I have been growing carrots for many years, but I still learn something new about gardening techniques. Not so long ago I tried to sow this vegetable with toilet paper ribbons. I can not call this method ideal, but perhaps it will be of interest to some of you.
What is the point
If very briefly, the method consists in the fact that carrot seeds are selected in advance, pasted on paper, which is then simply unwound over the beds and sprinkled with earth. After a few days, the paper rots and the seeds are properly planted.
The advantages of this method:
- accuracy of landing;
- saving seed material - no need to pull out, thin out crops;
- seed selection before sowing;
- the same occurrence of seeds in the ground and friendly seedlings;
- seeds are not washed out in the first days;
But I did not say in vain that the method is not ideal. It has a couple of serious drawbacks:
- laboriousness - cut the tape, lay out the seeds with tweezers, stick them... in general, a lot of work;
- carrots will rise later - until the paper gets wet and rots, the seeds will not start growing.
Preparing for landing
First you need to prepare the seeds themselves. I use the old tried and true method, the saline test. In a liter of boiled water, I dissolve a tablespoon of salt and pour seeds into it. Then I see what happened. What is still floating in five minutes - I carefully pick it up with a strainer... and throw it away - it will not rise. The sunken seeds in a colander with a fine mesh are carefully washed from salt, then soaked for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried.
It's time to prepare the paste. Here is a recipe worked out by generations:
- 1 cup boiling water;
- 1 teaspoon starch;
- stir until completely dissolved and let it brew and cool.
The paste hardens quickly, so I cook it right on the day the seeds are labeled.
As for the paper, everything is simple here: I rewind along the length of the future bed (I have everything marked out in advance in the garden) and cut it off. If the paper is very wide, sometimes I cut it lengthwise, but usually I just stick the seeds in two rows - then when planting, you will get two beds at once.
Sticking is the hardest part. I draw a paste into the syringe, drip it on paper in the right place, put a seed with tweezers and let the paste seize - this is about a day. Then I fold the paper, but not very tight.
The main trick here is the location of the seeds. There will be no thinning and overseeding, so I expect in advance that there are 4 cm between rows and the same amount between seeds in a row.
sowing itself
The sowing procedure is very simple:
- I'm preparing the site. It must be dug up on a spade bayonet, and then carefully harrowed with a small rake.
- I mark the future beds. I have a ripper with a triangular blade for this business for a long time, it is very convenient for them to draw on the garden bed.
- I thoroughly spill the beds from the watering can without a nozzle and let the water soak in slightly.
- I unwind paper strips with seeds in the garden and sprinkle them with a layer of fertile soil.
- I water the second time, but with a grid, so as not to wash the soil over the strips.
That's it, the carrots are sown.
Little tricks
Additionally, you can do the following:
- Sprout carrots before planting. To do this, keep the rolls in a warm (not lower than +25 ° C) room, moistening regularly. The main subtlety here is that the paper is moist enough for the development of seeds, but not enough to deoxidize the paste and the paper base itself. So the seeds are kept for about a week, on the last day before planting, I do not moisten them - the paper should dry out so as not to spread in my fingers.
- Shelter. If the weather is too hot, I protect the beds with carrots from drying out with a layer of hay 5-7 cm thick.
Care
Carrots do not require special care after planting in this way, but something needs to be done:
- Regular hydration. The bed will dry out - the paper will not get wet, and the paste will seize again, then the end of the seeds. So moderate watering is needed every day or at least once every two days - until the first shoots appear.
- Forget about loosening the soil. It is too easy to damage the tape and pull it out of the soil.
Conclusion
I'm not sure that I will use the planting of carrots with paper, but the technique seemed interesting to me, and I got good results: all the carrots sprouted, the harvest was no worse than with the traditional cultivation.
Have you tried this method?
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#sowing carrots#toilet paper#garden