by Many gardeners successfully grow carrots by sowing seeds in the fall. This allows for an earlier harvest. However, it is not always possible to determine the time of sowing carrots correctly based on the long-term weather forecast: forecasters also make mistakes.
All vegetables that are suitable for winter planting have their own sowing dates. Garlic, for example, should take root before the onset of stable frosts. And carrot seeds should only swell, but in no case germinate. It often happens that summer residents, trying to quickly “close the gardening season”, rush to plant everything in one day. This is a common mistake that even experienced gardeners make.
Carrot seeds are sown after autumn frosts, approximately 3-4 weeks after planting garlic. The air temperature during the day should not be higher than 5-7°C. In cold soil, carrot seeds do not germinate for a long time. This is explained by the density of the seed coat and the content of essential oils in it, which prevent water and oxygen from penetrating into the seed. However, if warming begins after sowing, and the daytime temperature remains above 10°C, carrot seeds can germinate in 15-20 days.
If you notice uniform sprouting of carrots, then it needs to be completely re-sown, since the sprouts will freeze in winter. It is better to re-sow a week before the onset of stable frosts. Sometimes it is recommended to sow even in slightly frozen soil. After all, carrots are a cold-resistant crop, its seeds can lie in frozen soil and not lose their germination.
Since we have already prepared the bed, all that remains is to make furrows 4-5 cm deep. You can re-sow carrots directly on top of the previously sown ones.
Before sowing seeds, sprinkle the furrows with wood ash. It improves the quality of the soil and enriches it with important microelements. Such fertilizing in the spring will help the seedlings to develop fully. After all, carrot seeds are very small, and the reserves of nutrients contained in them are only enough to form a small root and a couple of true leaves.
Mix the ash in the furrow with the soil. No need to water.
Sow dry seeds. Winter sowing will require a third more seeds than spring sowing. Mid-season varieties are best: Vitaminnaya 6, Losinoostrovskaya 13, Moskovskaya Zimnyaya, Nanteskaya, Nesravnevennaya and some others. It is not worth buying pelleted seeds or on tape: it is not economically feasible.
You can fill the furrows with regular soil or compost. It is looser and does not form a crust, which is important in the spring when the shoots appear. Under the influence of rain and melting snow, all the useful substances from the compost will fall on the bed, and this will serve as additional feeding for our plantings.
A carrot bed can be mulched with hay: this will prevent the seeds from freezing, the bed from being washed away, and cracks from forming on the soil surface. In the spring, when the danger of frost has passed, the mulch layer should be moved from the row to the space between the rows.
It is not worthwhile to occupy large areas with winter carrot plantings. This harvest will not be stored and is only suitable for summer consumption.
