After what crops can carrots be planted?
Carrots are one of the most attractive crops in the garden. It has a good taste and is good for health. But in order to plant and grow a decent crop, you must first figure out how to do it right.
growing conditions
Carrots are considered relatively cold-resistant plants. Its seeds will germinate already at a temperature of +4 to +6 degrees. If the air is warmed up to +8, germination can be expected between 25 and 35 days after sowing. When the temperature rises to 25 degrees, this will take a maximum of 11 days.
Seedlings, before the appearance of root hairs, consume those nutrients that are included in the seed itself. The lengthening of this period due to very low or too high temperatures has a negative effect on the plant. Carrots may grow, but they will be weakened and lose their natural defenses against various infections.
The vegetable is able to survive short frosts, reaching 4 degrees. At the same time, it should be remembered that crops before the start of winter or in the first part of spring should be planned with a bypass of cold snaps. It is recommended to plant root crops at a temperature of + 15-20 degrees. But the green part develops better in the temperature range from 20 to 23 degrees.
If it gets hotter than +25, growth slows down. On cold ground, especially with poor drainage, pale-looking carrots of an unusual shape are likely to appear. Overheating of the earth against the background of a hot summer lowers the saturation of the color.Since seed swelling cannot occur quickly, soil moisture is critical after sowing. The normal development of carrots is ensured only with a stable supply of moderate amounts of moisture, a sharp massive watering threatens to crack the fruit.
Areas with loose light loam or sandy loam are best suited for carrots. Clay and heavy loam, when dried, form a strong crust that prevents seeds from germinating. Therefore, the appearance of very rare and heterogeneously distributed thickets is likely. The recommended value for the acid-base balance is 6 or 7. If the fertile soil layer is weak and the groundwater is close to the surface, high beds are recommended.
Crop rotation rules
By familiarizing themselves with the conditions necessary for the development of carrots, gardeners can better understand which crops can be sown in the same area. But, in addition to the properties of the soil, other parameters that affect the compatibility of plants with each other should be taken into account. It is not recommended to sow carrots in the same place where they grew last year. Failure to comply with this rule greatly increases the risk of infection by pathological organisms and the invasion of harmful insects.
The optimal predecessors of carrots in the garden are:
- cereal crops;
- cucumbers;
- cabbage of various breeds;
- tomatoes;
- bean plants.
Also, experts recommend planting carrots after onions, lettuce, potatoes. Cucumbers can be replaced with carrots not immediately, but after 1-2 years. Initially, the earth will be too saturated with organic components that inhibit the development of the root crop. Gradually, their concentration will return to normal and there will be no such destructive effect.
Carrots after beets usually do not feel very good.The fact is that both types of root crops require similar nutrition and mutually deplete the soil for each other. But gardeners have a powerful tool to fix this, we are talking about fertilizing. If you add compost, then the very next year after beets, you can get an impressive harvest of delicious carrots from the same place. For your information: their simultaneous landing on neighboring beds is only welcome.
As for compatibility with garlic plantings, not everything is so simple. Onions, being one of the ideal predecessors for carrots, can only replace garlic after 4 years. But if you immediately sow carrots on the former garlic beds, the result will meet all expectations. According to a significant number of farmers, the proximity of these crops will positively affect the quantity and quality of the crop.
Garlic becomes an almost insurmountable barrier to carrot flies if planted around the perimeter. The maximum distance at which both plants will support each other is 0.65 m.
Very often the question arises as to what is the best vegetable to plant in spring in open ground or a greenhouse after strawberries. This culture itself in one place can grow no more than 3 or 4 years in a row, after which the place must be redeveloped. Strawberries very quickly extract all the nitrogen contained there from the soil. Therefore, root crops, along with legumes, will be the best change for red berries.
The recommended rotation scheme is as follows (by year):
- legumes and green plants;
- garlic or onion;
- tomatoes and sweet peppers;
- cabbage;
- potato;
- carrots and table beets;
- back to strawberries.
