Early and early ripening varieties of carrots sown in the spring ripen by July. To get an earlier harvest, by mid-June, the crop can be sown in the fall. Thanks to this, it will also be possible to get a crop of larger and sweeter fruits.
Landing time
The yield of a vegetable crop depends on the timing of the autumn sowing. It is important that the seeds do not have time to germinate before the onset of winter. If they germinate in the fall, then after the frosts come, the seedlings can freeze, so no crop can be obtained.
Plant winter carrots is only after the onset of steady colds and average daily temperature in the range 0 ... + 3 ° C. If warming with rains is expected in the future, you will have to wait a while to sow the seeds, otherwise they may germinate.
The optimal time for planting is in late October - early November. In the southern regions, carrots can sometimes be sown in late autumn, and in the northern regions in the last days of September. The main thing is to sow at least a week before constant frost.
You can’t sow carrots too soon or too late. In addition, it is undesirable to sow on the days of full moons and new moons.
What varieties to plant under the winter?
For sowing in the winter, it is better to choose cold-resistant early and medium-sized varieties of carrots, which include:
- Moscow winter A 515. Variety with a ripening period of 70-100 days and high productivity (5-7 kg per 1 sq. M). Fruits of orange color have an elongated conical shape, weigh 100-170 g and reach a length of 15-18 cm. The pulp is juicy and with a pleasant smell.
- Vitamin 6. Variety with a growing season of 80-110 days, with autumn sowing of which in July you can get mature root crops of cylindrical shape, weighing up to 80-130 g and up to 17 cm long. They are well stored, but prone to cracking.
- Nantes 4. About 80-100 days pass from full germination to harvesting. Root crops weigh up to 100 g, have a cylindrical shape, a length of 14-16 cm and a gentle but juicy pulp. Productivity - 6.5 kg per 1 sq. Km. m. Vegetable resistant to rot and mold, but prone to bloom. For sowing in the fall season, you can also choose the seeds of the Nantes improved variety. This culture bears root crops weighing up to 90-160 cm and has a yield of 5-7 kg per 1 sq. Km. m
- Shantane 2461. A variety with a vegetation cycle of 80-120 days, which brings root crops of a truncated conical shape and weighing 100-250 g. Shantan poorly tolerates excess organic matter in the soil, but is not afraid of cold weather and is resistant to flowering.
- Losinoostrovskaya-13. The growing season is 80-120 days. Root crops gain 80-120 g, have the shape of a cylinder, are not afraid of rot and mold. The variety is demanding for watering.
- Incomparable. Carrots with a maturity of 105-130 days. Root crops weigh 100-200 g and have a truncated conical shape. The variety is resistant to flowering, dry soil and cold snap.
- Nantik Resistaflay F1. Hybrid with a maturity of 85-90 days with an upright rosette of leaves. Smooth root crops of cylindrical shape weigh 95-120 cm and reach a length of 18 cm. They can be stored for up to 5 months. The yield of the plant is 7-9 kg per 1 sq. Km. m
- Samson. A variety with a growing season of 110-120 days, which brings root crops weighing 130-300 g. They are not afraid of flowering and cold, and are also well stored.
- Nandrin F1. Carrots with a growing season of 95 to 105 days. Smooth fruits of a cylindrical shape weigh 150-250 g and reach a length of 20 cm. The peculiarity of this carrot is that it has practically no core.
- Tushon. The representative of the Amsterdam variety with a growing season of 80-100 days. Root crops weigh 100-150 g and reach a length of 15-20 cm. They have a sweet taste and delicate structure. Tushon grows well on light sandy loamy soils.
- Nectar F1. The period from full germination to technical ripeness of the hybrid is 120-125 days. Root crops of dark orange color weigh 100-150 g, have a cylindrical shape with a blunt tip and a sweet taste. The hybrid is not subject to cracking and flowering.
- Flacca. A variety with a growing season of 110-150 days, which brings root crops weighing 180-220 and a truncated conical shape. They do not crack and do not accumulate nitrates.
