Carrots - useful in all senses root. It is grown almost all truck farmers, harvested for the winter like potatoes, onions and beets. It is extremely important to know when to harvest carrots, so that it is fully ripe, but not over-ripe, which will have a bad effect on its shelf life.
When can I pick carrots?
It is not necessary to hurry with the harvest of carrots, because it will not be fully ripe, and not only its taste will suffer, but also the quality and shelf life. Optimal to choose a cool dry autumn day in late September-October, when the temperature on the street will be within +4 ... -6ºС.
If you dig a carrot before, when the weather is still quite warm (+ 15 ° C and more), the process of accumulation in carrots of such important substances as carotene, sugars, enzymes and so on will be interrupted. And by this you will deprive yourself of the immense benefit of the root crop.
Especially do not hurry with the late varieties of carrots - they need to be removed from the garden, when the time comes regular frost. This moment comes at different times depending on the region of residence. But it is important to have time before the beginning of a period of prolonged rains and frosts, so as not to lose part of the crop.
In general, regardless of the variety of carrots, in the ground it should be at least 80 days, otherwise the growing season will be incomplete, and the root crops will not have time to grow to the proper size. Usually on a package with seeds it is indicated, when it is necessary to collect this carrot. Do not throw away the paper immediately after planting, then to be able to read the instructions again.
How to collect carrots?
When digging a carrot for the winter, do it, usually with the help of forks. They less damage the root crop. If you do this with a shovel, you need to be careful, lifting up a layer of soil with carrots.
Next, you need to collect it, shaking off the tops. If the weather is dry, the earth simply pours off the carrots, leaving it almost clean. After harvesting, you need to lay out the carrots in one layer right on the ground, so that it softens a little, then remove the tops and transfer the carrots to the cellar or other storage place.