Many gardeners at the beginning of their “agricultural career” strive to grow as many vegetables as possible on their 6 acres. The enthusiasm of a novice gardener does not dry up while seedlings are purchased or grown, while the earth is dug up, and the greenery begins to take root. To be honest, we jealously monitor how our beds grow and whether they lag behind those of our neighbors. If we are successful, we are very proud of them. But sometimes no amount of enthusiasm and hard work helps to reap a decent harvest. Something is going wrong. It seems like the weather is good, and a lot of effort has been spent...
And then the neighbor, who looked in to hear the heavy sighs, explains: “Who plants peas among onions!”
Indeed, vegetables and herbs do not always get along with each other. The proximity of some increases the harvest and diseases, the proximity of others depresses them.
Take, for example, the most common vegetable - carrots. Carrots get along well next to and mixed with peas, spinach, radishes, lettuce, beets, and chard. Carrots grow well with onions, leeks or perennial onions. Neutral to radishes and turnips. But it does not tolerate dill, celery and parsley well, and does not tolerate anise nearby.
In our gardens, dill spreads by self-sowing and often lush dill branches turn green in carrot beds by the end of June. But don’t be lazy and water the dill off the carrots and immediately put it into okroshka!
Basil grows well next to beans, peppers, fennel, cucumbers, leaf and head lettuce, tomatoes, onions, corn and zucchini. It is not recommended to plant it next to marjoram and dill.
Eggplant grows well next to bush beans, peas, and peppers; it does not like proximity to cucumbers and there are quite conflicting opinions about their proximity to other nightshades. Many gardeners who have eggplants planted next to tomatoes or next to potatoes are convinced that such a neighborhood is quite successful. Other gardeners believe that eggplants are losing their harvest. But thyme is believed to have a beneficial effect on the eggplant harvest.
Beans grow well next to many crops: corn, tomatoes and cucumbers, carrots and radishes. As for potatoes, there is one feature: beans cannot be planted mixed with potatoes, but only along the edge of the potato field. In the general ridge, beans lead in terms of nutrient consumption; potatoes will receive less, primarily potassium; tubers form small ones. But beans planted around the perimeter of potato beds repel moles. Beans do not like being next to onions (all types), garlic and peas. If a good harvest of beans is important, you should plant oregano or rosemary next to them.
Grapes grow well next to radishes, radishes, bush beans, carrots, and beets. Tomatoes, cabbage, corn, onions (all types), horseradish, and soy are considered harmful to it. Regarding cabbage - white cabbage spoils the taste of grapes, while cauliflower, on the contrary, has a beneficial effect (according to Moser), like cucumbers - not the most optimal neighbor, but definitely does not cause harm. In his experiments, Moser notes the beneficial effects of sorrel, yellow mustard, spinach, alfalfa, melon and other plants on grapes. The worst effect on grapes was: eggplant, potatoes, peppers, dandelion, wormwood, nettle.
Peas have a good relationship with carrots and cucumbers, zucchini and cabbage; they do not like onions, watercress, tomatoes, and garlic.
Strawberries are compatible in plantings with lettuce, beans, garlic, spinach, and grow well next to beets, onions, radishes, and parsley. It does not tolerate proximity to horseradish; joint planting of wild strawberries and wild strawberries is very doubtful.
Zucchini is good neighbors for it - peas, onions, lettuce, bush beans, spinach. It is not advisable to plant zucchini next to pumpkin, potatoes, radishes and radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley.
Cabbage – it’s not difficult to find a place in the garden. Many crops are friends with cabbage: bush beans, carrots, beets, beans, celery, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes (except red cabbage), leeks, beets. You can plant greens next to cabbage: dill, onions. There are conflicting opinions regarding the compatibility of cabbage and strawberries, wild strawberries (possibly depending on the varieties and method of planting), as well as parsley.
Different types of cabbage have different attitudes towards onions; a number of agronomists believe that Chinese cabbage and onions are incompatible, but onions and broccoli make a good combination. We recommend basing it on your own observations.
