How to properly thin out carrots outdoors

If you originally planted carrot seeds very densely, and as a result they sprouted in a solid carpet, then in order to get a rich harvest of large and even root crops, and not small deformed and clumsy ones, you will definitely have to thin out, and this must be done on time and correctly ...

Well, next we'll talk about when and how to thin out carrots in the garden!

When and why do you need to thin out carrots

Everyone knows that carrots, along with dill, parsley, celery, parsnips, in short, umbrella plants — one of the tightest similar cultures.

Therefore, most gardeners plants out dry carrot seeds as thick as possibleso that guaranteed to get sufficient number of seedlings.

Respectively, with a strong thickening of the plantings, it is imperative to carry out the procedure for thinning the carrot beds. Otherwise densely sprouted plants will not develop normally, in sufficient quantity get food and spacerequired for the growth of the root crop, but there will only be hinder each other's growth... Eventually roots grow up not only smallbut deformed (curves).

In addition, through thinning, you can get rid of the weakest specimens.

Thus, thinning gives an excellent result: larger and more beautiful carrots grow on a thinned bed, moreover, all of them are about the same size.

Is it possible to grow carrots without thinning

Of course, thinning carrots is not the most interesting activity, to be honest, even one of the most boring and boring. That is why many gardeners initially plant carrots in proven ways that allow them to grow a ginger beauty without further thinning.

However, you will most likely still have to thin out the carrots, but in a very small amount.

Ways of planting carrots for cultivation without thinning:

Advice! More details about the nuances and methods of planting carrots read in a separate article.

• Landing granulated (pelleted) seeds - thanks to the large size, you can sow the seeds at the required distance from each other and not worry about germination, since the seed material was pre-processed by the producer.
• Landing with use jelly (paste).
• Planting seeds mixed with sand.
• Landing with tapes (ready-made or homemade).
• Landings in egg trays.

However, according to numerous reviews of gardeners who have already tested this method, it does not give the desired result (= yield), since the roots are too small.

It is much better to sow in holes, which you can make using the same egg trays, and then thin out.

• Joint landing with radish.

As the radish is harvested, the carrots will naturally thin out.

When to thin out carrots

As a rule, they begin to thin out carrots after the plant forms 2-3 true leaves... At this point, you can already see where there is excessive compaction, and where is the normal sparseness of landings.

By the way! Sometimes carrots are thinned in 2 steps: the first time - after the formation of 2-3 leaves, leaving a distance between the seedlings of 2 cm, the second time - after 2-3 weeks (when there will be 3-5 leaves), already leaving 3- 5 cm.

In any case, you should not wait until the root crops begin to noticeably increase in size, i.e. do enough late thinning. Otherwise, you can simply damage nearby root crops, which will lead to deformation of plants and their loss of quality appearance.

Note! The fact is that damage to carrot roots leads to the fact that the growth of the main root crop is suspended, and instead, the development of lateral roots and the formation of a branched root crop are stimulated.

Video: thinning carrots

How to thin out carrots: thinning methods

Important! Before thinning carrots, be sure to spill them so that you can easily get excess plants from the ground.

So, there are several ways to thin out carrots.

• The most standard way is manual way... Just gently pull and pull out excess plants by the base of the tops, and it is advisable to do this as vertically as possible (do not wobble from side to side) so as not to hurt neighboring plants.

• Alternatively, you can pull out excess carrots with tweezers.
• Or trim the tops with scissors (But there is a nuance!).

Interesting! Some gardeners ask themselves: “A can you just cut the tops, so as not to damage the roots of a nearby growing (neighboring) carrot? "

No, in the stage of 2-3 or more true leaves, this should not be done. The fact is that the root crop remaining in the ground will continue to take its place and will soon begin to grow new tops.

What to do if the ponytail came off during thinning?

If thinning is early, then the tail can be left, and if a small root crop has already formed, then remove it if possible.

As a result (after thinning) between the rows you should have a distance of about 15-20 cm, and between the plants themselves in the row - 3-5 cm (depending on the size or diameter of a particular variety).

Advice! All carrots harvested at an early stage (when the root crop is thin and white) must be thrown away or taken away to the compost heap (so that the carrot smell does not smell carrot fly).

If you are late with thinning, then it is not at all necessary to throw away the small carrots, because you can use them to make salad, soup, or let the children chew on them.

Is it possible to transplant (dive) the carrot that you removed during thinning

Surely many gardeners at least once, but this seemingly "promising" idea came to mind. However, in most cases, this is a rather pointless exercise, since in the end it grows clumsy (branched) and hairy carrots, besides, they are also quite tiny in size.

Note! It is not for nothing that carrots and other root crops, in principle, are not grown through seedlings, except in the cold northern regions, where the summer is very short.

But you can always experiment!

By the way! But you can dive beets when thinning.

Thus, thinning carrots in the garden is one of the most important agricultural practices that will allow you to get a rich harvest of large and beautiful root crops. You should not neglect these activities, it is also very important to carry out the procedure on time, otherwise there will be a high probability that the roots are deformed.

Video: how to thin out carrots correctly