Watering scheme for carrots after planting in open ground

To obtain a good harvest, uniform watering must be observed throughout the growing period. Many novice gardeners think about how often to water carrots immediately after planting a root crop. The answer is simple: this should be done from the moment the seeds are planted until the harvest. If the soil is dry, the fruits will grow sluggishly, become tough and rough. Therefore, it is necessary to water it quite often, but at the same time do not allow sudden changes from dryness to abundant soil moisture. Otherwise, the carrots will start to spoil right in the soil.

Watering carrots after planting

Proper soil moisture during planting of seeds largely determines the fate of the crop. Water the beds either before planting or immediately after it. Do not flood the soil that has just been sown with water with a hose: a strong pressure will wash out all the seedlings.

Advice

Gardeners often worry that watering the carrots after planting will damage the seeds. In order not to take risks, you can water the soil just before planting. Then pour the seeds into the prepared grooves and compact them a little.

If it's rainy outside, you can do without watering at all. Use a covering material or polyethylene. Leave the bed covered until the seeds germinate. Using this method allows you to maintain moisture and promotes the rapid germination of carrots.

How often to water after planting outdoors?

Watering the carrots after planting should be frequent, but not plentiful. The best watering option is from a watering can, on which a spray nozzle is installed.

Crop care rules after planting

1. Watering should be started at an early stage and finished at the time of the ripening of the root crop, when a second thinning is necessary (after the appearance of 5-6 leaves).
2. In spring, when there is a constant temperature difference from frost to warming, after planting carrots, it must be covered with polyethylene, leaving a gap at the base of the garden.
3. After 10 days after disembarkation, it is necessary to slightly loosen the upper layer of soil - 1-2 cm deep.
4. After you have thinned the vegetable a second time, it is not recommended to water it, even if the sun is scorching in the sky.
5. Watering carrots too often causes hairy, cracking and poor storage performance.
6. The optimum condition of the soil is moderately moist and moderately dry.

Until when should carrots be watered after planting?

Ripe fruits also need watering. The maturity of a plant can be determined by the size of the fruit: its diameter must be at least 6 mm. At this stage, you need to water the root crop often and abundantly. But don't let the ground get too wet.

It is necessary to water the already almost ripe carrots so that water can penetrate into the ground to a depth of 25-30 cm (approximately the length of the finished fruit).

• If it is rainy and cloudy outside, watering should be stopped 15-20 days before the planned harvest.
• If it's hot outside, you need to continue watering until you pick the carrots.

Advice

To protect your crop from pests, cover sprouted seeds with lutrasil or similar material and water directly through it. It is necessary to remove the covering material several days before digging out the crop.

Hilling and moistening the soil: what is the connection?

Often summer residents do not pay due attention to hilling carrots and process only those fruits that peep out a few centimeters above the ground.Experts recommend spilling the entire garden bed. This will protect the fruit from sunburn and retain all moisture in the ground. In addition, oxygen, which is necessary for good growth of the vegetable, passes more easily through the loosened soil.

You need to huddle the root crop at least 4 times per season, starting after the first thinning, and then every 15 days. After hilling, the fruits should be covered with soil by no more than 5 cm.

Approximate watering rates for carrots by month

• May - 7 times, 5-7 liters per m2².
• June - 5 times, 10-11 liters per m2².
• July - 4 times, 12-14 liters per m2².
• August - 2 times, 5-7 liters per m2².

Carrots are a rather unpretentious vegetable, but they also require proper care. You can achieve an excellent harvest just by observing simple watering rules. There is no unequivocal answer to the question of whether to cover the beds. Check the situation and the weather conditions. If the spring is cold and rainy, it is still better to use a covering material so that later you do not complain that the seeds have not sprouted.

And, of course, don't forget about hilling. In loose soil, an ideal balance of moisture is maintained, water does not stagnate after irrigation, but goes deep into the soil to the very tip of the root crop. Only in this case, juicy large carrots will grow on your garden bed, which will be stored all winter without losing their taste.