- Baby sweet. Based on the name, it is obvious that the variety is great for preparing food and drinks for children. The growing season is 110-112 days. Red-orange root vegetables weigh 90-130 g, reach a length of 18-22 cm and have the shape of a cylinder with a rounded tip.
It is best to buy granulated (pelleted) seeds that have already undergone the necessary presowing treatment. In addition, they are much easier to sow than very small seeds.
Site selection
When planting carrots in the winter, special attention needs to be paid to the choice of the place of the garden. It should be located on a flat area, protected from the winds and well warmed by sunlight.
Seeds should not be sown on a slope, as they can be washed away with water during spring snowmelt. The soil itself should be loose, light and fertile. The best option is loamy or sandy loamy soil with low or neutral acidity, since it is loose and nutritious, and also does not condense much during the winter.
If the site meets these requirements, you need to identify which crops have grown on it over the past 3 years. According to crop rotation rules, the best precursors for carrots are:
- potatoes;
- onion;
- cabbage;
- Tomatoes
- cucumbers
- squash;
- zucchini;
- melons (melon, pumpkin, watermelon).
The best crop of root vegetables can be obtained if the listed crops grew under the plot, under which humus or compost was introduced into the soil.
As for the worst carrot precursors, these are:
- beans;
- parsley;
- dill;
- fennel;
- celery;
- carrot.
After such crops, root crops can be grown only after 3-4 years to avoid infection with common diseases and pest attacks.
After fertilizing the soil with fresh manure or humus, sowing carrots is possible only after 2 years. If you do this right away, the tops will turn out to be high and juicy, and the root crops will be deformed and branched.
Soil preparation
The plot for planting carrots needs to be prepared in advance, before the cold weather, when the soil has not yet frozen. So, for 1-1.5 months before planting, you need to perform the following steps:
- Clean the area after the previous crop, removing all weeds and plant debris.
- Carry out a deep digging of the beds on the bayonet of the scapula (30-40 cm). At the same time, the soil should be fertilized, but abandoning organic matter in the form of manure. It is best to add 2-4 kg of humus, 20-25 g of superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium salt per 1 sq. Mineral fertilizers can be replaced with ash, because it contains phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium and other elements. Make it at the rate of 1 glass per 1. sq. Select other fertilizers depending on the type of soil:
- in acidic soil, it is necessary to add either 1 cup of wood ash, or 150 g of dolomite flour, or 300-400 g of chalk per 1 sq. km. m, since they neutralize the acidic environment;
- dilute heavy, clay soils with sand or half-rotten sawdust, since they will make the earth more airy and loose, but fresh sawdust and other undecomposed components of an organic nature must be discarded, otherwise they will attract carrot flies dangerous for root crops;
- poor soils additionally feed with nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 1. Art. l per 1 square. m, but no more, since exceeding the indicated dosages will not contribute to enhancing the yield of the plant, but will lead to cracking and deformation of root crops.
On the plot, you can sow any green manure and, when growing to 15-20 cm, plant it in the soil, because carrots love the high humus content.
- After digging, loosen the soil deeply and make grooves in it to a depth of 4-5 cm and every 15-20 cm. When the time comes to sow the seeds, the grooves will compact and settle, so the depth will not exceed 2-3 cm.
- Cover the prepared area with a film or other moisture-resistant material so that the bed does not erode by rains and the earth is not blown apart by wind. Shelter on the sides must be secured with bricks, boards, stones or any other heavy material that can be found at hand.
Carrot seeds can simply be sown on the surface of the soil without making any grooves. The site will just need to be sprinkled with pre-prepared loose soil and covered with spanbond, which can be removed in the spring when the snow melts.
However, even when sowing seeds in grooves, it is necessary to pre-prepare a dry mixture for their seeding. Sowing is carried out at a time when the earth is already cold, and in places it even freezes with clods, so it will not be able to evenly fill the seeds.