Kohlrabi cabbage differs from other types of cabbage - it is planted next to peas, potatoes, radishes, asparagus, bush beans; it does not like proximity to tomatoes, horseradish and garlic.
Potatoes - grow next to a variety of crops, it is easier to list those that potatoes do not like: these are melons, legumes (except for bush beans or beans along the perimeter of the field), cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as raspberries, sunflowers, asparagus and celery.
Strawberries can be planted next to greens (dill, parsley, lettuce), onions, radishes, beets and beans. Doesn't like strawberries, cabbage and horseradish.
Watercress is a rather selective crop. It is good to plant it next to carrots, tomatoes, radishes, spinach, but not next to legumes, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, and herbs - celery, fennel, dill and parsley. As for onions, the data is contradictory; the German gardener Hubmann recommends joint planting of watercress, chives and spinach. A number of other gardeners indicate in their notes that watercress does not combine with onions, leeks or green onions.
Corn is rarely grown by gardeners, but if you are looking for a place for it in the beds, then preferably next to potatoes or peas. You can plant it next to cucumbers or tomatoes, but not next to grapes, celery and beets.
Onions are traditionally planted next to carrots. They protect each other from the most common pests: carrots repel onion flies, and onions repel carrot flies. Onions can also be planted next to melons, cucumbers, beets, and lettuce. Onions are contraindicated in proximity to beans (only leeks are friends with them), asparagus, and legumes.
Marjoram - can be planted next to any types of onions, carrots, turnips, spinach. Joint planting of marjoram with fennel and basil is undesirable.
Carrots grow best mixed with onions, next to peas; as already mentioned, they grow well next to many crops, but do not like being next to herbs (celery, parsley, anise). Sage and rosemary protect carrots from carrot flies.
Cucumbers are good to plant next to beans (bush and climbing), peas, beans, white cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, beets, lettuce, onions, basil, dill, fennel, radishes (not clear with radishes), garlic, spinach. Do not plant cucumbers next to potatoes, zucchini, turnips, leeks, watercress, or eggplants. The issue of joint planting of cucumbers and tomatoes is controversial; it should remain at the discretion of the gardener and personal experience. The same applies to the combination of carrots and cucumbers (more data on incompatibility).
Peppers can be planted next to eggplants, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, thyme and basil. Beetroot, any beans, and fennel will be bad neighbors for it. An interesting question about the compatibility of pepper and kohlrabi - some sources claim that they are incompatible, others claim that kohlrabi and sweet peppers go well together. Perhaps it depends on the type of pepper, for example, there is no data on hot pepper.
Radishes and radishes grow well alongside watercress, green onions, parsley, carrots, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, bush beans, peas and tomatoes. It is not advisable to plant radishes and radishes next to horseradish and basil.
Turnips are sweet and tasty and will grow next to legumes, watercress, marjoram, radishes, celery, and spinach. Do not plant it next to cabbage (common diseases), there is no exact data on tomatoes, but turnips are less demanding crops in terms of nutrition, tomatoes are quite demanding, so if the soil is well fertilized and nutritious, you can plant turnips next to tomatoes.
Leaf lettuce can be planted next to cabbage, onions, strawberries, dill and parsley. Does not like proximity to celery and fennel.
Beets - a favorable location for them is next to bush beans, dill, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and zucchini. Do not plant beets next to perennial onions, peppers, or climbing beans.
For a better harvest, tomatoes are planted next to basil, beans, watercress, perennial onions, carrots, radishes, radishes, lettuce, celery; you can plant cabbage next to them (except kohlrabi). But plant tomatoes away from grapes, peas, potatoes, as well as zucchini, kohlrabi, dill and fennel. The issue of planting tomatoes and cucumbers together is controversial; perhaps it depends on the planting method and varieties.
