Is it possible to place carrots and onions in the same bed? Timing and scheme of planting

Advantages and disadvantages

Is it possible to plant carrots and onions side by side in the same bed? Yes, you can, and such a landing has its advantages:

• Onion roots are always located significantly higher than carrot fruits.
• Saving space (a great solution for owners of small plots).
• The bulbs do not restrict the carrots, and, thanks to the different ripening periods, the carrots develop freely after the onions are removed.
• By harvesting the onion crop, the soil is loosened, which has a beneficial effect on the root crops remaining in the soil.

There is one minus - if you plan to plant large bulbs, then you need to monitor the distance so that there is no unfavorable constraint.

What is the difference between beacon onions and onions grown in monoculture?

In the first years, I planted beacon onions only along the edges of the ridge, and tried to pull them out into the greenery so that the onions would not interfere with the growth of carrots. But then, I noticed that the onions that grow in carrots do not interfere with them at all, just like carrots do with onions. Onions grown together with carrots are always larger than those grown in monoculture. The bulbs grown in a carrot bed are always larger than average and large. There are no small onions at all. And carrots next to onions turn out great.

In the photo on the left, a typical onion grown as a beacon in a carrot bed. On the right is a typical onion, the same quantity, the same variety, but grown in a monoculture.

If earlier, on my site, onions for summer salads were taken exclusively from beacon onions, but now I cannot afford such luxury. Onions for summer needs are taken from the onion bed, and the cultivation of beacon onions is carried out exclusively to obtain beautiful, high-quality bulbs for the winter.

Landing dates

When can crops be planted? Since carrots are an unpretentious crop, they can be planted at temperatures down to -4. As soon as the ground begins to warm up, you can begin to form carrot beds. To determine the timing, there are several time schemes:

• Late and mid-season carrot varieties are best planted from late April to early May.
• If the soil is of medium density, the date can be postponed to mid-May.
• If the soil is light, then even if planted at the end of May, you will also be able to grow an excellent harvest.

Sowing carrots under a drip irrigation system

The construction of a drip irrigation system on the site provides significant benefits. This saves water and time: instead of watering, owners can do other things while the system is watering. Automatic systems can also be configured to water when the owners are not on site. Then there will be fewer visits to the dacha, and the summer residents themselves will not be afraid that watering is carried out in the heat, and the leaves of the plants may get burned. With drip irrigation, weeds can be weeded or harvested in neighboring beds without any problems - no puddles or streaks of water form.

With drip irrigation, moisture gets only under the root, and the leaves and stems remain dry. This means that fungicides or insecticides will not be washed off, the protective properties from such treatments will last longer, and the gardener will not have to prioritize between watering and treatments. Drip irrigation can be used both in open and protected ground. But the most important advantage is the ability to apply soluble fertilizers in liquid form. By keeping their dosage compatible (some of them, when interacting, can burn plants and clog the drip system), they increase the effectiveness of fertilizing and reduce their quantity.

Instructions on how to plant

Site preparation

The basis of the garden bed will be carrots; it is necessary to prepare the area to meet its requirements.
In the fall, they dig up the bed, maintaining a depth of 10-15 cm. If the carrot variety is expected to have a long rhizome, up to 30 cm. It is also worth considering that carrots do not like manure; you should not use a bed that was fertilized with it only if at least 2 years have passed since fertilizing with manure. Also exclude infusions or solutions made with manure. Phosphorus and potassium should predominate in fertilizers. It is necessary to change the inhabitants of the beds where carrots grew last year; it will be possible to plant them again only in the 4th year. This crop is very demanding on crop rotation.

But on the former carrot beds they will take root well:

• potato;
• tomatoes;
• eggplants.

Carrots should be planted in beds whose inhabitants were:

• tomatoes;
• potato;
• salad;
• onion.

Cucumbers are also allowed, but if 1-2 years have passed since they were planted. This will increase both the yield and the amount of nutrients in the vegetables. In spring, the prepared area does not need to be cultivated; it is enough to loosen the soil and provide it with fertilizers.

1. To mark the border, you will need a rope or a tourniquet, which must be stretched along the entire length of the bed.
2. Mark the boundaries between rows for sowing.
3. Ash and sawdust are placed in the first furrow, and seedlings are planted on top of the fertilizer.
4. The second groove is for carrots. It is either sown, or the seeds are initially glued to paper and laid out along the furrow.
5. There is no need to compact the rows; just cover them with soil.

