In order to get an excellent harvest of carrots you need to be ready for consistent care for the plants. It includes watering, weeding, fertilizing the soil and thinning.
The latter procedure is distinguished by its laboriousness and complexity. Thinning is necessary for comfortable growth of carrots in the ground.
The smaller the distance between the roots in the process of growth, the less likely to get a good harvest. Before proceeding to thinning it is very important to study the peculiarities of its implementation.
What determines the thinning time?
Time thinning carrots directly depends on weather conditions, soil quality and time of day. It is important to consider the time of the thinning procedure.
When should I do it - in the morning or better in the evening?
Weeding and thinning the root crop in the garden is best in the early morning.. At these hours, the morning dew made the wings wet with carrot flies and umbrella fleas, the main pests, and they had not yet flown to the hunt. This requirement is due to the fact that thinning produces a carrot smell that attracts a carrot fly.
However, it is not necessary to thin out in too hot weather. The ground layer is disturbed around the remaining plants; it will be difficult for them to survive a hot, sunny day.
Plucked carrot plants need to be stored in a compost pile and close with sawdust or earth. After thinning, it is necessary to irrigate the crops plentifully, ram the ground around the seedlings with your hands and pierce between the rows.
Is it necessary in dry weather or after rain?
In order to avoid damage to sprouts, it is best to thin out after rain. When the earth is wet the process will go faster, and the likelihood of damage to the carrots is greatly reduced. In order not to depend on the weather conditions, it is recommended to shed the ground abundantly before starting work.
Water temperature is also important. It is not recommended to spill sprouts with ice cold water from a well or a water main., as it may hurt them. It is best to use water from a tank or barrel.
When can the carrot be thinned out on a bed in an open field?
As a rule, for the entire period of carrot ripening, it should be thinned 2-3 times. Most gardeners recommend starting thinning when the first two leaves appear, because at this time it is easy to distinguish carrot shoots from weeds.
First time
The first thinning is carried out at about the fifth or sixth week after sowing.. During this period, it is already possible to track the tendency of development of sprouts. It is necessary that the distance between the seedlings was 1.5-3 cm. It is necessary to remove weaker shoots located close to the others. If the shoots are located at a good distance from each other, simply weed the weeds between the rows.
It is very important when thinning out weak plants strictly vertically. This will protect the remaining seedlings from damage. For convenience, you can use garden tweezers or scissors
Further video about the first thinning of carrots:
Second time
Repeated thinning is recommended in two to three weeks, when the height of the tops will be at least 10 centimeters. This time the distance between the roots is increased to five to six centimeters.
When forming the root
Final, the third thinning is recommended before closing the leaves. It is important to remove loose plants and weed weeds. The distance between the remaining roots should be five to six centimeters. If you chose large-fruited varieties of carrots, the distance is better to increase to 10 cm.
What happens if the procedure is not done on time?
In the event that you skip the first and second thinning, carrot crops will be covered with weeds. Because of this, the roots will be limited in space for growth. The number of crops will be significantly reduced, as stronger shoots that have risen earlier than the others will be more developed, but most of the root crops will remain lagging behind in growth and development. Then the costs of time and effort for weeding and thinning will increase significantly.
Attention! If you neglect the third thinning, you cause irreparable damage to planting, violating the integrity of the closed foliage.
If you combine these violations will result in a lack of excellent harvest of carrots and wasted time and resources.
Carrot is a tasty, healthy and nutritious vegetable. In order to get an excellent harvest, it is important to consistently care for the crop. In addition to the mandatory procedures such as irrigation, fertilizer, weeding, in no case should we forget about thinning. Knowledge and consistent work on sprouting will lead to an excellent and rich harvest.