Pumpkins are often planted together with zucchini, but this is wrong, they are cross-pollinated, and as a result something average with low taste grows. Pumpkin can be planted next to beans, beans or peas. Although it is better to plant pumpkins separately somewhere on the compost heap. The main thing is that there are no plantings of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, potatoes, peppers nearby - pumpkin takes a lot of nutrients.
Lentils and beans the requirements are quite similar - in joint plantings they are friends with radishes, spinach, cucumbers, they grow well next to tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, beets, celery; Americans often practice them with cabbage (all types). Very contradictory data with onions: it is permissible to plant leeks next to lentils and beans, but all other onions (including decorative ones) are not allowed. You cannot plant garlic, fennel, or dahlia flowers next to beans and lentils. To help beans and lentils, sowing savory in the immediate vicinity will help (repels aphids). Pumpkins and zucchini have neither a positive nor a negative effect if they are planted next door.
Good afternoon, dear readers!
It is impossible to imagine preparing many dishes without carrots. Of course, every summer resident will definitely allocate a bed for this crop in order to get a carrot harvest on his own. In order for cultivation to be successful, it is necessary to take into account the agricultural technology of this vegetable and its requirements for soil composition. Only in this case will the root vegetables be large and rich in taste.
And be sure to take into account the rules of crop rotation.
Carrots are among those crops that are demanding on crop rotation rules. The root crop can be returned to its original place no earlier than after 4 years. Therefore, for planting next year you will have to find another site. And in a carrot bed, not only some types of vegetables, but also berry crops will grow successfully. If you do not follow this principle, you can forget about a good carrot harvest.
From time to time, the residents in the beds need to be changed; the more often this is done, the better for the vegetables themselves and for the soil. Pests may also like the new crop. With such agricultural technology, the risk of diseases is reduced. Therefore, you should not plant related root crops on a carrot bed, for example, beets, which have common diseases with it.
- An exception to this rule would be radishes, because they ripen very quickly and you simply won’t have time to get sick. But learn that this crop needs a sunny place for planting.
- A suitable successor for carrots would be regular potatoes and sweet potatoes. Both vegetables will give a good harvest in loose, humus-rich soil.
- It is also permissible to grow other nightshade crops - tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.
- This soil is quite suitable for growing physalis.
- After carrots, you can plant artichokes, but they definitely need good drainage.
- Onions and garlic are good because they disinfect the soil. They can be planted in the garden after the carrots.
- Strawberries and garden strawberries will also give a good harvest in a carrot bed.
On a note! To obtain a good harvest, of course, it is worth using other agricultural techniques: loosening, hilling, weeding, pest control. Proper crop rotation alone is not enough.
Precursor plants play a big role when growing carrots. After all, the orange root crop is considered sensitive to the composition of the soil and the fertilizers added to it. For example, after applying manure, it is recommended to plant carrots only after 2 years. The following are considered successful predecessors for carrots:
- potato;
- tomatoes;
- cucumbers (after 1-2 years);
- salad;
Alternation with these crops helps to preserve the structure of the soil and sufficient content of essential nutrients.
Crop rotation table
Both carrots and beets are root vegetables. They have the same principle of obtaining nutrients from the soil. Therefore, it is better to select more favorable predecessors for one and the other culture. But in cramped conditions, sometimes you have to plant beets after carrots and vice versa. In this case, you need to properly prepare the bed. After harvesting, the soil is dug up with green manure plants, for example, white mustard.
Since carrots and beets are harvested quite late, mustard can be sown in advance in another place. When the bed is cleared after root crops, the green mustard shoots are crushed and buried in the ground. Then the soil is spilled with EM preparations and covered with plastic film. Over the winter, plant residues in the soil are rotted, and a loose, fertilized substrate is obtained, suitable for growing both carrots and beets.
The most unsuccessful predecessor for carrots is parsley. After growing this greenery, pathogenic bacteria accumulate in the soil, which can subsequently infect the root crops. If you plant carrots after parsley, the fruits will be small, crooked, and lacking in juiciness. The situation can be partially corrected using a solution of potassium permanganate, which will disinfect the soil. But if possible, it is worth choosing another predecessor.
