Harvesting carrots

Briefly about carrots

Carrots are a vegetable crop. It is also one of the most common root crops among gardeners. Carrot fruits are juicy and healthy due to their high carotene content. Harvesting carrots is a very unpretentious and simple process, however, it requires many recommendations on how to improve this procedure.

About harvesting

The later the carrots are harvested, the healthier they will be. Indeed, it is in the autumn period that it accumulates in itself most of the useful elements. But you also need to take into account the recommended harvest time, it depends on the size of the fruits, their quality, as well as storage conditions. To understand if you can dig up carrots, you need to free one vegetable, and then carefully examine it. If there are side roots on it, then it's time. If you do not dig up carrots during this period, then rodents and other inhabitants of the underground can reach it.

About carrots that ripen early

The harvest of this variety of carrots is harvested as needed. From the very beginning, you need to release only the largest vegetables so that their smaller counterparts develop faster. After removing the vegetable, the hole formed in the ground must be filled, because this is fraught with the appearance of a carrot fly. But many vegetable lovers harvest at the same time to free up soil for other crops.

What can be planted after early ripening carrots

Such a predecessor will not refuse, such cultures as:
1) bush beans;
2) head salad;
3) cauliflower;
4) kohlrabi cabbage;
5) broccoli.

Medium to late ripening varieties

harvesting and storing carrots

Carrots of these varieties are recommended to be harvested on the twentieth of the first month of the autumn period. This must be done before frost so that the roots are not damaged, that is, when harvesting, you need to focus on weather conditions. But still it is worth remembering that carrots are quite cold-resistant vegetables, and also in light coolness, they gain much more nutrients. She can even add forty-forty-five percent to her yield, but she will do this precisely at the end of the summer period, or at the beginning of the autumn period, when the temperature begins to drop rapidly.

All this happens due to the outflow of nutrients from the foliage, this happens at a temperature of seven to eight degrees Celsius. Ripeness itself can be discerned when the growth of carrots stops, and it will be of the correct shape and color. But if the conditions are not favorable, and the weather is not the best, that is, the air temperature is too high or too low, outwardly it will be possible to say that the carrots are not ripe, but you still need to remove them.

Sometimes it happens that the harvesting of carrots occurs in the first month of the autumn period. But of course, this affects the quantity of the crop and its quality. Such a crop will wither quickly and be poorly stored.

The most optimal time to harvest

Experienced gardeners recommend harvesting carrots on the twentieth of the first month of the autumn period. Harvesting carrots during this period of time will provide you with the largest and most abundant harvest. And also it will be perfectly stored and transported.It makes no sense to wait longer, there will be no productive accumulation of vitamins and useful properties, since if the temperature during the day does not rise above four to five degrees Celsius, then the nutrients from the foliage will not enter the root system, so the carrot will stop growing. When carrots are still in the ground, they can bring temperatures down to minus three to five degrees. But if you remove it from the ground, then it will cease to tolerate low temperatures, that is, it must be immediately taken to a shelter.

How to harvest carrots

harvesting and storing carrots

There are several guidelines.

• It is necessary to harvest the carrot harvest only in good, not cloudy weather.
• Varieties with small roots can be easily pulled out of the ground with your hands. But if the roots are long, then you need to use a pitchfork or a shovel.
• It is very important to take into account that carrots are quite vulnerable to various damage and damage to the integrity of the shell.
• When carrots are harvested, you need to strictly adhere to this regulation:
  1) the carrots should not be allowed to get hit;
  2) the carrots should not be allowed to bend;
  3) it should not be allowed to damage its shell.
  This is all very important due to the fact that the carrot may not heal the wounds inflicted on it. Those wounds that do not heal can provoke the appearance of rot, as well as some diseases.
• During transportation, you must strictly adhere to these regulations:
  1) the carrots should not be allowed to get hit;
  2) the carrots should not be allowed to bend;
  3) it should not be allowed to damage its shell.
  This is all very important due to the fact that the carrot may not heal the wounds inflicted on it. Those wounds that do not heal can provoke the appearance of rot, as well as some diseases.
• During storage, you must strictly adhere to this regulation:
  1) the carrots should not be allowed to get hit;
  2) the carrots should not be allowed to bend;
  3) it should not be allowed to damage its shell.
  This is all very important due to the fact that the carrot may not heal the wounds inflicted on it. Those wounds that do not heal can provoke rot, as well as some diseases.
• Do not leave the vegetable outdoors for a long time. Since the leaf plates will evaporate a large amount of moisture, which causes dehydration of the vegetable itself. This will reduce resistance to disease, as well as the ability to long-term storage.
• It is not necessary to completely cleanse the vegetable from the earth coma.
• If you are going to store carrots, then in no case should you wash them. This can provoke various diseases and rotting of the fetus.
• If you dug up carrots, then they should not be left in the fresh air for a long time. Because of this, the roots will wither and will be unsuitable for long storage.

How to properly cut carrot tops

The tops should not be torn off by simply twisting it with your hands. Carrot tops should be trimmed using a clean, sharp object. But if you leave small basyls when pruning, then closer to the spring period, new tops will grow on the vegetable. And freshly grown tops are fraught with the fact that the carrots will lose their mass, as well as lose their taste and elasticity.

So when pruning, you need to cut off the tops so that the cut occurs along the line of the sleeping eyes, that is, you can cut off the upper part one or two millimeters. With such pruning, the new tops will not sprout and the vegetable will not start to rot.

How to properly complete the harvest, and then store.

There are several guidelines.

1. After you cut the tops, the vegetables should be removed to a shady and well-ventilated place before being placed in the storage area.
2. Root crops must be discarded. That is, you need to remove the sick, damaged, underdeveloped, rotten and soft.
3. Those root crops that have not passed the selection can be eaten or given to livestock.They cannot be left for storage.
4. Those vegetables that are suitable for storage should be put in a dark, and most importantly, cool room for five to six days. This will allow the vegetables to cool. And only after that, you can upload it to a permanent storage location.
5. Harvesting must be finished before the cold weather sets in. If the carrot is severely damaged by frost, then it will be worse stored, it will also be vulnerable to all kinds of diseases.
6. If you need to store the carrots for temporary storage, that is, not until the winter period. Then you need to evenly lay out the vegetables, and then cover them with a soil layer fifteen to twenty centimeters thick. You cannot cover them with dried straw, or their tops. This cannot be done due to the fact that vegetables evaporate a lot of moisture after harvesting. And if the straw, as well as the tops, receives a high percentage of moisture, it will create an excellent place for various diseases to develop.

Conclusion

To harvest carrots, you need to start from its variety and condition. It is very important to follow the rules during transportation, cleaning, as well as long-term and temporary storage. Take care that your vegetables do not get various damage, this is very important for carrots and their resistance to various factors, such as diseases and temperatures.