Long carrot R.St.O.Herz - carrot seeds

Daucus carota - R.St.O.Herz

We all know it, we all love its taste, and it's one of the most commonly used root vegetables in the kitchen. Yes, we're talking about carrots. They originate from South Asia, the area of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. The carrot is a biennial plant with pinnate leaves. The flowering stem can grow up to 1.5 m tall, the inflorescence forms a compound umbel with whitish flowers.

Carrots can be divided into two basic types - wild carrot (the original non-cultivated form with a white root) and cultivated carrot (which includes all carrot varieties grown today). The cultivated carrot has a more robust root, whose color can be white, yellow, orange, red, purple, or even multi-colored (the outside can be different from the inside).

According to sowing time, we distinguish carrots as - BABY CARROT (finer early carrot, shorter with a rounder root), MINI BABY CARROT (young early baby carrot, characterized by delicate flavor and tender structure), and CLASSIC CARROT (late type, has a sweetish smooth root of semi-long shape with a pointed end).

But that's not all. Popular carrots can also be divided according to the root shape for which we grow them. For example, the Berlicum type has larger cylindrical roots with a blunt end. Carrots of this type are suitable for direct consumption, long-term storage, drying, and further processing. Flakee is characterized by very long tapered roots with a wide and flat end. Suitable for direct consumption, long-term storage, drying, and other types of processing. Parisian has small radish-shaped roots. The type is suitable for direct consumption and processing. Nantes is the classic baby carrot we encounter in stores. And finally, the Chantenay type is a carrot with shorter, rather conical roots. Suitable for direct consumption, drying, and other types of processing.

Carrots have a high content of minerals. They also have high content of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, but also chlorine. They also contain numerous trace elements - boron, vanadium, iron, iodine, cobalt, copper, manganese, zinc. As is well known, carrots affect vision quality! They are a source of provitamin A – beta-carotene. They also contain some vitamin C and B-group vitamins.

The advantage of carrots is that they are among the very undemanding vegetables. You can also grow them in containers, for example on a terrace!

How to Grow Carrots

• Requires a sunny location. Loosen and water beds regularly. Definitely don't overwater, as this could cause the failure of the entire sowing. Carrots are cold-loving plants, thriving best at temperatures around 16°C. Prevent greening of root heads by hilling soil up to the plants.

• Freshly fertilized soil is unsuitable for planting. Sow seeds in beds when frosts have passed. Daily temperature should average at least 7°C (ideal carrot growing is at daily temperatures around 16°C). Sow to a depth of 1 to 2 cm at a distance of about 15 cm. Emerging seedlings must be thinned to about 5 cm apart. Sow late carrot varieties in the same way from late spring to early summer.

• Carrots require thoroughly worked soil with sufficient nutrients and moisture. The soil should be light and fertile. Optimal pH is neutral to slightly alkaline. The soil should not contain clods and stones.

• Before loosening the soil, it's advisable to enrich the sowing area with well-aged compost. Before sowing, incorporate 70g N, 30g P, and 150g K into the soil. In the 3-5 leaf phase, apply 20g N in nitrate form. During vegetation, fertilize with NPK fertilizer with lower nitrogen content and higher potassium content. Don't use manure. Carrots react to this type of fertilization by cracking.

• Black rot of carrots manifests in germinating plants by darkening, thinning and rot of the root collar and leaf desiccation. During vegetation, this disease doesn't show much on roots. Dark, dry, sunken spots appear on affected roots. Protection is carried out with Dithane DG Neotec.

  Leaf blight of carrots manifests during vegetation and spreads between plants via wind and rain through conidia that form on affected leaves. On the oldest leaves, one to two millimeter yellow-brown spots with lighter edges appear. Spots gradually enlarge, merge, and darken. In later stages, leaves are completely dark and dead. Protection is carried out with Ortiva.

  Carrot fly shows on younger plants that turn yellow and die. On the root surface, mainly in its upper third, tunnel-like feeding damage with fly larvae is visible from the outside. Damaged plants rot during storage. Protection is currently not possible. Previously it was carried out with Dursban 10 G.

  Soft rot of carrots is caused by improper storage of root vegetables in humid environments. Carrots turn into mushy smelling mass. Before storage, inspect carrots and clean from soil residues.

  By nematode feeding, carrot roots are deformed and produce excessive lateral rootlets. Sowing marigolds can greatly reduce the occurrence of nematodes in soil. Also observe crop rotation.

  Powdery mildew manifests on all above-ground parts (leaves, petioles, stems, inflorescences, and seeds) with whitish powdery coatings. Protection against powdery mildew of umbellifers is carried out with Ortiva.

• Harvest early varieties from the 8th week after planting. Late varieties sometimes need up to 11 weeks. Harvest manually by pulling or you can carefully help with a fork so as not to damage the plant roots.