Carrots are considered unpretentious and grow well after many crops. It is also not recommended to plant carrots after beans and after umbrella plants (anise, dill, coriander, caraway, fennel).
The same can be said about the carrots themselves. It can be returned to the garden, but not earlier than after 4 years. Since carrots are considered a moderately soil-depleting root crop, there is no strict ban on planting other crops after them.
Carrots cannot be called a capricious crop, but they do have certain requirements for the composition of the soil and the growing process. The most suitable soil for carrot beds is loose sandy loam or loamy soil. The soil should have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. Hard, nutrient-poor soil is absolutely not suitable. If you plant carrots in clay soil, the seedlings will be unfriendly due to the formation of a dense crust on the surface of the bed.
In any case, the soil is dug up deeply and loosened before planting - this increases the volume of the future harvest by an order of magnitude. If the soil on your site is not very suitable for carrots in terms of mechanical composition, planting in high beds will be the solution. Average soil nutrition is preferred. Both a lack and an excess of fertilizers are harmful for carrots.
Helpful advice! Never feed carrots with fresh manure, use only humus, otherwise your crops may die.
Excess organic matter in the soil attracts a pest - the carrot fly. To repel the pest, it is better to alternate planting carrots with planting onions and garlic. Excessive content of organic fertilizers also affects the quality of fruits. In this case, the carrots turn out to be curved and can form “horns”. The application of necessary additives and fertilizers depends on the initial composition of the soil.
- Add to peat soil: fine sawdust, turf soil, humus or compost, coarse sand, rotted manure.
- If the soil is sandy, sawdust, turf soil, humus and peat should be used as additives.
- Sand, sawdust, and superphosphate should be added to the black soil.
It is recommended to dig up beds for carrots in the fall. If the soil is too acidic, dolomite flour or chalk is added at this stage. In the spring, on the eve of planting, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. A few days before planting, the beds must again be dug to a depth of 25-27 cm.
To ensure that the soil warms up well, it is compacted, watered and covered with film.
Just before planting, the soil is loosened again and furrows are made at a distance of 20 cm. The furrows are watered with a solution of potassium permanganate. After this, the bed is ready for planting.
It is better to allocate sunny, unshaded places for planting carrots. It should be watered infrequently, but deeply, so that during the growth process the root crop does not bend in search of moisture, but grows evenly. Mulching with sawdust will help maintain moderate moisture in the soil. They will also increase the looseness of the soil, which will only benefit root crops.
The seedlings will need to be thinned out, leaving a distance of 5 cm between them, otherwise the carrots will turn out too small. Weaker seedlings need to be removed. If the soil in the garden bed is poor in fertilizers, additional fertilizing can be done with special fertilizers for root crops. It is enough to do this 1-2 times per season.
How to sow carrots correctly: video
Fortunately, information about proper crop rotation is now quite accessible, so everyone, even an inexperienced summer resident, can carry out agricultural work on their plot competently. These recommendations have been tested for decades, so they can be trusted. Do you want to get a good carrot harvest? Select the right predecessors for it. Then the harvest from one bed will provide you with juicy root vegetables for the whole winter.
Many are sincerely surprised that someone comes to mind next to each other, and therefore together plant carrots and onions. What's strange about this?
Personally, this is exactly how I’ve been planting these crops for more than 30 years: it’s both convenient and the plants are happy with each other. There have never been any misfires with harvests.
It’s a pity that I don’t have a camera (but my husband doesn’t give it to me: he says he doesn’t have batteries or anything else), otherwise I would show the result of my labors.
And I do everything like this. First, I turn to the lunar calendar and prepare the garden bed at the required time. Then, when planting time approaches, I plant onions first.
Then, 7-8 cm after it, I make a furrow for the carrots, then I stick the onion in again and dig a ditch for its neighbor - and so on until the end of the bed. When I plant the onions, I take care of the grooves for the carrots. I water them well with warm melt water.
