What can be difficult in growing carrots – an undemanding vegetable, viable and growing without shelter. But it turns out that there is no perfection in this matter either, and some aspects of cultivation happen to be underperformed by people for years. But in order for the carrot to be tasty, beautiful, ready for long-term storage, you have to take into account all the recommendations. Including tips for harvesting vegetables. And there are many.
Signs of maturity
It seems that the easiest way to determine the readiness of a root vegetable is to examine it. Yellowed, dried, lower leaves lying on the ground are considered a sure sign of carrot maturity. A withering and yellowing center is already a disease of the plant, and not readiness.
If, according to the varietal characteristics, the root crop has become the declared color and size, if its taste also corresponds to the characteristics, then it’s time to harvest. But if white roots are visible on the plant, the carrots hit the growth again. You need to immediately dig up the carrots.
It is usually easier to determine maturity in mid-season varieties: such a plant is stored longer. For regions where the warm period is short, this is the best option. Late varieties are grown, also based on the shelf life – if they are removed correctly, they will last until spring.
By the way, it is more convenient to organize an alternation of varieties in the garden so that the crop can be harvested for several months.
So, a guideline for harvesting carrots:
growing season on the package with seeds – must watch;
fixation of the moment of emergence of shoots – memorize and calculate the collection time;
assessment of the size of the fruit – on the package with seeds there should be such information;
assessment of the state of carrots – the discovery of the same white roots indicates the risk of overgrowing, it’s time to clean it up.
And, of course, the yellowed and drooping tops in the lower part are an argument for an early harvest.
Harvesting time according to variety
It’s worth talking about this in more detail: perhaps it’s time to dig up carrots in one part of the garden, and it’s too early where another variety grows. In some cases (eg farming, small sales) such uninterrupted cultivation is very profitable.
Early varieties need harvesting 55-60 days after planting. But early carrots, by the way, will never have a bright taste. This does not mean that it is completely dull in taste, but it still cannot be compared with varieties of medium and late ripening. Picking carrots – almost always at the end of summer, in the first days of autumn.
With mid-season varieties, it’s different – after 80-100 days from the moment the first sprouts hatched, you can harvest. And this is in September. In central Russia, such varieties are usually cultivated. In terms of taste characteristics, they are good, the harvest time is traditional for many gardeners, familiar.
Late carrots are harvested after 100+ days. Such varieties remain fresh for as long as possible, carrots are tasty, sweet, juicy. The collection takes place in October, and therefore it is impossible to grow it in the northern regions (well, or very difficult).
And to make carrots even sweeter, they are sometimes poured with salt water, diluting a glass of salt in a bucket of water. Watering, moreover, stimulates growth well.
Influence of climate and region
Of course, a reference to the climate is required. For example, if it is wet, there will be less watering, and less fertilizing. And if it is dry, the frequency of watering, on the contrary, is increased, and the soil for carrots will need more mineral fertilizers.
Examples of carrot harvesting in different regions.
In outskirts of Moscow carrots are traditionally planted on the May holidays – in the first days of May, indeed, the weather is usually suitable. If not with seeds, but with seedlings, they can be planted in mid-May. Mid-season varieties will yield a harvest at the end of August (final harvest), late – in early autumn.
In the Urals, where summer is very short, and there is little heat in it, early plantings are not carried out. Frosts can strike even in summer. Carrots are planted in the last weeks of May, so that the harvest takes place in August.
In Siberia carrots are grown, but given the short summer and long winter. Any variety of culture is planted, but seedlings.
In the Leningrad region they prefer early varieties, carrots grow quickly, and they manage to harvest them before frost. If it is decided to plant late and mid-season varieties, then in seedlings.
In the middle lane of Russia you can plant varieties that will ripen for 100 or more days. There are more opportunities here, and therefore a combination of varieties is acceptable.
If the gardener is a beginner, all agrotechnical work must be recorded – when was the planting, how much was fed, how did it grow, note the features of maturation from planting to harvest, predict harvesting and much more.
If a crop grows with different varieties, while one variety is harvested and sent for storage, the other is still maturing or maturing – this difference can also be recorded. To evaluate the experience, planning landings for next year.
