What do you need to remember to grow and maintain your carrot harvest?

Outdoor carrots: choosing carrot seeds

Today, few people imagine their daily diet without carrots, because its beneficial properties are beyond doubt, therefore, planting this root crop in our garden plots is one of the largest. The agricultural technology of carrots is quite simple, the culture is not whimsical, frost-resistant, so many people manage to grow carrots in the open field, but it is not always possible to save them.

What should be remembered if we want to consume our own grown carrots as long as possible.

Of course, you need to start with the choice of seeds. Mid-season varieties are distinguished by good keeping quality, late-ripening carrots are well stored. You need to store ripe root crops. Therefore, it is necessary to correlate the ripening time of the variety indicated on the seed bag with the climatic conditions of your region in order to understand whether the weather conditions will allow you to wait for the full ripening of the crop. It should be noted that breeders are constantly engaged in breeding such varieties of carrots that would grow well and mature in the climatic conditions of a particular region. Therefore, it is advisable to take a closer look at the varieties released for your region. Such carrots are already adapted to certain weather conditions, including: humidity, night and day temperatures, which affect the growth and maturation of the root crop.

Some time ago, it was believed that it is better to store a blunt-nosed cylindrical carrot. It is erroneous, among the mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties, which, as we remember, are best stored, there are root crops of various shapes: blunt-nosed, pointed-nosed, cylindrical, conical and spindle-shaped.

Do not forget to pay attention to the shelf life of the seed material, because in carrots it is not so long - two, three years.

And, of course, be guided by your taste preferences.

Outdoor carrots: planting carrot seeds

When planting carrots intended for storage, gardeners are advised to arrange the seeds in the hole so that, in the future, they do not have to thin out the sprouts. After pulling the carrot, we leave small holes in which the carrot fly can lay the larvae, which, as a result, will lead to damage or loss of the crop.

Signs of ripening and harvest time of carrots

Surely, most gardeners, including taste, are independently able to determine the degree of ripeness of carrots. Nevertheless, we recall which of the external signs indicate the need to dig up root crops. So, at the carrot tops, the lower and middle leaves begin to turn yellow. Please note that if the yellowing of the tops begins long before the ripening period, this may indicate a disease, we treat with fungicides.

The ripening of carrots can be judged by the presence of very thin white roots on the fruits. And if you notice cracks in the roots, the carrots begin to outgrow, you need to start digging as soon as possible, since further delay will only contribute to an increase in the number of such carrots and a decrease in your harvestable storage.

In order not to miss the ripening period, starting from the third decade of August, it is recommended to dig up roots every five days, assessing ripeness.

Our ancestors tried to remove carrots and other root crops until September 26 (according to the church calendar - the day of St. Cornelius), it was believed that from that day “the root no longer grows, but chills”.

It is better to harvest the carrots that you plan to store in dry, sunny weather, before the seasonal rains begin. Because when you dig up roots from wet soil, trying to peel off the soil, you can damage the skin quite badly, which will also negatively affect the shelf life.

If you manage to harvest in good weather, then it is enough to dry the carrots for several hours. If the weather has failed, then evenly lay out the roots in a dry room and dry them for several days.

It should be noted that many gardeners, in addition to the tops, cut off the upper part a little. If you leave small increments of tops, then after a while they will start growing, taking moisture from the root crop.

Selection of carrots for storage

Select carrots for storage carefully, reject damaged roots without sparing. Such specimens are more susceptible to pathogenic microbes and can cause spoilage of part of the crop.

Carrots that have mechanical damage (not related to spoilage, signs of illness) can be sent for processing, for example, dried carrot tea. Have you tried such a tasty treat?

Storage methods for carrots

The most important thing is to decide on a way to store carrots. What methods do gardeners use to preserve their harvest. After all, it is necessary to provide such conditions so that the root crops not only do not deteriorate, but also do not dry out, do not germinate.

The best option, as noted by most gardeners, is still a cellar, basement. There, the carrots are placed in boxes, sprinkled with onion peels, sawdust, which, by the way, also protect vegetables from rot.

They also practice storing carrots in sand, both slightly damp and dry.

A rather laborious, but also quite effective way of storing carrots in a clay shell.

The choice of storage method is a case when you don't know until you try it, and you can't do without errors. Well, will you scare our gardener with anything?