I open the packet of carrot seeds, pour the seeds into a shallow bowl and add a handful of dry sand. For what? And then you don’t have to worry about thinning it out.
I mix well and sow, then sprinkle the furrows with earth and pat them down with my hand. If the first week is dry, I water the beds.
I plant three such beds in total, and I have different varieties of onions on them. As soon as it hatches from the ground, I immediately stop watering. When it’s time to weed it, you’ll see that your neighbor’s carrot has already grown up. Weeding the onions, immediately
I loosen the soil near the bulbs and see how many bulbs are emerging. If there are more than five pieces in the nest, then I pull out the extra ones.
In other words, I divide the nests. This is to make the bulbs larger. I do it as follows: I press 4-5 pieces to the ground with my left hand, and remove the rest. This onion tastes very good, and I love it very much: I eat it quickly.
I start harvesting with onions, and also according to the dates of the lunar calendar. After harvesting it, the carrots reign for another whole month in the once again loosened bed.
The combination of onions and carrots in one bed
Over the past years, we have repeatedly returned to the topic of increasing the productivity of the garden, including by compacting plantings. And now we again remember about one of the most famous, textbook options - a combination of onions and carrots in one bed. It would seem that this method of planting is well known, what new can be learned? Don't rush to conclusions. Candidate of Biological Sciences Sergei Lyubarsky shares his experience.
So, let us remind you: the main crops in this garden bed are onions and carrots, or rather carrots, since they occupy the territory almost the entire season. Onions, since their growing season ends quite early, can be conditionally classified as compacting crops.
Let us note that for many years now we have abandoned the use of onion sets and biennial onion crops. Why?
Growing seedlings ourselves is quite a troublesome task for us - small plants are sensitive to changes in soil moisture, are easily clogged with weeds, and require a lot of manual labor. Preserving small bulbs until the next season requires a certain temperature and humidity regime. In warm weather it is easy to dry it out, in cold weather it can be vernalized or even frozen. Purchased seedlings in the spring are a “pig in a poke”, and even at such prices...
But there are many varieties that allow you to get a completely marketable bulb in one season. There is only one caveat - if, as recommended, you sow the seeds in early spring directly into the ground, then most of them will not have time to form a good bulb in time, since the seedlings are very sensitive to soil and air temperatures and the length of daylight hours.
However, there is a way out. We need to make seedlings. This is not as troublesome as it seems, but it takes quite a long period of time.
Sow onions for seedlings
We “bury” onion seeds usually in late February - early March. A trough measuring 20x50 and 7-8 cm deep is enough for one bag of seeds. Sprinkled with about one centimeter of soil, the seeds come out in “loops” after one to two weeks from sowing, after which you just need to keep them in a cool, bright place and water them until planting.
When will there be carrots?
May has arrived. We are not in a hurry to form a garden bed, because carrots sown too early produce uneven shoots, sometimes go into arrows, and are stored worse...
Practice has shown that “early” sowing of carrots does not produce the desired results, but the overall yield and its preservation suffer. Finally, her turn comes.
Finally they met!
For planting carrots and onions, we make narrow beds - about 70 cm, in this case there are four longitudinal rows on them. The two extreme ones are onion seedlings.
No special “executions” such as cutting leaves and
We do not trace the roots of the onion seedlings, we simply lay the plants along the furrow and carefully sprinkle the roots with soil. The main tool for this is a flat cutter. Onion seedlings allow you to immediately “outline” the crops, since the bed is made level with the path.
The middle two rows are occupied by carrots. In order for it to rise well and evenly, the groove under it is not raked, but pressed through with the edge of a small board.
As a result, the seed bed has the same depth and is slightly compacted, which further helps to “pull” soil moisture through the capillaries exactly where it is needed.
For uniform sowing, mix carrot seeds with sand. We also add some radish seeds to it. In the future, he will work first with the “lighthouse” crop, and then give the first harvest. Thanks to the “lighthouse”, which is the first to reach the surface, it is possible to loosen the rows with weeds even before the carrots come out.
