When planting vegetables, each vegetable gardener dreams of a good harvest. But this can be achieved only under one condition: care for each of the sown crops must meet the standards and requirements for this plant. Let's consider this rule by the example of all the known root crops - carrots .
How often should you water the carrots?
Without a doubt, the central point in caring for any vegetable is its watering. Water is one of the main conditions for good growth and development of garden crops, especially root crops. So, how often and how much is the need to water carrots? It depends on the stage of its growth and weather conditions. Seeds of this root are tug-like, so they should be soaked, and after planting and before the first shoots appear, carrots, as a rule, should be watered frequently and abundantly. For germination, they need moisture, and so that it does not evaporate from the surface of the earth, the bed is best covered with a plastic wrap before the emergence of sprouts.
What has been said above relates to the spring planting. If you decide to plant carrots for the winter, you can simply place the seeds in the soil (this should be done before the onset of frosts), and start watering in the spring.
So, as we have already found out, watering the shoots of carrots is often enough - as the top layer of the soil dries up, where the seeds are. So it should be done until the plant does not acquire 3-4 real leaves. Then, the number of watering is reduced so that the root system develops well. Otherwise, if the plant is too often watered, as well as alternating long periods of drought and waterlogging, the roots of the carrot begin to branch, and this should not be allowed.
In the heat of watering carrots, of course, you need much more often, otherwise your plants just wither. And it should be done only when there is no threat that the plant will get sunrays (at dawn or in the evening after the sun has already gone beyond the horizon).
Now let's talk about the best way to water the beds with carrots. Best of all, it responds to watering under the root, because this vegetable belongs to the root crops. Watering on the leaves (it is also called the word "sprinkling") can be used in hot weather to slightly refresh the plant. It is better to do it already at dusk, when the heat will drop a little, so that until the morning the droplets of water on the foliage dry well and do not cause carrots to damage sunburn.
How often to water carrots in hot weather, we have already found out. But what if a sudden cold snap occurred? In this period it is better to make watering in the morning or in the afternoon, but in the evening it should not be done, because excessive dampness causes fungal lesions of the root crop. In addition, when waterlogged, roots can not deliver nutrients to the top of the plant, oxygen does not flow to them, so you risk not getting a good harvest.
Also avoid watering in small doses. Why carrots need watering
After plentiful watering, do not forget to loosen the soil for better access to oxygen. And the best option is to mulch it with compost, humus, straw, sawdust or peat.
Before harvesting carrots, watering, on the contrary, should not be. It is recommended to stop regular watering about 3 weeks before this time - it is necessary that later the roots are kept longer in winter.