Cleaning according to the lunar calendar
Not all growers follow the calendar recommendations, but most still listen to them. Just be sure to make sure that the year is up to date. For example, in 2021, 23-27 are considered favorable days in July, 1-7 and 23-30 in August, and the best time to pick carrots in September is the first 7 days of the month and the last 7 days. In October, it is prescribed to collect from 1 to 5, from 21 to 31.
When not to harvest: July 5 and 20, August 9 and 19, September 8 and 17 and October 16 and 30. Regardless of the date and month, as well as the lunar “protection”, the collection rules do not change.
How to clean?
If the fruit is damaged during digging, it can no longer be stored – this is rule number 1. Carrots can be consumed in the next few hours or thrown out if the damage is significant.
Features of the collection of carrots.
It is better if the day is dry and clear. Even better – if there was no rain a week before the collection (or there was barely a drizzle of rain).
All weeds from the garden should be removed, so the carrots will be better seen.. Yes, and the cleanliness of digging will be optimal, but with preserved weeds, you can accidentally damage the fruits.
The softness of the soil is taken into account. Loose earth involves the delicate pulling out of 1-2 fruits at once, no more. It is not necessary to shake off the soil, but they often do this – they hit carrots with carrots, which can cause cracks and other deformations of the fruit.
You just need to lay out the dug out in the garden, give a couple of hours to dry. Then the dried sand is removed by hand (it is better to work with gloves).
Forks are used if the ground is hard. If it doesn’t work out just pulling the carrot by the tail, it’s better to dig up the ground with a pitchfork, maintaining a distance of 10 centimeters. And this method is good if the fruits are long and firmly held in the ground.
The tops do not need to be unscrewed, as the top is easily damaged.. It should be cut (only with a sharp knife), taking a distance of 3 cm from the beginning of the greenery. If you remove part of the fruit, it will spoil faster. And if the petioles are more than 1 cm, by spring they will grow.
You can’t throw a carrot, you can’t pour it either – this will damage the surface more. All work is done delicately, by hand, carrots do not remain on the ground / in the ground for several days.
Lumps of earth from carrots are also removed by hand.. You can’t do this with a knife, the skin of the fetus is injured.
The harvested crop must be sorted: first, damaged specimens are selected, as well as fruits with cracks, signs of decay. To store for a long time, you need to select fruits that are large and dense, without visible damage. Small carrots are also set aside separately and eaten first.
Before sending a batch of carrots for storage, for 5 hours the collected leaves first in a dark and dry place, always with good ventilation. Carrots will cool down well during these hours, and then they will perfectly adapt to the conditions of the cellar, basement.
The place where the carrots will lie for a long time should be with a temperature of about 4 degrees, with humidity around 80% (maybe a little less, but not more) and dark. You can store fruits in boxes, wooden and plastic.
If you are late, dig the carrot out of time, the plant will quickly catch frost, which will lead to cracks. A healthy, mature, timely harvested plant will not “take frost”.
And it also makes no sense to send small fruits for the winter.. They just can’t stand it. They are eaten first, added to marinades during canning, crushed and dried.
There will be no mating carrot, which was dug out in the rain, from the damp earth.
It is necessary to monitor the condition of the harvested crop in the storage place every month. The humidity or temperature levels may need to be adjusted.
After harvesting, carrots can be stored in bags, but you can’t store a large number of vegetables at home. Maximum take as much as is used in 2-3 weeks, no more.
Typical mistakes during the harvesting of carrots are insufficient drying, completely cut tops, absence or incorrect sorting, ignoring the necessary five-day fruit cooling, lack of alternation of storage methods. The last point, by the way, not everyone observes. Fungi can grow in storage containers, for example. In any case, they certainly need to be disinfected before and after use.
Another common mistake is that harvested carrots are sent to be stored with potatoes.. You can’t do this, because tubers can injure the thin skin of carrots.
That’s all the easy rules. If everything is done according to them, carrots will easily survive the winter and the beginning of spring. And to provide yourself with this fruit even longer, a few things can be chopped and / or cut, put into bags or containers and sent to the freezer.
Successful collection and long-term storage!
