Content
Many garden crops cause trouble with sowing. These include carrots. Small seeds are difficult to sow evenly, then you have to thin out the seedlings. In some places there are bald spots. Gardeners are always looking for ways to plant carrots efficiently, while simplifying work on the ground and saving their time. Among these finds is sowing carrot seeds on toilet paper or tape.
To understand why this method has gained popularity, you should look at its advantages:
- The most attractive feature is that there is no need to thin out the seedlings. This operation takes a lot of time. And if you have to do thinning under the scorching sun, it is also unpleasant. In the case of strip planting, the need for thinning either disappears completely, or this action is performed very quickly.
- Good adhesion to the ground. If after sowing carrots in the traditional way there is a heavy downpour, then many of the seeds are simply washed away with water. But when they are planted on a tape, this trouble does not threaten you, and there is no need to re-sow the carrots.
But, as with any method, you need to sow carrots on a tape correctly.
Rules for extraordinary sowing of root crops
How to plant carrots on a tape so as not to be disappointed with the result. Any technology requires preparation. In our case, we will need to prepare the soil, seeds, and stick them on tape. Modern seed manufacturers produce seeds on a tape in a production version. Therefore, let's start with preparing the soil, since this stage is always necessary.
Land preparation
You need to start a couple of weeks before sowing carrots on the tape. The soil is carefully loosened to a depth of 10 cm and immediately leveled with a rake. Such preparation will be sufficient if you dug this area deeply in the fall. If you have recently become an owner and do not know what manipulations were carried out with the soil in the fall, then dig up the soil using a shovel bayonet with the addition of 1/3 of the recommended dose of complex mineral fertilizer.
Planting carrots on tape
Loosen the soil again and make grooves.
It is enough to lay them about 2 cm deep with the handle of a shovel. Water the soil well, then place ribbons with carrot seeds at the bottom of the furrow. Water the tape well again and sprinkle it with dry soil. Lay the tape or toilet paper so that the seeds are on top.
Some vegetable growers sow carrots without sticking the seeds onto the tape. They lay a strip of toilet paper (thin) at the bottom of the groove, carefully distribute the seeds on top, cover with a second strip and sprinkle with earth. The layers of paper and soil are carefully moistened.
If there is no precipitation, water the beds more often.If there is enough rain, just make sure that the soil does not dry out.
Purchased carrot seeds on a tape do not require pre-treatment. We simply sow them in the ground using the strip laying method. But not always a favorite or suitable variety can be found on sale in this form. Therefore, summer residents prepare their own planting material on toilet paper in advance with their own hands.
Preparing the tape for planting
To stick carrot seeds, you need paper with a loose texture. Toilet tape or strips of newspaper work well.
However, newsprint is not the best option for carrots. This can easily be explained by the presence of paint components that negatively affect the crop. So let's focus on toilet paper.
It is cut into strips 2 cm wide, you choose the length yourself. You can lay several pieces in one furrow, or you can cut long strips. The paper is ready, let's start preparing the carrot seeds for gluing.
We will first carry out calibration (selection). Place carrot seeds in a saline solution (1 teaspoon of salt per glass of water) and stir. Those that float up are removed, and only those that have sunk to the bottom are selected for sowing. The next stage is washing the seeds with clean water and drying.
While the seeds are drying, prepare the paste. It is cooked either from flour or starch.
Option using potato starch
For half a liter of finished paste you need:
- bring 400 ml of plain water to a boil (turn off the heat);
- Dissolve an additional 2 tablespoons of starch in 100 ml of warm water, stirring constantly;
- Bring the water to a boil again and pour in the mixed starch in a thin stream.
The finished composition should not be thick.
Using flour
Flour paste is boiled in an enamel container in a component ratio of 1 tbsp.spoon of flour and 100 ml of water.
How does the process of gluing carrot seeds onto toilet paper work? There are two options:
- Dip the match into the paste after cooling. Then touch the seed and transfer it to paper with the same match along with a drop of glue. The seeds are glued at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other.
- Place droplets of paste on the paper at the same distance, and then transfer carrot seeds into the droplet with a match.
The tapes dry out within 24 hours after gluing. After drying, they can be removed before sowing.
Many gardeners really like this method, but everyone sows in their own way. If you prefer pelleted seeds or the traditional method of planting carrots, that's fine too. But the described method of sowing on a tape greatly simplifies the process of caring for the crop. The seeds are glued at an equal distance, which saves gardeners from first thinning the carrot beds. In the future, make sure that the root crops grow at a distance of at least 3 cm from each other.
Caring for carrots sown on tape is no different from the classic one. Watering - as needed, loosening and weeding. It is enough to feed carrots only twice per season. First feeding a month after germination, then a second time - two months later.
An interesting way to stick seeds on a napkin
In this case, you immediately form your own bed. Place the seeds 5cm apart and your garden bed is ready.
To feed the carrots immediately at the time of sowing, you can add mineral fertilizer to the paste. One tablespoon per liter of liquid is enough.
Conclusion
To conduct it correctly sowing carrots It’s good to watch a video on the tape with explanations of each action.Summer residents are happy to share their new products, so video instructions are always useful.
