The queen of autumn is a late-ripening variety of carrots. Unpretentious care and resistance to various diseases have made this type of culture one of the most popular. The variety has certain characteristics that relate to the external and taste characteristics, cultivation and harvesting.
Carrot Seeds Queen of the Autumn
Carrot Queen of the fall unpretentious to care
Carrot Queen of the Autumn
Grade description
One of the features of the Queen of the Fall is the high carotene content (12-15%). This causes the characteristic orange color of root crops, although it is not too saturated. The variety is late ripening; the growing season is 120-130 days.
The Queen of Autumn is characterized by a spreading leaf rosette. The leaves are medium in size and light green in color.
Root crops have a regular elongated shape, the length can reach 30 cm. Weight is on average 0.16-0.2 kg. Sugar content - 6-11%. Productivity - up to 9 kg per 1 sq. Km. m
The queen of autumn is a cold-resistant variety - she is not afraid of temperatures up to -4 degrees. This provides the opportunity for early sowing, as well as harvesting already in frost. This property allows you to successfully grow carrots, even in northern latitudes.
Advantages and disadvantages
The popularity of the Queen of Autumn among gardeners is due to the mass of its advantages:
- excellent taste characteristics;
- rather large root crops;
- high germination of seeds, fruits ripen together;
- disease resistance;
- high productivity;
- the possibility of long-term storage with the preservation of taste;
- universality - carrots can be consumed fresh, used for cold and hot dishes, canned in various ways.
These advantages are opposed by several disadvantages of the variety:
- different size of root crops;
- when planting in dense soil, difficulties arise with the extraction of root crops due to the long length;
- orange is not too saturated.
Soil requirements
The soil for planting the Queen of Autumn must be prepared in advance. Preferred light fertile soil with good permeability. If the soil is too heavy, then the risk of crusting is high, which complicates the germination of the culture and can lead to deformation of root crops.
The selected site for planting should be dug up at the end of autumn. Be sure to fertilize the earth. Repeat the whole algorithm in the spring. As a fertilizer, it is good to use ash and humus - you need to add them several weeks before planting.
Fresh manure and nitrogen fertilizers should be discarded. The queen of autumn does not like high acidity, and when using nitrogen in the root crops, nitrates will accumulate in large quantities.
The landing site for the Queen of Autumn should be flat and well lit. The bed should not be located near trees or in a lowland.
Landing rules
Seeds are important to properly prepare for planting. They should be placed in warm water for a day, which must be replaced every 3 hours. After soaking, the seeds should be washed and put in the refrigerator. This preparation allows you to accelerate the germination of seeds.
You can soak the seeds for several hours, and then leave them for another 20 hours in a damp cloth. This also ensures their swelling, which is necessary to accelerate germination.
The Queen of Autumn is planted in late April or early May. It is allowed to plant in the first days of June with a cold climate or the need to get a late harvest. To determine the optimal planting time, you should focus on local climatic conditions and remember the duration of crop maturation.
Landing can be carried out in the following ways:
- sowing with sand: seeds should be taken half as much, this option is attractive due to the uniform distribution of planting material, which facilitates further work;
- paste in a paste solution: Dissolve a little starch in water, after swelling, pour seeds, spill the prepared area with this composition from a watering can.
The soil before sowing seeds should be shed. The Queen of Autumn should be planted in rows, between which a distance of 15 cm is maintained. The grooves are formed in a depth of 1-2 cm. To deepen the seeds by 0.5-1 cm.
After landing care
Caring for the Queen of the Autumn after planting involves the following activities:
- loosening of beds and harvesting of weeds - the soil is saturated with moisture, crust formation is prevented;
- moderate and regular watering - it is necessary at any stage of crop cultivation, provides evenness, juiciness and sweetness of root crops;
- thinning;
- regular top dressing: organics and minerals.
Frequent watering is required in the first month. If the weather is dry, then you need to water the carrots every day. When the seedlings reach 3-4 cm in height, the frequency of watering should be reduced - it is enough 1 time in 1-1.5 weeks.