Below is an informative video about preparing a site for the joint planting of onions and carrots:

Seed preparation

Preparing seeds for planting:

1. If planting occurs in early spring , to harden the seeds, they can be placed in the refrigerator for a day.
2. If planting occurs during a hot period, the seeds are soaked, and then they will hatch much faster. The seeds are placed in a damp cloth and tied up.

Onion seeds are planted immediately in the ground or as seedlings. If the climate is warm and temperate, then you can disinfect the seeds by first soaking them in a solution of potassium permanganate.

Scheme

How to plant vegetables correctly? There are a great variety of planting methods, but for a rich harvest, both onions and carrots are usually planted in one furrow.

Favorite schemes for joint landing:

1. Carrot seeds are mixed with onion seeds and sown in one furrow.
2. The seeds are glued to paper and sown along the length of the bed.
3. Onion seeds are stuck into the soil, and carrot seeds are sown between the rows.
4. The furrows are sown with carrots, and onions are planted in the holes made with a stick.

It is preferable to plant onions along the edges, since carrots emerge later. Both crops can be planted at the same time.

Read about how to sow seeds so that carrots sprout quickly here, and about manual and other seeders here.

Selection of planting material

When choosing a set, first of all, pay attention to its shelf life, determining the one that is suitable in terms of shape, ripening period and storage duration. The most popular varieties:

1. Stuttgarter Riesen. A mid-early variety, known for its excellent yield - up to 5 kg of bulbs per sq.m. They have a flat-round shape and yellow scales. The taste is very sharp and rich.
2. Red Baron. An early ripening variety with red scales. The bulbs are round, the yield is about 3 kg per sq.m. The taste is semi-sharp and pleasant.
3. Stardust F A mid-early hybrid with large, round, snow-white bulbs. The taste is excellent, semi-sharp. Productivity is high.
4. Sturon. Fruitful mid-early variety. The bulbs are round, with yellow scales. Perfectly stored.
5. Hercules. Mid-early productive variety. The bulbs are elongated, covered with yellow scales. The taste is noble, spicy and spicy.
6. Centurion F High-yielding, long-lasting hybrid with early fruit production. Resistant to diseases. The bulbs are elongated and have a semi-sharp taste.

Regardless of the variety, the bulbs chosen must be healthy in order to grow a quality turnip.

Signs of low-quality sowing:

• unpleasant, putrid odor;
• soft, inelastic bulbs;
• onion too wet;
• sprouted feather;
• unsorted onions of different diameters;
• spots on the surface of the scales.

Such planting material should not be purchased; the yield will be low. Choose only aligned, elastic, calibrated bulbs without foreign odors and stains.

Depending on the diameter of the sets, they grow:

1. on a feather – with a diameter of more than 2 cm;
2. for a turnip - with a diameter of 1-2 cm.

Large bulbs, more than 2 cm in diameter, are more often used for greens, since they often produce shoots. However, you can also get onions from it.

Where to store seedlings before planting

It is better to purchase bulbs in advance, and not at the beginning of the summer season. It's all about storing planting material. The higher the humidity and lower the temperature, the more likely it is that onions will germinate too early.

After purchasing, the bulbs are scattered into a low cardboard box and dried in an apartment near a radiator or in another dark place. After drying, you can store the onion sets in your apartment until planting, avoiding exposure to moisture or cold. Planting material should not be stored on the windowsill.

Oktyabrina Ganichkina’s advice:

If the onions for planting are grown independently and stored at home, then drying and heating are not required.

Treatment of seedlings before planting

The first step in preparing the seedlings for planting is calibrating and rejecting the bulbs. Carefully inspect the condition of each onion, discarding rotten, empty, and wrinkled ones.

After this, you need to carefully trim the dry tail at the top of the bulb with a knife or scissors. This way the feathers will grow faster and easier. Some gardeners also trim the bottom. Others believe that onions do not need pruning at all.

Next, the bulbs are soaked in disinfecting compounds:

1. In copper sulfate. Add 0.5 tsp to 5 liters of water. copper sulfate. The bulbs are immersed in the solution and kept in it for 10 minutes.
2. In potassium permanganate. Potassium permanganate crystals are added to the water until it turns a deep dark pink color. Soak the bulbs for an hour, then wash the sets and begin sowing.
3. In saline solution. Add 3 tbsp to 3 liters of water. salt, leave the onions in the liquid for 2 hours.
4. In purchased fungicides. Special preparations designed to combat fungi can be purchased at the store. The working solution should be prepared in strict accordance with the instructions.

