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Many common dishes contain carrots among their ingredients. In addition to cooking, it is widely used in folk medicine and cosmetics. Growing carrots may seem simple, but in fact this business requires knowledge and compliance with some subtleties.
Review of carrot varieties for the Leningrad region
In some regions it is worth planting specially zoned varieties. The following is how to choose the best carrots for planting in the Leningrad region.
Nantes 4
This variety is a mid-season variety; it takes from 78 to 105 days before harvesting. Carrots in the form of a cylinder grow 16 cm long, weigh about 100-120 g. The root crop is bright orange, the outer surface is smooth, there are small depressed points.
It has bright reddish flesh, juicy, aromatic, and sweet taste. This variety is considered one of the best, suitable for sowing in winter. High-yielding - about 6 kg. The plant does not resist white and gray rot. The variety is often used in industrial crops. Root vegetables are well stored during the first half of winter.
Nantskaya 14
In terms of key indicators (including the growing season, characteristics of root crops), the variety differs slightly from Nantes 4. It is also one of the most common carrot varieties among gardeners. It has an excellent taste and is stored better than the one described above.
Losinoostrovskaya 13
The variety is mid-season; it takes about 80-120 days to ripen. Carrots reach 15 cm in length, with a fairly large spread in weight - 70-155 g. The root crops of the variety grow in the form of a cylinder, the nose can be either blunt or slightly pointed. The outer surface is orange, with small dark patches. It has pleasant pulp with excellent taste.
The yield of the variety is in the range of 5-6 kg. The plant resists diseases well (it is not affected by rot as often as the Nantes 4 variety). Losinoostrovskaya carrots are characterized by a very high content of carotene, and as storage progresses, its share increases by one and a half times.
Moscow winter A-515
This carrot continues the series of mid-season varieties. Its shape is elongated, cone-shaped, the nose is blunt. The core makes up up to half of the total diameter, it has rounded or irregular outlines. The pulp is reddish-orange in color and has a good taste.
This carrot variety is high-yielding. Suitable for sowing in winter. It is considered one of the most suitable varieties for long-term storage.
Chantenay 2461
The variety bears reddish-orange fruits in the shape of a cone with a blunt end. Carrots grow about 12-18 cm long and 4-8 cm in diameter. They are early ripening varieties. It takes up to 95 days before the fruits ripen and the harvest begins.Carrots grow well in loam.
In terms of taste characteristics, the variety is inferior to the varieties mentioned above - Nantes 4 and Nantes 14. However, the fruits last longer.
Khibiny
The following variety, adapted to the conditions northwest. We can say that this is a new selection. The plant produces a bountiful harvest, and in a relatively short time. The fruits have excellent taste and are stored for a long time.
There are many varieties that are zoned for the northern regions. Although the southern regions have a slightly wider choice of varieties, those who live in cool climates can also grow carrots.
How to get an early harvest
To get an early harvest, many gardeners sow carrot seeds before winter. This should be done before the arrival of stable frosts, and you should also choose varieties intended for such cultivation. The bed for winter sowing is allocated on an area with a slight slope to the south or southwest. Thanks to the correct location, the soil will thaw faster in the spring, and water will not stagnate on the surface.
The following are the main points of soil preparation:
- They begin to prepare the bed a month before the planned sowing, until the soil is frozen and can be dug up thoroughly;
- for carrots, the area where cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, onions (any), pumpkin, and potatoes were planted this season is suitable;
- again to the same area plant carrots possible no earlier than 4 years;
- the soil in the garden bed is first cleared of remaining greenery and dug up to a depth of 35-40 cm;
- the soil is fed with fertilizer.
As fertilizers for planting carrots use humus (1-2 buckets per square meter of soil). You can also use superphosphate (half a tablespoon per meter) or potassium salt (2 teaspoons).
In addition to mineral additives, you can use regular ash. When preparing the soil, one glass per square meter is enough. If the soil is heavy, add rotted sawdust.
How to prepare a bed for carrots
After digging and fertilizing, the soil must be loosened. Furrows about 5 cm deep are formed in the garden bed. A gap of 20-25 cm is left between them. When the time comes to sow carrot seeds, the grooves will settle and their depth will reach 2-3 cm.
Soil should be poured in advance to fill the furrows when sowing carrot seeds. Until this time it will be stored in a warm room.
Sowing is done in frozen soil when low temperatures set in. This usually happens in mid-November. To ensure a sufficient number of seedlings, the seed rate per bed is increased by a quarter. When sowing is completed, the furrows are covered with previously prepared soil. A thin layer of peat or humus should be placed on top. When it snows, the bed is additionally covered.
Work in the garden in early spring
When spring begins, it's time to get back to working in the garden. In order for the snow to melt faster and the earth to begin to warm up, the snow is removed immediately. Sometimes peat is scattered over the surface. Dark fertilizer heats up faster in the sun, so the remaining snow melts off the garden bed faster.
There is another opportunity to speed up the ripening of carrots. A shelter is installed over the garden bed. For this:
- fix arcs along the entire length of the bed;
- non-woven material (film, spunbond, etc.) is laid on top of the arcs.
List of works upon emergence of shoots
The carrot bed needs to be well looked after. The gardener needs:
- loosen the soil;
- free the garden bed from weeds;
- thin out sprouts;
- Fertilize in a timely manner.
Loosening is important because after this procedure the flow of oxygen to the sprouts improves. When the soil dries, you need to loosen the spaces between the rows.
A couple of weeks after the sprouts emerge, the weeds should be removed. At the same time, the carrots are thinned out. There should be a distance of 2 cm between the plants. After two and a half weeks, thinning is repeated. Now you need to leave 5 cm between the sprouts.
If necessary, the soil can be fertilized again. To do this, nitrogen fertilizer is placed along the furrows in the proportion of half a tablespoon per square meter. With winter planting, a fresh carrot harvest can be obtained in the first half of June.
Harvest details
The harvest is harvested at different times. They are determined by the characteristics of the variety. First it is carried out harvesting carrots, planted in winter. When thinning is carried out a second time, young vegetables of any variety are already suitable for consumption. The established standard for ripe carrots is 3 cm in diameter.
Thorough cleaning is carried out before frost. This time usually falls at the end of September. The method of harvesting carrots is also determined by the characteristics of the variety. If the root crops are short or medium in length, they are pulled out with the tops. For long carrots you will need a shovel or a pitchfork. Next, the crop is sorted.For long-term storage, only undamaged fruits of the appropriate varieties are left.
Carrots are one of the cold-resistant crops. However, when planting in a northwestern climate, it is recommended to give preference to zoned varieties. Many gardeners practice winter planting of a number of varieties. It allows you to harvest carrots in early June.