While the weather is warm, you need to prepare dry soil, sifted through a large sieve, as well as compost, humus or their mixture with peat at the rate of 4-5 buckets per square meter. m (it is desirable to sort the composition with your hands so that there are no lumps, and dry in the sun). Pour blanks into boxes or bags that need to be kept in a dry and warm place, for example, in an ice-free shed.
If the dry mixture for planting seeds is not prepared, you will have to purchase ready-made soil based on peat in the garden store. It does not form a crust, so it will not be difficult for the sprouts to break out.
You can learn about the method of preparing the beds for autumn sowing carrots from the video below:
Preparing seeds for sowing
Not all varieties of carrots are suitable for autumn planting. Therefore, when buying seeds, you need to pay attention to the fact that the packaging indicates that this crop is suitable for sowing in the winter. It is advisable to purchase seeds immediately in a specialized store, since their high quality significantly increases the chance of getting good seedlings.
It is not necessary to treat seeds with growth stimulants before planting, since with autumn planting, there is no need to achieve their fast seedlings. On the contrary, this should not be allowed, because with their rapid germination, the probability of losing the entire crop is high.
In extreme cases, seed can be dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect from possible diseases. After soaking, they must be thoroughly dried, since the seeds for winter sowing must be dry.
When sowing carrots in the winter, the seed rate needs to be increased by 20-25% in order to be safe in case of snowless weather and thaw.
Sowing seeds in the ground
With the advent of steady colds, lowering the temperature to + 5 ° C and freezing the soil to a depth of 5-8 cm, you can start sowing seeds on frozen ground. As a rule, favorable conditions occur in late October - early November. The sowing instruction is as follows:
- If the prepared area is covered with snow, carefully clean it with a broom.
- Pour dry seeds at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other into previously prepared grooves to a depth of 1 cm (with dense soil) or 3 cm (with light soils in arid areas). Seeds can simply be sown directly on the surface of the earth.
To get the planting neat, it is better to use a special seeder for carrots, on which you can set the optimal seeding step. The consumption rate of seeds during winter planting is 0.8-1 g per 1 sq. With spring planting, this figure is 0.6-0.8 g per 1 sq. mYou can also sow radish or lettuce seeds on the garden bed so that in the spring they marked rows with carrots for more comfortable weeding of weeds and loosening of row-spacings.
- Seal the seeds with previously prepared dry soil, and then mulch the bed with organic matter with a layer of 3-4 cm. The mulch needs to be compacted so that it is not blown up by the wind.
- At the first rainfall, scoop up the snow on the bed and press with the spruce branches to cover the mulch layer. In conditions of snowy winters or areas with constant droughts, it is additionally worthwhile to carry out activities to delay snow in the garden. To do this, you need to cover it with a layer of large mulch, for example, large branches, fallen leaves, spruce and pine spruce branches.
Crops do not need to be touched until the spring thaws, because in winter the seeds will simply “sleep” in the ground.
Spring landing care
Caring for winter carrots consists in the timely implementation of a number of measures:
- When the snow begins to melt, remove the spruce branches from the beds. You can also rake some of the snow for faster melting.
- After the snow completely leaves the bed, remove all branches and grass from it. Next, set low arcs around the perimeter of the site, and stretch a film or non-woven material over them. This is done in order to protect seeds from night frosts and accelerate their germination.
- With the advent of the first shoots, remove the coating material. In this case, the weather should already be stably warm with an average daily temperature of + 15 ° C and above.
- When thick and friendly seedlings appear, it is necessary to thin the plant, leaving a distance of 1.5-2 cm between them. After 2-3 weeks, remove extra sprouts again to increase the interval to 4-6 cm, otherwise the root crops will grow very small. However, when sowing seeds using a seeder, the need for thinning may disappear altogether.
- With the appearance of the first greens on the surface of the bed, you need to start weeding. Weeds can only be removed manually, since when applying herbicides, root crops cannot be eaten for the next 4 months.
- The culture is treated from carrot pests on the 15th day after emergence. In the fight against snails and slugs, you can use Thunder or another drug.