Such measures are needed to disinfect the cuts and surfaces of the bulbs. In this case, fungi and bacteria will die, and infection of the plantings will be excluded.

Primary care

1. The onion will sprout first; it needs to be thinned and fertilized. Fertilizer solution: 1 tbsp per bucket of water. l. kerosene, superphosphate extract, ash, urea.
2. Carrots will sprout three weeks after planting. As soon as the first leaves appear, they are thinned out. When the diameter of the carrots reaches 1 cm, thin out again.
3. The gap between the fruits should be 4-5cm.
4. The soil must not be allowed to dry out.
5. If planting was in early spring, then it is necessary to insulate it with any covering material.

Reference ! Before harvesting onions, water the bed so that the soil is moist, under this condition there is no need to use a shovel, the crop can be pulled out by hand.

Read about the principles of caring for carrots after planting here.

Sowing carrots in a greenhouse

Carrots require long daylight hours, so they are not grown indoors as often. But this method has its advantages, so if you have a greenhouse, you shouldn’t give it up. Greenhouse carrots are not intended for storage. But for the vitamin table, it is grown successfully in closed ground. In this case, you can get two harvests: one - when sowing in February - early March (harvest period - May), the second - in August (harvest period - December-January). Preference is given to early or mid-early varieties that produce medium-sized fruits; they feel better in the greenhouse.

The agricultural scheme for growing carrots here is similar to the scheme for open ground. This applies to predecessors, soil preparation, size of beds, amount of moisture and fertilizer, etc. the only significant difference is the ventilation of the greenhouse.

List of vegetable alternatives

Onions are not the only plant that can be planted with carrots.

• Legumes - carrots are best planted with peas, but they also get along well with beans.
• Lettuce and spinach - greens ripen quickly and give carrots freedom by July, plus additional loosening of the soil.
• Herbs : sage, marjoram, calendula, rosemary, marigold.
• Also excellent neighbors will be: radishes, strawberries, tomatoes and cabbage .

Here are some neighbors you should be wary of:

• dill;
• beets;
• horseradish;
• celery;
• anise;
• parsley

You should not grow carrots under an apple tree, because this will worsen the taste of both the fruit and the vegetable; both will taste bitter.

For those who have not yet tried this method of planting several crops, it is worth trying to plant one row first, so that at the end of the season you can see how profitable it is and what benefits it can bring. In addition to all the above advantages, a bed on which different types of crops are planted looks attractive and original.

Is it possible to plant onions and carrots together in the same bed?

The roots of the bulbs are much higher than the rhizomes of carrots, so the plants get along well in the same bed. This method is used to increase the productivity of the garden .

Due to mixed planting, the rows are compacted - this allows you to collect rich harvests in small areas.

Carrots occupy the garden area almost the entire season. Seeds are planted at a distance, and bulbs are advantageously placed between rows.

Due to the fact that the onion harvest is harvested earlier, the carrot roots gain growth until the fall and receive additional loosening of the soil.

Carrots grown in this way together with onions grow larger and juicier. It does not interfere with the ripening of the bulbs.

By the time the tops grow, arrows form on the bulbs; later they dry out and fall to the ground.

If you follow all the planting rules, there will be enough space in the garden for the growth of large-sized crops.

Carrots grown together with onions grow larger and juicier and do not interfere with the ripening of the bulbs

Common mistakes when growing carrots

1. Don't apply too much nitrogen. Carrots are demanding of it, but moderation is needed in everything. If carrots are overfed with nitrogen, they will accumulate nitrates, lose their taste and will not be stored well.
2. To get healthy shoots when sowing in spring, in addition to soaking the seeds, be sure to water the soil before sowing and compact it after. Then the seeds will lie evenly and the necessary nutrition will be equally available to them.

The result of sowing without watering and compaction. Seeds that rolled under clods of earth, or those that did not fit tightly to the soil, experienced a moisture deficiency. They sprouted, but the tips of the roots dried out due to lack of moisture: “two-horned” carrots grew)

1. Do not water the carrots until they sprout! This will lead to the formation of a soil crust that is difficult for sprouts to break through. Sow in moist soil, but plant in dry soil.