Garden bed care
To seal in moisture and reduce weeding, it is very advisable to mulch the paths up to the onion row, which clearly marks the border. In this capacity, cardboard, newsprint, weeds mowed outside the outskirts, weeds thrown out by a neighbor, grass mowed from the lawn by another neighbor will be used... In a word, everything that can cover the ground and then rot right on it.
With neat mulch that lies evenly (compost, mowed grass) you can also mulch the row spacing in the garden bed itself. The number of weedings will be significantly reduced!
Friendly neighbors
Carrots and onions go well together because they hardly shade each other, they feed on different soil horizons and at different times. Onions practically finish their growing season by mid-summer, and carrots produce their main growth closer to autumn. In addition, onions repel carrot flies, whose larvae bore root crops. And the carrots, accordingly, “hide” the onions from the onion fly.
True, onions receive such care “from the beginning to the end” of their journey, and carrots are protected only from the first generation of insects, since at the end of summer they are in splendid isolation.
We tried to rectify the situation by adding seedlings of low-growing marigolds and basil into the gaps of the carrot rows every meter later, when the threat of frost had finally passed. This also made it possible to decorate the garden bed, improve the soil health, and obtain additional spicy herbs.
And also, where for some reason the carrots did not come out, you can plant beet seedlings - they are ready for us much later. But still, it is advisable to eat the beetles young - their wide leaves over time begin to oppress nearby carrots.
Such a complex ridge, even in the last difficult summer, allowed us to obtain a harvest of high-quality products that completely satisfied us.
Our search for optimal gardening solutions will undoubtedly continue. In the meantime, we share our achievements so that the harvests and gardens of our readers grow.
Probably, novice gardeners do not complain about any vegetable as much as about carrots. And it’s small, and crooked, and unsweetened! It seems like they watered and fed her as expected, but she didn’t like everything. But don’t rush to complain about your ward’s finicky disposition. Better try to remember what exactly grew next to it. Perhaps you have chosen some unfortunate neighbors for your carrots? Yes, yes, don't be surprised. A seemingly frivolous mistake could well be the reason for the unsightly appearance and mediocre taste of root vegetables.
Requirements for growth conditions
In fact, carrots are very unpretentious and if you can provide them with favorable growth conditions, you won’t have to complain about the harvest. To sow carrot seeds, you should take a flat (slight slope is allowed), sunny place. The soil should be loose, moisture-absorbing and well fertilized. To grow carrots, it is not allowed to use beds where anise, coriander, beans, celery, parsley, parsnips, and scorzonera grew last season. Early potatoes and cabbage are considered good predecessors for the crop. Carrots also cannot be grown in one place for two seasons in a row; ideally, they should return to their original bed no earlier than after 3-4 years.
The soil on the site is dug up in the fall to a depth of 1.5 shovels, carefully breaking up the lumps - this is a very important condition. If the forming root crop encounters an obstacle on its way, it will change the direction of growth, and by autumn you will get a harvest of “horned” carrots, which will be very difficult to pull out of the ground. Before sowing, the soil is filled with organic and mineral fertilizers, leveled and abundantly moistened. Further care for carrots involves timely implementation of such agrotechnical measures as watering and weeding beds, thinning and feeding seedlings.
With trees and bushes
Since carrots need bright light throughout the day, their proximity to tall, spreading crops that provide shade is completely excluded. Sowing carrots under an apple tree is the worst idea. The plants, of course, will not die, but in such proximity the taste of the fruits of both crops deteriorates: both apples and carrots will become noticeably bitter.
With fruits and vegetables
Carrots have an easy-going character and go well with most garden crops. The best companions for her are:
- Onion. The most faithful friend and ally of carrots. Planting together is beneficial to both crops: carrots protect the neighbor from the onion fly, and he, in turn, scares away the carrot fly from his “friend.” But! Crops have different requirements for water supply: while carrots need moisture to form roots, watering onions must be stopped, otherwise the heads will rot. Given this fact, it is recommended to grow carrots and onions in separate beds.
