Can I plant onions next to carrots?
Many gardeners do not even think about the fact that some crops can be planted together. Some try joint cultivation, but not always achieve good results.To get a great harvest, it is important to know which roots do not threaten each other, but, on the contrary, combine well.
Onions and carrots perfectly complement each other. The roots of these vegetables are at different levels, so one plant does not harm another. At the same time, joint planting favorably affects both cultures. Productivity is higher than when growing these vegetables separately. Also, when grown together with onions, you can get rid of pests such as carrot fly. This is explained by the fact that onion roots themselves scare away unnecessary insects.
Compatible varieties
If a gardener chooses a joint planting of vegetable crops, then between them, even with perfect biocompatibility, there is a competition for lighting, moisture and food. Therefore it is necessary to adhere to the principle of complementarity. First of all, it is necessary to combine cultures with different requirements (with high and low “appetite”) for full growth.
In the process of planting more demanding culture should be placed in the middle of the beds, where it will receive all the necessary nutrients. Another culture (with less power requirements) should be planted around the edges. It is also called accompanying or beacon. In this case, the bow.
The difference between beacon onions and those grown alone is that the first, when planted together with carrots, is much larger than the second. Carrots planted in this way are also especially juicy and large. From this we can conclude that planting onions next to carrots is possible and even necessary. After all, thanks to this unconventional landing technology, you can save on the bed area, as well as improve the quality of the crop.
As for specific varieties, they can be any. Sevok, onions or another option - it all depends on your desire.
It is only necessary to remember an important rule: it is necessary to observe the distance between the rows. Usually it is 10-20 cm. When planting a large variety of onions, the distance should be increased to 32 cm.
If you worry that the carrots do not have time to ripen, you can use early ripening varieties, for example, "Ural" or "May". It is also worth noting that onions and carrots must be planted at the same time.
Preparation for disembarkation
The first step is to prepare the seeds. To do this, they need to be placed in the fridge for 24 hours. If you are going to plant in dry weather, for example, in late spring, the seeds should be soaked. Because of this, they quickly "hatch." The period of soaking is 7 days. During this time, you need to periodically moisten the seeds with water.
If the weather is warm and steady, you can use a solution of potassium permanganate for soaking. This method will help the roots to awaken and protect the seeds from fungi.
Then it is worth preparing the ground. It must be dug up and fertilized beforehand. There are several highlights.
- It is advisable to loosen and add organic and mineral fertilizers in the fall, then in the spring there will be a quick harvest.
- The beds for sowing should be divided with the help of stretched rope.
- A hollow is formed, in which ash and sawdust are placed. The stock is sown from above.
- There is another hollow (for carrots). It is recommended to put in her seeds, which are glued to the paper. You need to carefully lay them in a depth of about 2 cm.
- It is important to water the soil systematically when the first shoots appear.
- If crops are planted in the first decade of spring, it is necessary to warm the beds qualitatively.
This principle of landing is quite rational, it reduces labor costs and eliminates pests.
Landing patterns
Mixed beds - the original way of growing tasty vegetable crops. There are a huge number of ways to plant carrots and onions in one garden. Some alternate rows, others sow in one hollow.
There are several of the most popular schemes of joint cultivation.
- Seeds of carrots combined with onion, densely sowing horizontal hollows.
- Seeds are glued to paper and rolled vertically along the entire length of the bed.
- Rows spread onion turnip, and between them sow carrot seeds.
- Make special holes with a stick and place the onion seedlings there, the rest of the hollows are filled with carrot seeds.
- Carrots are placed in the middle of the garden, and onions are planted at the edges.
The proposed schemes are suitable for any suburban area. Experienced gardeners recommend sowing different beds in different ways, then to compare the harvest.
You will learn more about planting carrots and onions by watching the following video.
Useful tips
It should be noted that carrots and onions do not ripen at the same time. The bulbs ripen faster, they can be collected in July. Early-ripening carrots ripen by August, late varieties yield in September. Some harvest partially, tearing the bulbs through one. Then the onions grow up and remain in the soil until autumn.
When the onions first grow, you need to feed it. For this it is worth making a special solution. Take 10 liters of plain water and mix with ash, urea, double superphosphate extract and kerosene (all the ingredients need to be taken one tablespoon). It is worth repeating this action in 10-15 days.
These crops are recommended to be planted in well-lit places. If there is a lot of shade, then the harvest will be low. Separately, carrots can be planted in the fall, it tolerates cold. Then in spring the first shoots appear. But onions can not be planted in cold soil.
The necessary process for the full development of carrots is thinning. The first time you need to leave the distance between the carrots in 5 cm.
It is worth considering that you should not sow carrots tightly, otherwise during thinning you can damage adjacent roots.
Part of gardeners recommends covering the bed with plastic wrap so that the first shoots appear faster. Also with the help of the film retains the necessary moisture. Although some people leave the polyethylene, considering that the carrot will not need frequent watering, it is better to remove the film at the first shoots.
In conclusion, we can conclude that there are a lot of advantages of joint cultivation of carrots and onions, but there are no disadvantages at all. Therefore, you can safely plant these two roots and collect a decent crop.
It should also be noted that not all other cultures are suitable for such a neighborhood. Some can even seriously harm carrots. For example, celery attracts annoying pests. Also, the carrot does not tolerate the neighborhood with anise, parsley and dill. You can not plant carrots and next to the apple tree, otherwise the fruit will be completely unappetizing.