Reasons why carrots are gnarled and horned and methods for growing straight root vegetables

Carrots are an unpretentious vegetable, but its cultivation requires compliance with basic agrotechnical rules. Getting a crooked and horned harvest is not uncommon. There are many reasons for deformed root crops: from improper watering to plant diseases.

How to grow smooth, beautiful carrots? We'll talk about this in the article.

Reasons why carrots are horned and gnarled

After sowing seeds and caring for a vegetable for a long time, you want to get a high-quality harvest. But what to do if reality does not live up to expectations? First, it’s worth understanding why this happens.

The main reasons why carrots grow crooked:

• unsuitable soil structure for growing carrots;
• errors in the application of fertilizers;
• excessive watering or, conversely, lack thereof;
• mechanical damage to root crops;
• close distance between plants;
• wrong choice of variety.

Unsuitable soil

For growing carrots, loose soils are chosen: light and medium loams, peat and sandy soils.

Important! The humus content in the soil is at least 4%.

Why heavy soil is unsuitable for growing root vegetables:

1. Structure too dense. The root will not have enough strength to break through the dense layer of earth, and it will begin to look for side passages in the ground.
2. In dense soil there are mechanical barriers - stones, remnants of the root system, branches. All this prevents the main root from fully developing.

Errors in fertilizer

The place for sowing vegetables is prepared in the fall.During the same period, it is recommended to fertilize the soil with organic fertilizers.

Mistakes in applying fertilizers:

• excessive feeding;
• applying fresh manure at the root;
• simultaneous application of lime and nutrients.

Important! Dolomite flour and potassium chloride have a negative effect on carrots. When using them, the root crop dries out and cracks.

For proper development of carrots, 2-3 feedings are carried out per season.

Stages of carrot fertilization:

1. In the fall, add organic matter.
2. In the spring, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied two weeks before sowing.
3. First feeding. When 2-3 true leaves appear. Based on 10 m of ridge, 25 g of ammonium nitrate, 35 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium salt are diluted in 10 liters of water.
4. Second feeding. After three weeks - similar to the first.
5. Third feeding. It is applied for late varieties. In this case, dilute 35 g of superphosphate and 30 g of potassium salt in 10 liters of water.

Important! To prevent leaching of the introduced nutrients, fertilizing is carried out after watering or after rain.

Improper watering

Untimely watering also contributes to deformation of the root crop.

Insufficient or uneven watering is fraught with consequences:

• cracking of the vegetable, which leads to splitting of the carrot;
• in the absence of moisture, the plant increases the growth of lateral shoots in search of water.

Rules for watering carrots:

• in the first month after sowing, regular abundant watering as needed;
• during the period of carrot formation, watering is halved;
• from August the formation of root crops ends - watering is excluded forever.

Maintain the ratio of regularity and depth of watering: it is better to water less often, but distribute the water more evenly over the surface of the bed, thus increasing the depth to the optimal 20-30 cm.

Root damage and other causes

Mechanical damage to the roots is a common cause of vegetable deformity.

Causes of damage:

• rough, sloppy weeding;
• vegetable transplantation;
• lack of moisture in the soil at the beginning of development;
• impact pests.

To prevent defects, you must:

• carefully care for crops;
• treat against pests;
• Follow the sowing rules and under no circumstances replant carrots.

Another reason for the deformation of carrots is the violation of the distance between crops. At excessive distances, the feeding area of ​​the root system increases, as a result of which the lateral roots grow. In turn, planting too close reduces the feeding area, and carrots interfere with each other’s development.

Wrong variety selection - one of the main reasons for the curvature of the root crop. The problem lies in the discrepancy between the growing conditions required by the variety and the actual climatic conditions.

Advice. Choose zoned varieties.

What to do

To solve the problem of gnarled carrots, follow the rules of care and agricultural technology.

Problem solving steps:

1. Autumn soil preparation. After harvesting the previous crop dig up the bed. To improve the soil structure, green manure is sown.
2. In the spring, dig up the soil again. The procedure is carried out two weeks before sowing with the application of mineral fertilizers.
3. After sowing, do not allow the soil to dry out.
4. When carrots begin to form, thinning the crops is carried out, if necessary.
5. Conduct timely weeding of crops.
6. Harvesting crops. If carrots remain in the soil for a long time after ripening, they begin to crack and rot.

How to grow smooth, beautiful carrots

To get a good quality carrot harvest, you should pay special attention to two stages of plant development.

Two critical stages of carrot development during which the root becomes deformed:

1. First stage. Curvature occurs due to lack of moisture, heavy soils and excess nitrogen.
2. Second half of the growing season. At this stage, horned carrots often form due to lack of moisture.

It is important to comply with sowing dates to obtain a high-quality harvest. If the temperature after sowing is below + 8°C, the likelihood of deformation of root crops increases. If the temperature is above + 25°C, then development will slow down.

Important! When sowing in winter, special varieties of carrots are chosen. Because the soil settles in winter.

The choice of location also affects the increase in the quality of the crop. Consider the following cultural features:

• the bed is placed in a lighted place;
• use loose soil with neutral acidity;
• follow the rules crop rotation: the best predecessors are potatoes, onions, tomatoes.

Another important point when growing carrots is preparing the seeds for sowing. To get healthy carrot shoots, use the following methods for preparing seeds:

• Soaking method. Prepare a solution: 0.5 tsp. complex fertilizer and 0.5 tsp. potassium permanganate is dissolved in 1 liter of water. Soak the seeds for a day in this solution, after which they are sown.
• Hardening method. The seeds are placed in a cloth and a week before sowing, they are buried in the ground to a depth of 20 cm. The seeds are taken out on the day of sowing, dried and sown.

To avoid crowding of crops, they are drained or purchased ready-made.

Important. The belt sowing method is also used. Seeds are glued to a strip of paper at a distance of 7-10 cm, and the strip is laid in a row.

Secrets of growing smooth, beautiful carrots:

• follow the rules of agricultural technology;
• do not sow carrots after herbs;
• lightly hill up the crops after weeding;
• take care of crops in a timely manner;
• follow the watering rules;
• treat crops from diseases and pests.

Advice from experienced summer residents

Experienced gardeners share their methods for solving the problem of carrot deformation.

Basic tips:

1. Select the right predecessor. Potatoes, tomatoes, legumes and cucumbers are suitable for carrots. Plant carrots in the same place after at least a year.
2. Do not apply organic fertilizers to carrots. The root crop begins to deform.
3. Follow the planting pattern. The distance between carrots is approximately 10 cm, and row spacing is at least 25 cm.
4. Be sure to adhere to the rules of watering, weeding and do not forget to thin out the carrots on time.

Conclusion

To solve the problem of root crop deformation, you need to know the basic rules of crop care. If you follow agricultural techniques, you will not only be able to avoid the ugliness of the vegetable, but also improve the quality of the harvest.