How often do you need to water carrots in the open field and how to do it correctly
Carrots, one of the most unpretentious crops, gratefully responds with a good harvest to a minimum of efforts even for a novice gardener. However, information on how to water carrots outdoors should be learned by the owner of the garden before the seeds are planted in the ground. This is necessary so that all efforts made to obtain a good harvest are not wasted due to non-observance of the simplest conditions for proper watering.
Pre-watering before planting
With the right approach to carrot cultivation, the first watering is carried out six months before planting the seeds - that is, in the fall, after digging and fertilizing the soil "in winter". Such a thorough cultivation of the land does not free the gardener from a complete repetition of the entire process when the soil warms up and it will be possible to start planting. Moistening the soil before sowing with warm water is a prerequisite for carrot seeds planted in the open field, planted 1-1 ½ cm deep, remain in the ground, and do not float to the surface with a stream of water.
The first watering of carrots, that is, the soil for planting, should end with the mandatory preservation of moisture introduced into the soil and, at the same time, protecting future plants from night frosts. Open ground, after planting seeds in a convenient way (on a tape or piece sowing), is covered with plastic wrap, which is not removed until the next watering.
From the very first steps of the simple science of gardening, learn an important rule that applies to all garden crops, without exception - never water with a hose connected directly to the tap. Low temperatures are poorly perceived by plants, regardless of the varietal affiliation of the future vegetable, and cold tap water, in addition, contains still heavy impurities that settle in the soil.
Irrigation rates
How often to water the carrots after planting? At the stage when all the forces of the seed go to release the root system, the future carrot must be kept in constant dampness, but without much zeal. The settled water, in the amount that it does not stand in the deepening of the row, can be dispersed from a regular watering can, and the procedure itself should occur at least once every five days. 2-3 hours after watering, the bed must be gently fluffed, avoiding the formation of a hard crust.
After the formation of tops in the amount of 2-4 sprouts released, the plant is watered less often, but still the number of irrigations should correspond to constant light soil moisture - this is at least 4 times a month.Throughout the development of carrot tops and the degree of maturation of the root crop, the amount of moisture will vary.
How often should carrots be watered outdoors? There is no definite scheme for these variations, since the level of aridity and precipitation in each region is different, but the approximate norms may look like this:
- When the first shoots appear (May), the rate is set from 5 to 6 liters of water per 1 m2... How often carrots need to be watered is decided based on weather conditions, but the average monthly rate is 7 times;
- At the next stage, which falls in June, the number of irrigations is reduced to four, and the volume of liquid reaches 12 liters per 1 m2;
- In August, water the beds no more than twice a month, consuming water in its original volume - within 6 liters per 1 m2.
They stop moistening the soil about three weeks before harvesting, and at the same time they apply the last dressing in the form of salt or saltpeter.
Automatic watering method
Sprinkler systems - automatically supplying beds with the required amount of water with its even distribution over the soil - are now experiencing a boom in popularity. Moisture does not get to the ground under direct pressure, which inevitably entails erosion of the open ground and its glossing under a dense crust, but after crushing the jet into small drops.
Such correct watering does not oblige to repeated loosening of the soil - the earth will remain loose and saturated with oxygen.
The intensity of automatic irrigation can be adjusted in such a way that the mass of moisture falling on the soil does not stagnate on the rows and between them, but completely penetrates the ground. This is the only drawback of the method - sprinkling all the time takes place under a constant flow and the adjustment will have to be done manually.
Liquid top dressing of root crops
The first green shoots pecking out of the soil serves as a signal to stop feeding applied to the soil. Until the tops have formed into a small panicle, any additional micronutrient added with watering can burn the young plant and interrupt the vegetable's growth. Only the formation of 2-4 full-fledged branches allows the use of a nutrient composition of low concentration dissolved in water.
How to properly water the carrots with diluted feed concentrates? If you prefer to use organic matter, then water the beds with a solution containing chicken manure prepared in this way: pour organic matter with cold water 1: 5, remove it for 7 days in a cool place, and then dilute the resulting thickening using cold water again 1:10.
At the moment when you water the beds with carrots with this composition, make sure that the liquid does not get on the plants themselves. It is best to water strictly between rows.
In the same way, the feeding of diluted cow dung is organized, however, for the development of a good strong rhizome, chicken droppings are preferable.
Mineral fertilizers - potassium sulfate with urea, are introduced into the soil 3 weeks after organic feeding. For 2 teaspoons of sulfate, diluted in 10 liters of water, take an incomplete 1 teaspoon of urea, which is also diluted in a small volume of liquid.
When calculating the proportions, try not to flood your carrot garden with high concentrations of fertilizers - this greatly reduces the shelf life of the vegetable. Carrots, with the accumulation of sulfate fertilizer, quickly begins to rot.
Salt water solution
Top dressing with simple table salt will help to make the root vegetable sweeter and juicier. The only drawback of this solution is that even if you are not a fan of using organic matter in the garden, in the next planting year you will in any case have to use it to saturate the earth, somewhat de-energized with salt water.
To dilute the salty concentrate, take 2 teaspoons of coarse salt (not iodized) and dissolve, until all crystals disappear completely in 10 liters of water. Water with this solution only on pre-moistened soil, ideally after a good shower, when the earth is saturated with soft rainwater.
A similar result for carrots to please with sweetness is obtained by diluting saltpeter or wood ash.
The saline solution will help get rid of two more misfortunes that await during the care of growing carrots - these are mold and slugs, which willingly devour roots. Both factors are formed due to excess moisture in the soil, which does not always depend on irrigation, but is most often the result of heavy rains.
Is it necessary to water the carrots then at all, if the vegetable is already submerged in water? Several liters of salted water, in terms of the level of humidity, will no longer play a big role, but a weak degree of disinfection from pests and fungi, carrots definitely won't hurt. In total, it is recommended to make 4 "salty" watering during the season.
Secrets of proper watering from experienced gardeners
It happens that even a planting that is perfect according to all the rules and most of the care recommendations followed with accuracy do not save you from disappointment at the time of harvest. Vegetables come to the surface pale, gnarled and branched into many unnecessary processes. What is the matter and is it worth stopping your gardening experiments on this?
Such a result, as a rule, is the error of improper soil moisture, or rather, weak penetration of moisture to the entire required depth of root crop formation. The roots that determine the level of moisture are thin white hairs that sensitively catch any changes in the saturation of the soil with water.
Starting to dry out, they stop growing downward, and start looking for options in which you can get water in other directions. From here we get the strange, outstretched arms and legs of the rhizome, not suitable for cooking.
Correction of the error is possible no later than a month before digging out the crop. Grooves should be dug 10-12 cm deep between the rows, then the garden needs to be watered, but the emphasis should be placed on filling these grooves to the top - so it will be easier for moisture to penetrate to the desired depth.
Make it a habit to collect rainwater and use it for irrigation. If only tap water is available, it takes at least three days to stand in a container. Well water is enough for one day, but only if during this time it has time to warm up well to 18-21.
It is not without reason that the minimum number of required waterings was mentioned several times in the article, but it is not so important to carry out the entire quantitative number of procedures, how to properly organize the regularity with which they will be performed. Root crops will not crack and will not lose their taste, if instead of 8 irrigations (of course, with warm, not ice water), you make 6, but "lame" pauses can completely ruin the harvest and make any efforts in vain.
