Features planting carrots for the winter and caring for it

There are many advantages to planting carrots in the winter.

But the main one is that this juicy, vitamin-filled root crop will ripen a few weeks earlier than any spring vegetable varieties.

However, to achieve the best results, you should understand all the features of this process.

Advantages of winter planting

Many vegetable growers practice sowing carrots as in springboth in winter. Moreover, the winter landing has a number of advantages over the spring. These include:

• Early harvest. The root crop becomes usable in early summer, when most other crops are just beginning to spill.
• Convenient period for a sowing campaign. Since the harvest was already harvested in all the gardens in late autumn, the grower has enough time to slowly plant carrots in the winter, observing all the rules of this process.
• Reasonable use of landing space. On the vacant summer after harvesting carrots the land can be grownl cabbage, beets, leaf salads, legumes.
• Good taste and quality characteristics of the product. In spring, the vegetable is saturated with a large amount of nutrients, due to which it grows sugary and large.
• Excellent root resistance to diseases and pests.

This vegetable is not able to lie until winter, so a thrifty gardener with the onset of spring will have to additionally sow carrots to provide it with supplies for the cold season.

Frost-resistant vegetable varieties

Buying seeds for sowing is in specialized stores, where the likelihood of acquiring falsified and low-quality goods is much less. From the presented assortment it is better to choose frost-resistant and early grades. Seeds that do not meet these requirements may simply die.

Of the best options should be highlighted:

• "Nantes 4". A characteristic feature is excellent survival in any soil. Plant shoots hatch quite quickly, with the onset of the first warm days. The fruits are juicy, tasty, with a dense texture. The percentage of dying seeds is minimal.
• "NIIOKH 336". Differs in the best frost resistance among all other grades. He feels great in the soils of the northern regions of Russia with severe winters.
• "Vitamin 6". Carrots have high yields and low maintenance. The fruits are tasty, without bitterness, saturated color and with a high content of keratin.
• "Beauty is a girl." Not the most resistant to severe frosts. But carrots are very juicy and perfect for making juices.
• "Losinoostrovskaya 13". It has excellent resistance to decay and mold, well stored. The fruits are tasty, but not large.

The material is used ordinary, but at the same time the soil is planted abundantly, since with the onset of cold weather part of it will freeze and will not germinate. Soaking seeds before placement in the soil is not recommended, so that they do not sprout before the start of frost.

Favorable terms

A good vegetable crop can only be achieved with timely sowing. Too early or late planting of material in the ground can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Dates of planting carrots before winter they depend on the climatic features of each individual region. It is important to remember that the air temperature should not rise above +5 ° C, otherwise the seeds will germinate prematurely and die from the effects of frost.

The zone of the Moscow Region, in which the temperate continental climate prevails, is characterized by good predictability of weather conditions. Seasonality in this area is expressed quite clearly, and steady colds occur at the junction of October and November, and are not accompanied by return thaws. It is during this period that seed should be planted in the ground.

In the Urals, winter usually goes with severe frosts. In this regard, sown beds in the region are additionally covered with needles or sawdust to protect seeds from freezing. Material is usually planted in early November, but taking into account possible temperature fluctuations.

In Siberia, the first frosts occur early and often happen already in September, but can be accompanied by thaws, so you should not rush into planting a root crop. The optimal period for planting carrots in the winter is the second half of October. Vegetable beds are best located in elevated areas where, with the onset of spring, snow will melt first, providing an opportunity for sprouts to appear.

Leningrad region is characterized by windy and rainy autumn weather with frequent cyclones and return thaws.

Process features

In order to plant carrots correctly in the winter, during the organization of this process, attention must be paid to crop rotation rates.

Excessive sensitivity to predecessors is not typical for the root crop, however, some preferences still exist.

Soil treatment

The landing site should be located on a sunny, flat place where the snow will begin to melt earlier, and the meltwater will not wash the beds. The most favorable are sandy loam soils and organic areas enriched with organic matter that have been cultivated.

The land before sowing is preliminarily cleared of the remains of previous plants, since larvae of harmful insects and pathogens can accumulate in them. After this, the soil is thoroughly loosened and additionally fertilized. The site is dug up to a depth of approximately 30 cm. At the same time, make humus with mineral fertilizersrich in potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. The amount of these substances depends on the fertility of the soil. Manure can be entered only in a rotted form, so as not to impair the quality of root crops.

5 cm deep holes are cut in the prepared ground. They should be located no closer than 20 cm relative to each other.

The bottom of the grooves is slightly compacted using the edges of a wooden board and left until frost.To prevent erosion of the beds, it is recommended to cover them with non-woven material or film.

It is important to store land for dusting crops in a heated, damp-proofed room. It should remain dry and crumbly. Additionally stock up the mulching material (straw, sawdust).

Seeding and care

After freezing the soil to a depth of 5 cm, you can start sowing carrots. If the autumn is warm, as it happens, for example, in Ukraine, planting is postponed until the very end of November, or even the beginning of December. Exact dates are best determined by observing the weather. If snow has fallen before sowing, it is simply gently thrown back from the bed.

The bottom of the hole is sprinkled with a two-centimeter layer of dry soil, after which it is densely sown with seeds. Next, the beds are covered with earth and insulated with mulching material. Depending on the region of planting, the thickness of the top layer may vary. Typically, this figure is about 2-3 cm. With the onset of frost, the beds are sprinkled with snow.

Until spring, no additional crop care is needed. But with the onset of warming, it is recommended to build a small greenhouse to accelerate the emergence of seedlings. To do this, you can simply cover the beds with a film.

Farmers Mistakes

In most cases, problems with growing carrots are associated with violations of its agricultural technology. The reasons for the absence and depletion of seedlings, as well as the improper formation of fruits can be several factors:

• Old, last year's seeds. Sowing material must be fresh. Carrot seeds already in the second year lose their germination by 50%, and after another 12 months, this figure drops to 30%.
• Sowing on a snow cover. In this case, the gardener runs the risk of simply being left without seeds, which, when the thaw begins, will melt water. If the beds are covered with snow before planting carrots, they must be thoroughly cleaned to the ground.
• Excessive top dressing nitrogen-containing fertilizers. If the soil is oversaturated with this mineral, the root crops will be crooked, bifurcated and intertwined. Although the cause of the unusual shape of the vegetable can be an excessively high soil density.
• Not removed with the onset of warming mulch. If you do not clean the beds on time, the ground under the mulching layer will remain frozen for a long time, which will significantly slow down the germination of seedlings.

And if you organize the cultivation of vegetables in compliance with all the rules, then the harvest will certainly please both quantity and quality.