Simultaneously with the reduction of watering, the first thinning is carried out. You will need to repeat it when the thickness of the fruit is equal to a regular pencil. After the second thinning, 5-7 cm of free space should remain between the shoots.
Thinning must be done very carefully so as not to affect the root system. Otherwise, the root crop form will suffer. If you do not thin out the culture in a timely manner, then due to the density of planting, it will be thin and frail, not suitable for long-term storage (it will quickly rot).
The queen of autumn should be fed periodically. The first top dressing is carried out when the seedlings are thinned. You can use nitrogen fertilizers, but strictly in limited quantities. Fresh manure is excluded - the taste of root crops will suffer, as well as the appearance.
When the green mass begins to grow actively, you need to make potash fertilizers. Such a measure is also required at the beginning of the formation of root crops.
With proper planting and further care, the culture will sprout 2 weeks after sowing. The construction of a shelter allows avoiding a large number of weeds and evaporation of moisture with subsequent cracking of the soil - in this quality polyethylene is used.
How to achieve a generous harvest?
To get a rich harvest, it is important to follow all the rules of sowing the culture and further care for it. The success of the event begins to be laid even at the stage of preparing the soil for planting.
One of the most important conditions for a generous harvest is the proper watering of the crop. With frequent and plentiful watering, root crops become too coarse and lose their taste - their quality resembles fodder varieties. Insufficient watering leads to lethargy of the crop, insufficient sweetness of root crops, and even the death of the entire crop. Proper watering is also important for the duration of storage of vegetables.
Diseases and their prevention
The Queen of Autumn is quite resistant to various diseases, but the risk of such trouble is not completely excluded. The main problem is the possibility of infectious diseases and fungus, due to which the fruits begin to rot and deteriorate. The following measures will help to avoid such trouble:
- competent crop rotation;
- proper preparation for planting - all plant debris should be removed in the fall, especially if any diseases have occurred;
- timely planting of seeds;
- regular use of potash fertilizers;
- timely loosening of the soil.
Among the pests, the main danger for the Queen of Autumn is the carrot fly and its larvae. A danger signal is a bronze shade of leaves. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, then the root crops will become friable and bitter - you can’t eat such vegetables. Prevention of the appearance of carrot flies is provided by the following measures:
- timely loosening;
- elimination of stagnation of water;
- the right choice of site for landing - it should not be shaded.
If it was not possible to prevent the appearance of a carrot fly, then its distribution and the mass destruction of the culture with insecticides should be stopped.
Harvesting and storage rules
Harvest Queen Autumn harvested in mid-October. It is important to correctly determine the harvest time, as unripe root crops will begin to rot, and overripe ones are too susceptible to various parasites.
You need to prepare for the harvest. For several days, you should stop watering, and if the weather is dry, then leave light irrigation. Such preparation is well reflected in the taste of root crops - they will be more sweet and juicy.
Harvest should be done in good weather - you have to choose a sunny day. If the soil is quite light and loose, then root crops can be removed manually. If this option is difficult, it is necessary to carefully dig up the culture so that there are several root crops in one coma of the earth - they must be carefully pulled out one by one at the top.
Harvested crops do not need to be cleaned of the earth or washed - such measures increase the risk of various diseases. Be sure to cut the tops, backing away from the growth point by half a centimeter.
Cropped root crops must be decomposed on the ground for drying. After this, the crop should be kept in a dark place for 15 days - the temperature in the room should be 10-15 degrees. When this period expires, the crop must be sorted, discarding soft and spoiled specimens.
The queen of autumn is great for winter storage, during which she perfectly retains her properties. Store carrots better in the cellar or basement. The optimum temperature regime is 0-5 degrees, humidity is 90-95%.
For food, carrots can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. One of the options for storing the crop is home canning.
The queen of autumn is a popular variety of carrots. It attracts with its taste, large-sized root crops, disease resistance and unpretentious care. Proper planting, preparation for it and further care provide a rich harvest that is stored for a long time.