Thanks to the correct work on the garden plot, even clay soil becomes a reliable basis for many crops. Not all gardeners manage to grow carrots on loam, because this type of soil becomes viscous in wet weather, and in dry weather it hardens strongly. The advantages of clay soil include its ability to retain moisture and nutrients, as well as heat.
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Choosing a place for planting and varieties of carrots
It is recommended to make a bed for sowing carrots in the place where such crops grew before:
- radish;
- squash;
- tomatoes;
- beet;
- cucumbers;
- potatoes;
- cabbage (preferable early or cauliflower);
- zucchini;
- onion;
- pumpkin;
- legumes.
You should not plant carrots in an area where the predecessors were:
- celery;
- dill;
- parsley and other umbrella crops.
It is not recommended to sow carrots in the same garden every year.
To get a good harvest, you need to select seeds that are suitable for the loam. Preference should be given to varieties with short roots and a blunt end. It will be easier for such vegetables to grow in dense and heavy soil. The most suitable varieties for loam include:
- Round baby;
- Carotel Parisian;
- Samson;
- Mars;
- Shantane;
- Polar cranberry;
- Canada;
- Boltex;
- Rote rizen.
Growing process
To get a good harvest from heavy soil, it is recommended to build high beds for carrots. For its manufacture, you can use old slate, vegetable boxes, boards, etc. In a bed raised above the level of the entire garden, air will circulate well, and the liquid will not stagnate.
An alternative is the comb bed. It is an unpaved embankment. The ridges are separated by furrows or paths. Such beds are well suited for areas where not only clay soil, but also shallow groundwater.
Prepare the soil before sowing carrot seeds. To improve the properties of heavy soil, you can carry out the following agrotechnical measures:
- Structuring. The vegetable is one of those crops that grow well in loose and light soil. To make the loam the most suitable base for growing root crops, it is necessary to prepare a site for sowing seeds in the fall. Form beds and dig up the ground (deep). To prevent the soil from compaction, it should be loosened regularly. Additionally, cover the soil with peat and sawdust (rotted). If the soil is very heavy, you can add seed husks as an auxiliary cultivator.
- Regulation of soil acidity index. A soil with a pH of 5.5-7 is suitable for carrots. If the soil is acidic, then wood ash, lime or dolomite flour will help improve its properties. These substances must be introduced into the soil during the autumn digging of the beds. If deoxidation is carried out in the spring, then most of the carrots will have a branched (horned) root crop. Grass compost or peat can help solve the problem with alkaline soil.
- Spring feeding. If the beds are depleted, then in the spring, during the digging process, they can be fertilized with rotted manure. Fresh organic matter is not allowed, because it can completely destroy crops. Additionally, up to 15 g of urea, 15-20 g of potassium sulfate and 35 g of superphosphate should be added to the soil. This amount of fertilizer is distributed over 1 sq. m. 7-10 days before sowing the seeds, it is recommended to loosen the soil and apply mineral fertilizer.
When using sawdust, it is recommended to preliminarily enrich the soil with nitrogen. Urea can be used as a top dressing.
During the growing process, you will need to feed the root crops several times. 4 weeks after germination, the garden culture needs nitrogenous fertilization. After 2-3 weeks (after the nitrogenous agent), the beds are fed with phosphorus-potassium substances. With depleted soil, the root crop can be fertilized again, after 3 weeks.
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