- Garlic. Natural disinfectant. Its pungent aroma is not liked by harmful insects, and the phytoncides released into the soil destroy pathogenic flora. Cultures coexist safely without interfering with each other’s development. For example, winter garlic is planted in October, and in November carrot seeds are sown between the rows. The bed is mulched with peat and humus. At the end of March, garlic “feathers” peck from the ground, and after 2-3 weeks carrot shoots appear. In July, the garlic is harvested, and carrots remain the only crop in the garden.
- Early vegetables and greens(radish, spinach, summer radish, lettuce). Sowing the mentioned crops in a carrot bed is the best way to increase the usable area in a small area. Seeds of early ripening vegetables are mixed with sand or tea granules and sown between rows of carrots. As needed, vegetables and herbs are removed for seasonal consumption, leaving the garden bed completely at the disposal of carrots.
- Legumes. They feed carrots with nitrogen, thereby stimulating their development, and also protect the plantings from wireworms. The only problem is that peas, beans, peanuts, and black beans grow quickly, blocking the sun. However, if they are planted on the north side of the garden bed, such proximity will not cause any inconvenience to the carrots.
- Tomatoes. Both crops feed on different layers of soil, which means they do not oppress each other. In addition, the proximity of tomatoes improves the taste of root vegetables.
- cucumbers. They are friendly towards almost all inhabitants of garden beds, so carrots react very favorably to their proximity. In addition, cucumber vines form impenetrable thickets, preventing voracious slugs and snails from approaching their neighbors.
- Broccoli and Brussels sprouts. They develop well next to carrots, without competing with them for nutrition and moisture.
It is not advisable to grow carrots next to horseradish, white cabbage and beets. The reason is known - in the struggle for nutrients, plants will adversely affect each other’s development.
With ornamental plants
Carrots get along well with flowers. Marigolds, calendula, and low-growing zinnias protect plantings from aphids, carrot flies, and repel click beetles. Early flowering bulbous crops feel comfortable next to carrot beds: tulips, daffodils, irises, galanthus, crocuses.
With fragrant herbs
Plants with a strong, unique aroma are successful partners for many garden and vegetable crops, including carrots. Root vegetables taste especially juicy and sweet next to sage. The development of carrots is favored by proximity to herbs such as basil, rosemary, thyme, mint, lemon balm, and marjoram, the aroma of which repels aphids and carrot flies from planting.
Undesirable neighbors for carrots are related fennel, dill, anise, lovage, parsley, celery - these plants actively absorb from the soil the nutrients carrots need for development and attract common pests to the plantings. It is also not recommended to grow hyssop and wormwood in close proximity to carrot beds - naturally aggressive, they oppress their less hardy neighbor, reducing its yield and worsening the taste of root crops.
Plants growing nearby have a certain interaction with each other. Some of them are very friendly with each other, and such proximity has a beneficial effect on growth and harvest. Others behave very hostilely towards their neighbors in the garden. Using knowledge about the influence of plants on each other, you can rationally plan your bed, grow a rich harvest and avoid various mistakes when growing vegetable crops.
Mixed plantings
If the garden bed is small, but in the future you want to get a large harvest of various crops, experienced gardeners do mixed plantings. This method consists of simultaneously growing several types of vegetable crops in one area according to a pre-drawn plan, taking into account their compatibility with each other. Every experienced gardener knows that to obtain a rich harvest, you need, first of all, fertile soil, high-quality seeds, fertilizers and daily care. But few people take into account the mutual influence of vegetables adjacent to one another.
The essence of this mutual influence is that plants release biologically active substances into the environment, and a successful selection of “neighbors” in the garden will allow you to obtain a high yield without much hassle and with a minimum of fertilizers. A striking example of this is the rule of the American Indians that has come down to us of the unsurpassed trio “peas - corn - pumpkin”. Peas rely on corn and release nitrogen into the ground, and pumpkin protects all plantings from weeds. Therefore, we can say with confidence that caring for joint plantings is a more exciting and promising activity than caring for monocultures.
