How often to water carrots in the open field: how to do it right, is it necessary

Carrot, one of the most unpretentious crops, gratefully responding with a good harvest with a minimum of effort even for a novice gardener. However, information on how to water carrots in the open field should be studied by the owner of the plot before the seeds are planted in the ground. This is necessary so that all the efforts made to obtain a good harvest are not in vain due to non-compliance with the simplest conditions for proper watering.

Pre-watering before planting

With the right approach to growing carrots, the first watering is carried out six months before planting the seeds - that is, in the fall, after digging and fertilizing the soil "in winter".Such a thorough cultivation of the land does not exempt the gardener from a complete repetition of the entire process, when the soil warms up, and it will be possible to start planting. Moistening the soil before sowing with warm water is a prerequisite for outdoor carrot seeds planted 1-1 ½ cm deep to remain in the ground and not float to the surface with the flow of water.

The first watering of carrots, that is, the soil for planting, must be completed with the obligatory preservation of the moisture introduced into the soil and, at the same time, protecting future plants from night frosts. Open ground, after planting seeds in a convenient way (on a tape or piece sowing), is covered with a plastic film, which is not removed until the next watering.

From the very beginning of the simple science of horticulture, learn an important rule that applies to all garden crops without exception - never water with a hose connected directly to the faucet. Low temperatures are poorly perceived by plants, regardless of the varietal affiliation of the future vegetable, and cold tap water, in addition, also contains heavy impurities that settle in the soil.

Irrigation rates

How often should carrots be watered after planting? At the stage when all the forces of the seed go to the release of the root system, the future carrot must be kept in constant dampness, but without much zeal. Settled water, in such an amount that it does not stand in the recess of the row, can be dispersed from an ordinary watering can, and the procedure itself should take place at least once every five days. After 2-3 hours after watering, the bed should be gently plowed, avoiding the formation of a hard crust.

After the formation of tops in the amount of 2-4 shoots released, the plant is watered less often, but still the number of waterings should correspond to a constant light soil moisture - this is at least 4 times a month.During the development of carrot tops and the degree of maturity of the root crop, the amount of moisture will vary.

How often should carrots be watered outdoors? There is no definite scheme for these variations, since the level of aridity and precipitation in each region is different, but the approximate norms may look like this:

When the first shoots appear (May), the norm is set from 5 to 6 liters of water per 1 m3^{2. How often carrots need to be watered is decided based on weather conditions, but the average per month is 7 times;}
At the next stage, which falls in June, the number of irrigations is reduced to four, and the volume of liquid reaches 12 liters per 1 m3^2;
In August, water the beds no more than twice a month, spending water according to the initial volume - within 6 liters per 1 m2^2.

Stop moistening the soil about three weeks before harvest and at the same time make the last dressing in the form of s alt or nitrate.

Auto Watering Method

Sprinkler systems - automatic supply of beds with the necessary amount of water with its uniform distribution over the soil - are now experiencing a boom in popularity. Moisture falls on the ground not under direct pressure, which inevitably leads to erosion of the open ground and glossing it under a dense crust, but after crushing the jet into small drops.

Such proper watering does not require repeated loosening of the soil - the earth will remain loose and saturated with oxygen.

Auto-irrigation intensity can be adjusted in such a way that the mass of moisture falling on the soil does not stagnate in the rows and between them, but completely penetrates the ground. This is the only disadvantage of the method - sprinkling all the time takes place at a constantly set supply and the adjustment will have to be done manually.

Liquid top dressing for root crops

The pecking of the first green growth from the soil serves as a signal in order to stop top dressing applied to the soil. Until the tops form into a small panicle, any additional micronutrient introduced along with watering can burn the young plant and interrupt the growth of the vegetable. Only the formation of 2-4 full-fledged branches allows the use of a low-concentration nutrient composition dissolved in water.

How to properly water carrots with diluted feed concentrates? If you prefer to use organics, then pour the beds with a solution containing chicken manure, prepared in this way: pour organics with cold water 1:5, clean for 7 days in a cool place, and then dilute the resulting thick, using again cold water, dilute 1:10.

At the moment when you water the beds with carrots with this composition, make sure that the liquid does not get on the plants themselves. It is best to water strictly between rows.

The feeding of diluted cow manure is organized in the same way, however, for the development of a good strong rhizome, chicken manure is preferable.

Mineral fertilizers - potassium sulfate with urea, are applied to the soil 3 weeks after organic feeding. For 2 teaspoons of sulfate diluted in 10 liters of water, take an incomplete 1 teaspoon of urea, which is also diluted in a small volume of liquid.

When calculating the proportions, try not to fill your carrot garden with high concentrations of fertilizers - this greatly reduces the period of subsequent storage of the vegetable. Carrots, with the accumulation of sulfate fertilizer, quickly begin to rot.

Aqueous brine

To make the root crop sweeter and juicier, fertilizing with simple table s alt will help. The only drawback of this solution is that even if you are not a fan of using organics in the garden, in the next planting year you will have to use it anyway to saturate the earth, which is somewhat de-energized with s alt water.

To dilute the s alt concentrate, take 2 teaspoons of coarse s alt (not iodized) and dissolve until all crystals disappear completely in 10 liters of water. Water only pre-moistened soil with this solution, ideally after a good downpour, when the earth is saturated with soft rainwater.

A similar result in order for carrots to please with sweetness is obtained by diluting s altpeter or wood ash.

Saline solution will help get rid of two more misfortunes that await during the care of growing carrots - these are mold and slugs, willingly devouring root crops. Both factors are formed due to excess moisture in the soil, which does not always depend on irrigation, but is most often the result of heavy rains.

Do I need to water carrots then at all, if the vegetable is already immersed in water? A few liters of s alted water, in terms of the level of humidity, will no longer play a big role, but a weak degree of disinfection from pests and fungus will definitely not hurt carrots.In total, it is recommended to make 4 "s alty" waterings per season.

Secrets of proper watering from experienced gardeners

It happens that even a perfect planting and most of the care recommendations followed with accuracy do not save you from disappointment at the time of harvest. Vegetables come to the surface pale, clumsy and branched into many unnecessary shoots. What is the matter and is it worth it to stop your gardening experiments?

This result is, as a rule, the error of improper soil moisture, or rather, poor penetration of moisture to the entire required depth of root formation. The roots that determine the level of moisture are thin white hairs that sensitively capture any changes in the saturation of the soil with water.

Beginning to dry up, they stop growing down, and start looking for ways to get water in other directions. From here we get strange, outstretched arms and legs of rhizomes, not suitable for cooking.

Correction of the error is possible no later than a month before digging up the crop. Between the rows, grooves should be dug 10-12 cm deep, then the garden needs to be watered, but the emphasis should be on filling these grooves to the top - this will make it easier for moisture to penetrate to the desired depth.

Get in the habit of collecting rainwater and using it for irrigation. If only tap water is available, it takes at least three days to defend it in a container. One day is enough for well water, but only if during this time it has time to warm up well to 18-21

It was not without reason that the minimum number of required irrigations was mentioned several times in the article, however, it is not as important to carry out the entire quantitative number of procedures as it is to correctly organize the regularity with which they will be performed. Root crops will not crack and will not lose their taste if instead of 8 waterings (of course, with warm, not ice water), you produce 6, but “lame” pause times can completely ruin the crop and make any efforts in vain.