How to prepare a garden for carrots in spring
To ensure a rich harvest of vegetables in the fall, it is necessary to prepare a garden for carrots in the spring. Qualitative and quantitative indicators directly depend on the correctly carried out agrotechnology before planting a vegetable crop.
How to prepare a garden for carrots in spring
What soil is needed for carrots
Carrots are unpretentious crops that can grow well on any soil. However, the vegetable shows high yields on loose loamy and sandy soils, while:
- the soil should be free of solid particles and rotted plant residues,
- the acidity of the soil should be adjusted at the level of 5.6-7 points,
- clay and black earth soil is diluted with sand at the rate of 1 kg per 1 square meter of sown area,
- peat, manure and potato peelings are added to the sandy soil in equal parts at the rate of 5 kg of the mixture per 1 sq. m of sown area.
When preparing the soil for carrot plantings, the indicator of moisture and looseness of open soil is regulated by adding sand.
In pure black soil, root crops grown from seeds will have an excess of fatty acids, which will cause a reduction in the shelf life of the vegetable. In a viscous soil, the upper vegetative part of plants develops with disturbances, which affects the quality of root crops. Pure clay dries quickly, and this leads to a general lethargy and crumbling of the vegetable crop.
Suitable predecessors
When choosing a bed for sowing carrots with seeds, crop rotation is observed and a vegetable crop is planted after the desired predecessors, including:
- cucumbers, especially if after them manure and corn leaves were introduced into the soil, 1.5 kg and 5 kg per 1 sq. m respectively,
- red beets, the ground for sowing carrots with seeds after beets is fertilized with 0.5 kg of manure and 5 kg of peat mixture per 1 sq. m, for winter varieties - fodder beets,
- potatoes, the good harvest of which is used to judge the potential fertility of the land,
- tomatoes, according to the good quality of the fruits of which they conclude that medium-moist soil is suitable for carrots.
Carrots are not planted after legumes and parsley, which act as active distributors of pests that are dangerous for the carrot harvest. Vegetable crops do not grow after sunflower and tobacco.
Earthworks and soil fertilization
We plant seeds in loose soil
The soil dug up in the fall before planting carrots with seeds and seedlings in the spring is only loosened and leveled, removing the emerging weeds. If the preliminary autumn preparation of the land plot has not been carried out, it is dug to a depth of at least 0.3 m with repeated digging to a depth of 0.2 m, maintaining an interval of 10-12 days between digging. In the process of digging the earth, they make sure that there are no large earth lumps left. The soil is loosened moderately, without creating excessive airiness of the soil layer.
For planting, choose an area well illuminated by the sun's rays, with a flat surface.When sown with seeds in lowlands with excessive moisture, the roots grow small and deformed.
Water permeability test
It is recommended to check the soil for planting for the level of moisture absorption, for which, before the second digging, about 8 liters of water are poured onto the sown area with dimensions of 0.5 x 0.7 m:
- if the soil tends to retain moisture, it is recommended to prepare ridges for planting seeds, raising the ridges by 25-35 cm,
- if the soil dries well, make ordinary furrows at a distance of 20-25 cm.
To create greenhouse conditions, the loosened soil is covered with foil 2 days before planting.
Fertilizer
Fertilizing organic complexes are usually applied in the fall, but it is permissible to fertilize the soil for carrots in the spring, but not with organic matter, but with mineral compounds. Fertilizers are applied once, 2-3 weeks before the planned planting date in the proportions provided for in the instructions for the complexes.
Conclusion
Preparatory measures in the spring, before planting carrots, provide the vegetable crop with favorable conditions for growth and development. These include the correct choice of soil, location, excavation and fertilizer application.