Carrots are one of the most common vegetables grown in gardens. Some vegetable growers ask themselves why carrots do not sprout after planting. If you are faced with the fact that the seedlings have not appeared, you will have to replant the seeds. However, before that, it is better to familiarize yourself with how to plant carrots so that they sprout quickly.
When the first shoots appear
Before planting seeds, you need to familiarize yourself with when carrots sprout after planting.After all, not everyone knows how long it takes for carrots to sprout. There are various reasons why the duration of germination may vary. The time of emergence of seedlings depends on the soil in which the plant is grown. Bushes sprout much faster when grown in sandy loam and loose soil. Also, the germination of carrots depends on whether the seeds were prepared for planting. Some vegetable growers, in order to speed up the germination of carrot seeds, pre-treat them.
However, despite all these reasons, it is possible to determine how many days after planting carrots sprout. When planting treated and peeled seeds, the first carrot shoots appear within a week. In cold rooms, their germination is delayed for three weeks.
You can also determine how many days it takes carrots to sprout after planting using the weather. In cloudy weather, the first shoots will appear only 20-25 days after planting. However, if you know how to quickly germinate carrot seeds, then this period can be reduced several times.
Reasons for poor germination
If the carrots have not sprouted, you should familiarize yourself with the main reasons why this may happen.
Poor quality seeds
Before sowing carrots, you need to select seeds. There are cases when people purchase low-quality or defective seeds that do not begin to grow. To avoid such a problem, before sowing it is necessary to calibrate the planting material. To do this, all seeds are placed in a saline solution for 5-10 minutes. During this time, low-quality seeds will float to the surface.
Unsuitable soil
Sometimes Carrots in granules do not grow well due to unsuitable soil. Seedlings do not appear in areas with large amounts of fresh manure.It is better to plant the plant 2-3 years after using this fertilizer.
Deep sowing
If the carrots have not sprouted on time, then it is worth checking the planting depth. The plant will not grow well if it is planted too deeply. It is recommended to plant the seeds to a depth of no more than 10 cm. However, they are not covered with a thick layer of soil. If the vegetable does not sprout due to the depth of sowing, then you will have to dig up the seeds and replant them at a shallower depth.
However, you should not plant them on the very surface of the soil, as this may cause them to freeze, which will also negatively affect the germination rate.
Little moisture
Caring for planted carrots should include periodic watering. If the soil is constantly dry, the germination of seeds will slow down several times. When watering, it is recommended to use a special covering material, which will help retain moisture in the ground longer.
Seed treatment
In order not to think about how many days it takes for carrots to sprout after sowing, you need to try to control the time when the first shoots appear. To do this, their germination should be accelerated. To understand how to speed up the germination of carrot seeds, you should familiarize yourself with the basic methods of processing seeds.
Soaking in water
Before speeding up the germination of carrot seeds, you need to understand the features of this method.
All seed should be soaked in heated water. To do this, the seeds are wrapped in gauze and placed in a container with liquid heated to 25 degrees. This treatment of carrot seeds before planting should last no longer than three hours. During this time, the seed should swell well.
By treating the seeds in this way, you can see what the first shoots look like after two weeks.
Hardening
Having figured out how to soak carrot seeds before planting, you can begin hardening them. Sometimes a vegetable takes a long time to germinate due to the fact that the seed was not hardened in advance.
For hardening, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator for two weeks, in which the temperature should be kept at about three degrees Celsius. This procedure will help increase the rate of seed germination. Also, hardened sprouted sprouts will be more viable and stronger.
Using vodka
Experienced vegetable growers who know how to prepare carrot seeds for planting quite often use vodka for this. Pre-sowing carrot seeds are soaked in vodka to remove essential oils, which may be the reason why carrots do not sprout well. Soaking planting material in vodka is quite simple.
To do this, all the seeds are placed in a small fabric bag and lowered into a container with vodka for 25 minutes. During this time, the alcohol should remove a layer of oil from the seeds, which will increase the rate of their germination. When the preparation of carrot seeds for sowing is completed, all seeds are washed with heated water. If the first procedure of soaking carrot seeds before sowing did not help, then the seeds can be soaked in vodka again.
Site selection
Before sowing carrots, you should choose a place to grow them. Planting should be carried out only in the most suitable areas. An incorrectly selected site increases the likelihood that the sprouts will not sprout.
The seeds should be planted in an area that receives good light throughout the day. If you germinate them with insufficient lighting levels, then because of this, seedlings appear much later.Areas with loamy and porous soils are ideal for planting material. Planting a plant in heavy soil can negatively affect root crops. In such soil they may form branched or have an irregular shape.
Soil preparation
When the preparation of carrot seeds for planting is completed, you should start preparing the soil. After all, it also depends on what day the first shoots will appear. Therefore, it is worth familiarizing yourself with how to properly prepare the soil for planting.
Care must be taken that carrots are not planted in open ground with a small amount of nutrients. It is recommended to plant it in prepared soil. Therefore, you need to add a little granular urea with chicken droppings to the soil in advance. However, you should not add too much fertilizer to the open ground, as this may deteriorate the taste of the root crop.
Also, before planting, you should make the soil looser. To do this, special leavening agents are added to it, which include sand or peat. If the seeds are planted in such soil, it will be easier to germinate.
Landing
Having finished choosing a suitable site and preparing the soil, you can begin planting the seeds. There are two main ways to plant them in the garden. The first method is suitable for people who plan to plant it in early spring. In this case, one large hole about 30 cm deep is created on the site. A small bag filled with seeds is placed in it. It is sprinkled with soil and watered with three liters of heated water. When the planted seeds germinate, they can be dug up and planted in separate holes.
The second method is simpler and that is why it is used much more often.First you need to mark the rows on which the plant will be planted. After this, small holes are created, the depth of which should be about 5-7 cm. If there are no night frosts outside, then you can plant the seeds at a depth of 3-4 cm.
The created holes are sprinkled with peat and watered with warm water. After this, 2-3 seeds are poured into each of them. Then they are all covered with soil and watered again. In good weather, seedlings germinate within two weeks.
Acceleration of the appearance of the first shoots is carried out using covering material. The rows can be covered with old things or polyethylene film. All this will help moisture remain in the soil longer. When the first shoots appear, the beds should be completely opened.
Conclusion
Many novice vegetable growers do not know what to do if the carrots have not sprouted. To avoid this problem, you should learn in advance how to plant carrots correctly. You can also familiarize yourself with other recommendations with photos and videos, which will tell you what to do if carrots do not sprout and how you can speed up the growth of carrots.