Why do carrots crack in the garden?

When answering the question why carrots crack in the garden, I would always like to advise: look for errors in agricultural technology. But what can you do wrong when growing such a simple crop? - the reader will ask.

Carrots burst due to improper agricultural practices

It turns out it is possible. Here are the main reasons:

Reason 1. Irregularity of watering: they filled it in and forgot it for two weeks, then again they gave it too much water. As a result, the walls of small cells that carrots formed during the dry period crack under the pressure of water. And as a result, the owners end up with bursting carrots.

How to avoid this: You can avoid uneven soil moisture in a carrot bed by making shallow grooves between the rows, filling them with compost or sand, and watering only in them, and not in the rows where the carrots grow.

Or sow carrots with intercrops that will protect them from excess moisture in the early stages of development. Temporary neighbors of carrots can be radishes, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage. Well, of course, you need to water carrots taking into account their water needs at different stages of development, taking into account the weather.

Reason 2. Poor nutrition. For example, applying fresh manure before sowing. Or excess nitrogen. Carrots are sown after crops to which organic matter was added.

How to prevent this: This crop is fed with weak organic infusions during the period of active growth of tops. And the growth of root crops is ensured by fertilizing carrots with potassium.

Reason 3. Heavy soil. Sometimes it happens that the watering is moderate and the fertilizing is not too much, but the carrots still crack. This may be due to heavy, clay soil, which is not suitable for growing carrots.

How to fix it: To make the soil in the garden bed more suitable for carrots, add compost, good humus, and sand when digging. And when choosing varieties, preference is given to short-fruited ones.

Reason 4. Late harvest. Summer residents often sow early varieties of carrots in April and dig them up in October. Overripe carrots crack, lose their taste and juiciness.

What to do: Sow carrots for summer consumption in early spring.Postpone sowing carrots for winter storage until June. Then you won’t have to keep the carrots in the garden.

If you do everything correctly, the carrots will not crack.

But how can you determine whether a carrot is ready for harvesting or not, since this is not a tomato, the ripeness of which can be judged by the color of the fruit?

And you can judge the ripeness of carrots by taste. The fact is that the root crops reach the characteristic color and size characteristic of the variety before they accumulate the required amount of sugars. Pull a carrot and try it. Moreover, if the weather is warm even at night, it is advisable to pull it out in the evening, when sugar accumulates in the root vegetables during the day.

During the night, the plant can use up the carbohydrates stored during the day. And the warmer the night, the more active this happens. This is why carrots taste better during cool nights. Carrots are dug up when they have gained weight and accumulated taste. It is better to do this, as you already understood, in the evening.

Carrots dug up ahead of time not only have no different taste, but also store poorly - they quickly wither.

Continuation of the topic:

1. Why do carrots grow ugly and gnarled?