To grow beautiful and large root vegetables, you need to choose the right place to plant carrots.
Today you will learn what factors influence the growth and development of carrots and how to prepare the soil for planting them.
Lighting
The first thing to pay attention to is lighting. Carrots love the sun and grow well in open and warm areas.
If you plant carrots in the shade or under shading plants, they will stretch upwards rather than into the ground, and produce small, low-quality root vegetables. Therefore, choose the sunniest places in your garden for carrots.
Soil composition
The second thing to consider is the composition and structure of the soil. Carrots prefer light, fertile and loose soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.
Heavy, clayey or acidic soils are not suitable for carrots, as they make it difficult for the roots to penetrate deeply and contribute to their deformation and disease.
Before planting carrots, you need to dig the soil thoroughly to a depth of 25-30 cm, remove stones, weeds and plant debris.
It is also advisable to add organic or mineral fertilizers such as humus, compost, ash, phosphorus or potassium.
Planting dates
Carrots can be sown both in early spring and in autumn.
Early planting allows you to get fresh young carrots at the beginning of summer, and autumn planting allows you to store root crops until next year.
The optimal time to plant carrots depends on the climate of your region and the carrot variety.
In general, you can focus on the soil temperature: it should not be lower than 8-10 degrees. This usually occurs in April-May or September-October.
Previously, we talked in more detail about how to grow tasty and large strawberries.