It is permissible to plant carrots after zucchini. Importantly, both onions and garlic can be planted after them, which greatly improves the gardeners' chances of success.It should be noted that if manure is introduced into the ground, the planting of carrots should be postponed for 2 years. According to some gardeners, although not shared by all, it is ideal to grow pumpkin before carrots. And among the acceptable predecessors, many summer residents also include eggplant.
After what landing is not recommended?
You can not plant carrots after:
- dill;
- fennel;
- cumin;
- cilantro;
- parsley;
- parsnips and a number of other varieties of greens.
If we talk about the “worst” predecessor, then this is parsley. It changes the soil in such a way that the intensity of pest reproduction increases. It is recommended to wait and temporarily find another place. It is possible to compensate for the infection that has occurred by carefully loosening the earth and pouring it with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate. It is best if such preparation is made in the autumn months; it is useful to consider that it does not give a 100% security guarantee.
Tips
Knowing what to plant carrots after is very useful, but it is equally important to figure out what to plant to replace it. A typical principle is the consistent replacement of "roots" with "tops". The taste and nutritional qualities of root crops are achieved because these plants take a lot from the soil. And this means that the next year after carrots, it is required to plant crops with minimal claims to soil fertility.
But you can not be limited to them if you choose plants with superficial placement of roots, as well as requiring a lot of organic top dressing.
Nightshade crops perform well. Among the various types of potatoes, ideally, you should choose sweet potato. Also a good choice would be cabbage, which helps the soil regain its strength. In addition to them, it is worth considering cultures such as:
- peas;
- beans;
- beans;
- garlic or onion;
- occasionally radish.
Some gardeners plant perennial berry plantations, especially common and garden strawberries (more often referred to as strawberries). Another way to restore the forces of the earth that yielded carrots is the use of green manure. Rye and oats, mustard and phacelia improve soil structure, suppress many pests and weeds. In order for the carrot ridge itself to give a positive result, you will need to take into account additional recommendations. So, to make the earth looser, it is advised to introduce a small amount of sand.
Leveling the acidity of the soil is achieved using chalk, wood ash or dolomite flour. Seeds are pre-immersed in an aqueous solution of salt (30 g per 0.25 kg of water), exposure - ¼ hour. Those seeds that settle to the bottom are washed with warm water and gently dried. The selected seed is disinfected and treated with growth accelerators. You can embed it in the ground in any convenient way: in the holes, using a tape, watering can, in the sand.
The landing time is determined by the characteristics of the area. When planting carrots after onions, one should not forget that he saturated the earth with potassium and nitrogen. Prevention of infection with a carrot fly, if for some reason it is impossible to plant garlic around or nearby - watering with a solution prepared from it. Processing is carried out before the end of the carrot season.
If you decide to sow onions and carrots on one fragment of the garden, you need to thoroughly prepare. Since autumn, the chosen place has been dug up and 5 kg of humus per 1 m2 are added. The distance between the strips should be 0.2–0.25 m. Furrows for carrots are usually made 20–30 mm deep, but if the soil is dense, this figure will have to be increased to 80–100 mm.
Furrows of 30-40 mm are formed under the onion part, the bulbs are carefully pressed into the ground in increments of 80-100 mm and covered with ashes. Sowing is carried out at a temperature of 5-8 degrees.
Since carrots do not feel well on dry land, you need to help them by introducing granules of a special hydrogel. It is recommended to mark the rows with stakes so as not to get confused in them. At the beginning of spring, you can put a greenhouse from a film, after 5-8 days, shed the rows with water and return the greenhouse back.
Watering is carried out in the future as the soil dries up. Be sure to weed and loosen all the right places.
Planting between rows of radishes and lettuce is allowed, this allows you to save space and get an excellent overall yield due to the early maturation of auxiliary crops.
See the following video for a description of the crop rotation scheme.