- During the period of intensive plant growth and when 3-4 real leaves appear, carrots need to be fed. For this, it is sufficient to introduce a complex fertilizer once a row spacing with termination, for example, nitrophosphate or Fertika with the mark “universal”.
- If a dried crust appears on the soil, the soil must be watered so that it becomes evenly moist. In no case should its overmoistening be allowed, since even with a slight stagnation of water the plant can rot. After watering the soil, it is also worthwhile to cultivate row spacing.
Harvesting
When planting carrots in the winter, root crops can be harvested in the first decade of June. Their collection can be done before they reach technical maturity. The fact is that you can even eat fruits whose diameter does not exceed the thickness of a finger.
When harvesting, root crops need to be dug up or gently torn, separated from the tops and stored in a dark, cool and dry place. Carrots can not be left on the bed, because under the pressure of sunlight it will become lethargic and lose some of the nutrients.
Winter varieties of carrots are not suitable for long-term storage, so they should be eaten in the summer.
Features of growing winter carrots in different regions
Many gardeners complain that winter carrots in the spring go to the arrow. This is due to one of two reasons - sowing low-quality seeds or stress resulting from prolonged exposure to seeds in cold soil.
Despite the second reason, the seeds should still be sown in frozen soil, otherwise they can germinate before spring. Meanwhile, depending on the cultivation region, there are a number of recommendations that can be used to increase the likelihood of a rich harvest.
Moscow region
Under conditions of the middle strip, sowing of seeds should be carried out in late October - early November, when the soil temperature drops to + 2-3ºC. The weather should be stable, but with light frosts, so that before the frosts come, the seeds sown have time to swell.
Among the cold-resistant varieties of carrots for autumn sowing in the Moscow Region, the following are most suitable:
- Losinoostrovskaya-13;
- Nantes-4;
- Incomparable;
- Moscow winter;
- Callisto.
Ural
In the Urals, the same agricultural activities are carried out as in the middle lane, however, for sowing, it is better to choose seeds of such varieties as:
- Nantes-4;
- Mo;
- Moscow winter;
- Vitamin 6;
- Altai shortened;
- Incomparable.
When growing carrots in the Urals, it is important to cover the bed well for the winter with a layer of mulch and spruce branches.
Siberia
In this region, varieties that are most resistant to the most severe weather conditions are most suitable for planting before winter. These include:
- Shantane;
- Nastena is sweet;
- Altai shortened;
- Dayana;
- Queen of autumn;
- Nantes-4;
- Vitamin 6;
- Losinoostrovskaya-13.
In Siberia, sowing is best done between mid-October and mid-November.
Advantages and disadvantages of planting carrots in the winter
The benefits of planting carrots for the winter are as follows:
- The gardener manages to get an early crop of root crops. If spring carrots need to be harvested in July, then autumn carrots should be harvested in June.
- During autumn planting, with the advent of spring, seeds grow without delay, because during the period of cold weather, essential oils are weathered from them, inhibiting their germination.
- During the germination period of seeds planted in the fall, the soil has a lot of natural moisture, so you can save time on watering the beds and get more delicious carrots. It is known that natural moisture (snow, rain) contains more beneficial elements useful for plants than water from a water supply system or even a well.
- The gardener manages to unload the tight spring schedule, because in the fall much more time than in the spring.
As for the shortcomings of the autumn planting of carrots, they look like this:
- if the correct planting technology is not followed, the seeds will freeze, so it will not be possible to get a rich harvest;
- seed consumption is much higher than in spring, since from the very beginning it is necessary to rely on the fact that part of the seed material will die;
- there is a risk of spring thaws during which periods the seeds will germinate, but when the frost returns, the seedlings will freeze and die;
- winter carrots can be stored for no more than 2-3 months, so the crop often has to be sown in the spring.
Compliance with all the rules for the cultivation of carrots in the fall will allow in mid-July to get an excellent harvest. The seeds of varieties planted in the spring will only ripen at this time. Harvested root crops should be consumed in a short time, since they are not intended for long-term storage.