What is the best month to plant carrots
The following is an introduction to the topic of when it is most suitable to plant carrots and the methods and timing of carrot cultivation for netizens. Let's learn about it together.
Carrots are annual or biennial herbaceous plants of the Apiaceae family and Daucus genus. They are also known as red carrots, clove carrots, foreign carrots, and golden bamboo shoots. Carrots are adaptable, have few diseases and pests, are easy to cultivate, have high yields, and are resistant to storage and transportation. They are one of the main vegetables in winter.
Carrots are semi-cold-tolerant vegetables. They have a developed root system with deep distribution, can utilize deep soil moisture, and require soil moisture content of 60-70%. They are the strongest drought-resistant vegetable among root vegetables. It is best to plant carrots in loose and well-ventilated loamy or sandy loam soil, choosing deep, fertile, and well-drained soil. Carrots are divided into red-skinned and yellow-skinned types according to the color of the flesh.
I. Carrot Planting Time
Planting carrots too early can easily cause bolting, resulting in lush carrot leaves and flowers, but no required thick, tender, crisp, and sweet carrots underground. If planted too late, it will affect yield, with small and poor-quality radishes, which is a serious issue to consider.
The general sowing time for spring carrots is from mid-March to the end of April. The sowing time for autumn and winter carrots is generally from July to August. In the southern regions, it is usually sown from the first ten days of July to the end of August and harvested in the last ten days of December. In the northern regions, spring sowing is adopted.
II. Carrot Cultivation Techniques
1. Land Preparation and Fertilization
Choose sandy loam soil with deep layers, good drainage, few weeds, and loose texture. Deeply plow the land and apply 1000-1500 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer, 100-200 kg of wood ash, and 8-10 kg of calcium superphosphate per mu. Mix the fertilizer into the soil, level the land, and make ridges. Generally, high ridges are used for cultivation, with ridge widths of 100-130 cm and heights of 15-20 cm.
2. Sowing
Seed Treatment
Due to the special structure of carrot seeds and the high temperature and heavy rainfall during the sowing season, it is difficult for seeds to germinate and emerge. Therefore, before sowing, the spiny hairs of the seeds should be rubbed off to separate the two halves into single seeds for even sowing. Carrot seeds absorb water slowly and germinate late. Pre-germination sowing can accelerate seedling emergence. The method is to soak the seeds in 40℃ warm water for 2 hours after removing the spiny hairs, then take them out and place them in a room at 20-25℃ to germinate, maintaining suitable humidity and turning them regularly to keep the temperature and humidity even. When the radicle of most seeds is visible, sowing can proceed.
Sowing Method
During the hot season, 2-5% of Pak Choi can be added to the sowing, allowing the earlier-growing Pak Choi to provide shade for the carrot seedlings. First, sprinkle diluted human and animal urine on the prepared sowing ridge to increase soil moisture. After the urine has渗透 the soil, broadcasting or sowing at a row spacing of 15-20 cm can be done. Cover with 1.5-2 cm of fine soil or drag repeatedly with bamboo branches, then cover with straw to cool and retain moisture. Pak Choi will germinate first and can provide shade for the carrot seedlings, which should be pulled out during thinning. Broadcast sowing requires 1-1.5 kg of seeds per mu, and row sowing requires about 0.7 kg.
3. Field Management
Thinning and Weeding: Carrot seeds generally germinate in 7-10 days. After germination, promptly remove the covering straw. During the hot and rainy season, weeds grow quickly, so it's essential to remove them during thinning. Thinning is usually done 2-3 times, the first time when there are 1-2 true leaves, thinning weak and inferior seedlings to keep a spacing of about 3 cm. The second time is when there are 3-4 leaves, this time, if final thinning, keep a spacing of 12-15 cm. If the final thinning is done after the third thinning, the spacing in the second thinning is about 6 cm. The third thinning and final thinning are done when the carrot seedlings have 4-5 leaves.
Water and Fertilizer Management: As the germination period of carrot seeds coincides with the hot summer season, to ensure even seedling emergence, it is necessary to keep the soil moist, with soil moisture content of 60-80% being suitable. When the leaves are growing vigorously, water should be controlled to prevent lodging. During the enlargement period of the carrot roots, it is important to water to promote rapid enlargement of the flesh. Fertilization of carrots focuses on base fertilizer, with topdressing generally done 2-3 times, preferably with decomposed human and animal urine or chemical fertilizers. The first application is done when there are 3-4 leaves, and the second after thinning. Since carrots are very sensitive to fertilizers, avoid using high-concentration fertilizers.
Preventing Early Bolting of Carrots: When the flesh of carrots has not yet reached the mature edible stage and encounters temperatures of 1-5℃ and more than 12 hours of long-daylight, it can meet the requirements for the vernalization of carrots, causing early bolting and rendering the carrots unusable. This often occurs due to improper variety selection, mixed varieties, unsuitable sowing time, and poor field management. The key to preventing early bolting is to avoid conditions that induce vernalization during the vegetative growth period of carrots. Choose pure and suitable varieties, choose the right sowing time, and strengthen field management to promote leaf growth.
Preventing Cracking and Forking of Carrot Flesh: The main cause of cracking in carrots is uneven supply of soil moisture during the growth period. The preventive method is to water early in the growth stage, especially during dry spells, and water evenly during the middle and later stages when the flesh is enlarging. Cracking in carrots is also caused by shallow and hard soil layers or obstacles in the soil such as stones and tree roots. The preventive method is to deeply plow the land and remove hard debris during land preparation. Avoid using fresh manure and plant with proper density.
4. Disease and Pest Control
Carrots have fewer diseases than other vegetables but can sometimes suffer from black leaf blight and rot. Black leaf blight is often caused by dry weather, so it is important to strengthen water and fertilizer management and ensure healthy plants, which will result in fewer diseases. If diseased plants are found, they should be removed promptly and Bordeaux mixture should be sprayed to prevent the spread. Rot occurs mostly in hot and rainy seasons, manifested as root rot and yellowing wilt. It is necessary to practice reasonable crop rotation, thoroughly turn and晒 the soil, remove diseased plants, and消毒 with lime to prevent the spread.
Pest control in carrot seedlings includes the larvae of the cutworm moth. When found, spray with a 90% diazinon solution (1000 times), 50% dichlorvos solution (800-1000 times), or 50% phoxim solution (2000-2500 times).
5. Harvesting
The harvesting period of carrots varies by variety. Harvesting can proceed when the central leaves of the carrot plants show a yellowish-green color, the outer leaves are slightly yellowed, the roots are enlarged, cracks appear on the surface, or the root head is slightly exposed above the soil surface.
6. Seed Saving
The method of saving carrot seeds involves selecting carrots with the characteristics of the original variety, few leaves, small root heads, neat shapes, no forking, and smooth skin at harvest. Cut off more than one-third of the carrot root and select those with small core columns for seed saving, cutting off the above-ground leaves, leaving only the petioles for planting, with row and plant spacing of 50 cm. To prevent hybridization with other varieties and wild carrots, they should be isolated by 2000 meters. Before planting, apply 1000 kg of decomposed manure as a base fertilizer per mu. Carrots have a strong branching ability, so it is necessary to prune, leaving the main stem and 4-5 lateral branches, removing the rest to ensure uniform maturity of the seeds. Generally, mature seeds are harvested from the middle of June. Note that if the carrot roots are not cut off by more than one-third and replanted, the seeds produced will not easily grow flesh roots, will bloom quickly, and will not have flesh roots, which we call "full garden flowers."
The above information on the best month to plant carrots and the methods and timing of carrot cultivation is for your reference.