What folk remedies can be used to feed carrots and how to do it? What is not recommended to use?

Which is better to use?

Although many summer residents do not want to use “chemicals” to feed carrots, it is important to understand that both folk remedies and industrial fertilizers play their role. Let's use the table for comparison.

The first effective recipe

Let's talk not about the quantity, but about the quality of root vegetables. In other words, about the taste properties of carrots.

If you unexpectedly find that your fruits are not fully sweet and sugary, then they need to be sprayed with manganese sulfate. This procedure can be performed two times - in the first ten days of July and to consolidate the result at the end of the month. Make sure that thirty grams of manganese, diluted in a bucket of water, will help make carrots much tastier.

How can you feed the root crop after germination and at other times?

What can you water your vegetable crops for good growth? Various folk remedies are used to feed carrots. Each has its own pros and cons.

Salt

Gardeners have been using table salt (sodium chloride) for a long time to add salt to their beds. Salt helps nutrients quickly dissolve in the soil, so carrots absorb them completely.

The effect is especially noticeable on poor soils - after salting the beds, the carrots grow sweeter. However, salt itself does not bring much benefit.

Yeast

Baker's yeast is a microscopic fungus that, when dissolved in water, releases substances that accelerate the growth of carrot roots. They also enhance the activity of beneficial bacteria in the soil, which allows organic fertilizers to decompose well and release nitrogen and phosphorus.

In their action, yeast fungi are similar to EM preparations, but are much cheaper than them. Yeast can only be used in warm soil. And if you constantly apply this fertilizer, the soil will lose organic matter and become poor again. In addition, during fermentation, yeast absorbs potassium and calcium.

Ash

Ash is created when something is burned. Wood ash is used in gardening. It contains many useful substances (potassium, calcium, iron, sulfur, magnesium, boron, phosphorus).

• If you prepare ash from hard wood (oak, larch, poplar), then it will contain a lot of calcium.
• And when burning weeds (wheatgrass, grass), the fertilizer will contain a large amount of potassium.

These substances are necessary for carrots during the root-growing period.

Ash is needed when growing carrots in acidic soils (which the crop really does not like), as it increases the level of alkali in them.

The disadvantages of the fertilizer include the ability to reduce the absorption of phosphates by plants, so the ash must be applied separately from fertilizers containing phosphorus. In addition, it is not recommended for use on highly alkaline soils.

Iodine

The substance consists of black-gray crystals with a violet metallic luster. It is sold in pharmacies in the form of a dark-colored 5% alcohol solution with a characteristic odor. Watering with iodine increases the yield of carrots and improves the taste and color of root crops.

Among the disadvantages, toxicity to humans can be noted. And in carrots, if the dose of iodine is too high, the leaves may turn yellow.

Nettle infusion

Nettle infusion contains a lot of nitrogen and iron and is used immediately after sowing carrots so that the plant has strong, dense foliage, which will provide sufficient nutrition to the root crops.

You should not water carrots with nettle infusion in the middle of the growing season, so that the greens do not grow too “lush” to the detriment of the roots.

Mullein

Liquid cow manure, or mullein, increases the humus content in the soil and contains substances necessary for carrots: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and others.

Mullein can be used for carrots only in the form of an infusion and in small quantities, since an excess of this organic fertilizer can cause rotting of the root crops.

Chicken droppings

The litter also contains potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium. It increases the yield of carrots, and thanks to its slow action it is able to “feed” carrot beds for 3 years after application.

The disadvantages include the inability to use fresh - undiluted chicken manure contains a lot of uric acid, which can burn carrot roots.

Compost

This fertilizer is obtained by digesting organic debris and garden waste. As a result of proper preparation, it turns into humus - a nutrient layer containing beneficial microorganisms.

Compost can be used to fertilize carrot beds in the fall when digging, and also as mulch. Compost is free, but requires a lot of effort and time to prepare.

The importance of feeding carrots

Growing a good crop of carrots in open ground is directly related to what nutrients the crop receives, whether there are enough of them for normal development or, on the contrary, there is an excess of them. Feeding should be targeted and timely.

On cultivated and fertile open ground soils, you can grow root crops without it, but the yield will be average. Knowing what fertilizers carrots like, you can use them to significantly increase your yield.

Many experts consider it impossible to use organic matter for carrots without causing increased growth of tops and the formation of uneven roots. But at the same time, it is allowed to use peat, compost, and manure a year before sowing the predecessor crops.

Carrots grown in open ground are very demanding and picky about mineral supplements. It is necessary to apply them in a certain dose and at a time when the crop really needs them. This can be determined even by the appearance of the plants.

List of fertilizers that should not be used

What is not recommended to feed the root crop, because it then grows poorly or becomes tasteless? The sweet vegetable responds well to fertilizers, but some of them should be used with caution or not used at all:

• you cannot fill the beds with fresh manure, because due to the large amount of organic matter, the growing point of the carrots is “burned”, and it becomes “horned” (the root splits in two or forms shoots that worsen its appearance and make cleaning difficult), less tasty and poorly stored ;
• Root crops also become insufficiently shelf-stable if, during the growing season, carrots are overfed with fertilizers that contain a lot of nitrogen.