The advantages of combined plantings are as follows:
- You can harvest much more than when sowing monocultures.
- The plants' need for watering is reduced.
- Weed growth is significantly reduced.
- Costs for preparatory gardening work are reduced.
- Plants in the garden are less susceptible to disease, are healthy and have an attractive appearance.
- It is possible to refuse fertilizing or significantly reduce it due to the fact that legumes release nitrogen into the soil.
- There is no need for crop rotation, the land is not depleted or impoverished.
- There is no need to use pesticides due to the fact that plants attract many birds and beneficial insects that destroy pests.
- The harvest can be obtained throughout the season by removing ripe fruits and planting new ones.
Drawing up a planting plan
Experienced amateur gardeners who use the mixed planting method claim that such proximity of vegetables even affects their taste. For example, parsley, basil and celery significantly improve the taste of tomatoes, and sunflowers planted next to cucumbers will make them especially sweet and crunchy.
When planning mixed placement of vegetable crops, you must follow some rules:
- Study the location of your own garden bed - is it a sunny or shaded area, is it protected from the winds, what is the composition of the soil, what climate zone is it in, etc.
- When choosing plant varieties, consider the climate.
- Plan the placement of crops so that taller ones do not shade those that love sunlight, and shade-loving ones end up in a darkened area.
- Combine plants with a large root system with those crops that have a superficial root system. This is done in order to provide the necessary area for feeding all crops.
- Plant plants with different ripening periods. For example, it is better to add dill, radishes, onions and lettuce to cucumbers, eggplants or zucchini.
In a mixed bed, the early predecessor crop is usually grown first, then the main crop and the partner crop. With enough experience, you can draw up a planting plan yourself, or you can use ready-made tables and planting diagrams.
What can you plant in the same bed as carrots?
To obtain an excellent harvest of carrots with mixed plantings, the best “friends” of this vegetable crop are considered to be: all types of legumes, tomatoes, green lettuce, garlic, sage and radishes.
Neighborhood with legumes and tomatoes will allow you to get very tasty and sweet carrots.
Carrots are incompatible with parsley, beets, various herbs, anise, horseradish and beets. It is also recommended to plant carrots away from apple trees, as in the end both the vegetable and the apples taste bitter.
When to plant carrots and beets in the same bed?
As mentioned above, carrots and beets in the same bed are not the best neighbors. However, if you need to simultaneously grow a crop of these crops, and at the same time use all the necessary conditions, you can achieve good results.
Carrots are a fairly cold-resistant plant and tolerate light frosts at a temperature of -4 C°. Beets must be planted at a minimum steady-state temperature of +10 C°, since when sowing seeds below this limit they will die. Therefore, carrots are sown first, leaving room for beets. You can advance the timing of planting these crops if you choose mid-season and late-ripening carrot seeds. Beets can be sown earlier, but then it is recommended to cover them with garden film. Caring for these crops is not difficult - they both love sunlight and need weeding and watering.
When to plant carrots and dill in the same bed?
Unfortunately, carrots and dill in the same bed are incompatible neighbors. Planting these crops in one area has an extremely adverse effect on carrot roots and significantly impairs its taste, size and yield.
What to plant after carrots?
To obtain a rich harvest during crop rotation, use the “roots and petioles” rule. Since root crops suck all the juices out of the soil and significantly deplete it, crops with a small root system are sown after them.
After carrots, it is best to plant nightshades (potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers and tomatoes), legumes (peas, beans, beans), onions, garlic and radishes in the garden. In areas where carrots grew, strawberries and wild strawberries will thrive for many years. Cultivation of crops after carrots such as rye, oats and mustard disinfects the soil and suppresses the development of weeds.
The best predecessors of carrots in open ground are potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, green salad and onions. According to many years of observations, carrot precursors allow the most rational distribution of nutrients in the soil, slow down the growth of weeds and repel harmful insects.
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