention!After the first shoots appear, the entire shelter must be quickly removed (after about 7-14 days, if you previously soaked the seeds). Otherwise, an excessively humid environment can contribute to rotting of delicate sprouts.

Video: how to sow carrots correctly

Unusual ways to plant carrots

There are several interesting ways to plant carrots in spring:

The essence of almost all methods boils down to sowing the seeds as evenly as possible, so that later you do not need to thin out a lot.

• direct seeding dry seeds into furrows (the easiest way);
• sowing dry seeds with sand (1 part of seeds is mixed with 5 or 10 parts of sand);
• sowing seeds with tobacco and / or mustard dust (additional protection against carrot pests);
• sowing germinated seeds (at first, the soil in the garden must be constantly wet, otherwise the seedlings may die);
• sowing pelleted (processed) seeds (everything is similar to dry seeds);

• sowing using jelly.

Sowing using jelly (starch, paste)

Many gardeners call this method (jelly) the best of all.

In this way, you can sow both soaked seeds and those that have already hatched, and without any fear of damaging the sprouts.

The essence of planting carrots in this way is as follows:

• First you need to prepare starchy jelly (paste). First of all, 2 tbsp. Dissolve spoons of starch in 0.2 liters of water at room temperature, in parallel putting 0.8 liters of water on the fire. When it boils, pour in the resulting solution, and then stir continuously (so that there are no lumps) for 2-3 minutes, until it boils. Then turn off the gas and set it to cool.
• Prepare seeds.

By the way! You can take pre-soaked (processed) seeds, or even better, so that they have already begun to hatch.

• Then fill a 2 liter bottle with the resulting jelly (paste), pour the seeds into it (about 2 grams or 1 tablespoon of seeds per 1 liter, i.e. 4 grams or 2 tablespoons per 2 liters) and mix thoroughly (shake) ...

Alternatively, for convenience and to increase the seeding speed, it is better to use bottles with a sufficiently rigid wall, for example, from under milk or kefir (or even better ketchup or dishwashing liquid, the neck is more convenient there)... Then a hole can be made in the bottle cap (if you take a bottle) into which a plastic tube can be tightly inserted or screwed in (the body of a simple ballpoint pen, only without a sharp tip).

• It is enough to quickly shed a groove from beginning to end with a thin stream of jelly with seeds, squeezing the bottle (pressing the walls).

Pre-practice to pre-adjust the speed and spray for proper seed distribution.

Video: a clever way of planting carrots without thinning (using paste)

You can also use a special manual vegetable seeder (planter)that is sold at any garden store.

Planting with tape

Perhaps the most popular way to plant carrots is to plant with tape (paper strips, for example, the same toilet paper).

You need to glue the carrot seeds onto the paper strips at the appropriate distance, and then just put the ribbons with the seed grooves on and cover with soil.

Video: technology of planting carrot seeds on paper tape (toilet paper) in open ground

By the way! Now on sale you can find ready-made tapes with glued carrot seeds. Moreover, they are by no means much more expensive than ordinary seeds.

Thus, you just need to choose the way you like the most, or not invent and stick to the classics.

There is also a rather tricky way of planting carrots in egg trays, thanks to which 2 problems disappear at once: thinning and weeding from weeds. However, according to the reviews of experienced gardeners, this method does not give the proper harvest, the roots are too small.

Video: just a way of planting carrots in egg cells

How to care for carrots after planting

Of course, in order to get a good harvest of carrots, you need not only to sow the seeds correctly, but also to carry out competent and complete care of seedlings and growing root crops in the future.

Advice! You can learn more about this in a separate article. about the rules for growing carrots in the open field.

When to harvest carrots and how to store them

Note! The site already has an article abouthow to determine when to harvest carrotsand also abouthow to store it fresh at home.

Thus, knowing all the basic rules and recommendations, even a novice summer resident will not have difficulty in timely and correctly planting carrot seeds in spring with seeds in open ground. The main thing is to prepare the bed, soak the seeds and decide on the sowing method. Of course, in order to get a good harvest, you will also need to look after the seedlings, as well as dig out the harvest from the garden in time.

Video: how to plant carrots in open ground with seeds - planting subtleties