The need to feed

Feeding is necessary for rapid growth and normal development of carrots. Fertilizers also affect the taste of the root crop. It is especially important to use boric acid, which:

• increases sugar content;
• regulates carbohydrate metabolism;
• supports protein metabolism.



In the absence of a sufficient amount of boron and other microelements, necrosis of the tops develops (the green part dies off) and the veins in the carrots fade. Active application of fertilizers negatively affects the condition of the root crop. An excess of microelements leads to a decrease in shelf life and deterioration in taste.

The frequency of fertilizing depends on the characteristics of the soil. When grown in poor soils, the crop is fertilized up to four times per season.

Step-by-step instructions: how to feed vegetables?

Most folk remedies are used in liquid form, so to prepare the fertilizer you will need:

• glass half-liter or liter jar for preparing concentrate;
• bucket for working solution;
• gloves to avoid getting your hands dirty;
• spoon or scoop to measure out the required amount of substance.

Let's consider in what volume, in what way, during what growing season and how many times you need to apply folk fertilizers for carrots.

Second recipe

If you see that the carrot is lagging behind in development, its size is quite small, or the tops are becoming sluggish, then it’s time to feed the plant with yeast.

This recipe is quite simple. To prepare it, you need to take a full bucket of warm water, add and thoroughly stir in the liquid yeast (100 g) and sugar in the amount of two tablespoons. The yeast solution should sit for two hours, then you need to re-stir the prepared tincture and pour it over the carrots. Such a one-time feeding will significantly help in “activating” the culture.

Prevention of damage to root crops by pests

Homemade fertilizers are good not only as a top dressing, but also as a preventative against carrot pests.

Salt helps:

• from carrot flies (water 3 times with an interval of 2 weeks, starting from the first days of June, gradually increasing the concentration of the solution: 300 g per 1 liter of water, then 450 g per 1 liter of water, then 600 g), then be sure to water the bed with clean water ;
• from slugs - spray the garden bed with a 10% salt solution.

For prevention, ash is used together with tobacco dust or tobacco infusion:

• from carrot flies - mix ash and tobacco dust 1:1 and scatter in rows at the rate of 5-10 g per 1 m2;
• for psyllids - scatter ash between the rows and pour tobacco infusion on top.

Third useful recipe

If your vegetables are developing normally and are not stunted in growth, but you still just want to provide the plants with nutrients, do not use any chemicals, use simple nettle, as it contains everything that carrots need.

It will take approximately 10-14 days to make the tincture; after this time, the infusion must be diluted and watered. There is one nuance in preparing such a solution - after about 2-3 days of infusion, the nettle tincture develops an unpleasant odor, so the container must be covered and placed in some distant place.

Possible mistakes

If you use folk remedies incorrectly to feed carrots, you may not only not help the plant, but even harm it. Typical mistakes:

• too large doses of fertilizers - the taste of the root crop will be worse, it will not be able to be stored for a long time;
• liquid foliar feeding in hot weather - carrot leaves can get burned by drops of water in the sun;
• using fresh manure or too large doses of organic fertilizers - the tops grow too large to the detriment of the root crops (they become uneven).

Important Rules

To achieve quick shoots of carrots, it is recommended to follow the following rules:

• apply liquid fertilizers to moist soil;
• nitrogen fertilizers are applied before half of the growing season;
• apply dosed organic fertilizers;
• stop using fertilizers containing chlorine;
• Avoid planting carrots after liming the soil.

In the summer, only foliar (between the rows) liquid fertilizers are applied. During this period, it is allowed to fertilize the plant no more than twice.

Gardeners also recommend applying mineral fertilizers shortly before harvest. This will reduce the concentration of nitrates in root vegetables and make the carrots sweeter.

When fertilizing a crop, it is recommended to pay attention to the condition of the soil and tops, and use a specific product based on external signs.

Signs of nutritional deficiencies

Growing and feeding carrots
For pecking and germination, the seedlings need the supply of nutrients contained in the seed. But as soon as green leaves appear above the surface of the earth, the process of photosynthesis starts, and the plant begins to extract the nutrition necessary for growth from the ground. And if the soil is poor in macro- and microelements, then it is difficult for carrots to grow tops and form a normal root crop. Problems already affect the early stages of development.

At the beginning of the season, young plants first need to grow thick, juicy above-ground greenery: all metabolic processes take place in the tops. The main building element at this time is nitrogen. Its deficiency is manifested by weak development of seedlings.

Lifeless, faded tops do not ensure the circulation of nutrients, sap flow is weak, and photosynthesis is limited. By the time the carrot fruit is formed, potassium and phosphorus are needed. A deficiency will affect poor taste, presentation, and shelf life. But this will be revealed later, when the root crops are taken out of the ground. In the meantime, only the tops are visible, you can determine that feeding is required. Pale greens take on a grayish tint, the edges burn, and this is not from the bright sun, but from a lack of potassium. Purple-brown veins and spots, curling leaves - carrots require phosphorus.

An unlucky vegetable grower will find out that carrots lacked manganese, boron, barium, iodine, magnesium and a whole range of other microelements when he tastes the crop: limp, unsweetened flesh by taste, spotted, gnarled small root vegetables by eye. And in the cellar such fruits will not last even until the New Year holidays. There is no need to talk about the benefits of such a crop for human health.