Carrot & Onion Bed

Season timeline

Bed layout

Crops in this bed

• 
  Carrot

  Daucus carota

  Main crop · Spacing 5 cm

  Open plant profile
• 
  Shallot

  Allium cepa

  Companion · Spacing 10 cm

  Open plant profile

Step by step

1. 1
   Direct-sow the carrotsMar–Apr

   Sow carrots thinly in shallow rows as soon as the soil crumbles; germination can take three weeks.

2. 2
   Plant the onion setsMar–Apr

   Push the sets into the rows between the future carrot rows, tips just showing.

3. 3
   Pull early bunching carrotsJun–Jul

   Harvest every other root as tender bunches; the rest gains room to size up.

4. 4
   Harvest the onionsJul–Aug

   Once the tops yellow and fall over, lift the bulbs and let them dry in an airy spot.

5. 5
   Lift the maincrop carrotsAug–Oct

   Lift the remaining carrots as needed; they hold in the soil until the first frosts.

6. 6
   Clear the bedOct

   Remove the last roots and spent foliage, and compost only healthy material.

Harvest calendar

The bed over the season

Why this combination works

Carrot fly hunts by scent, and so does onion fly. When carrot and onion rows alternate, each crop’s smell masks the other, so both pests struggle to find their target. The two vegetables also root at different depths — onions sit shallow while carrots reach deep — so they never compete for the same water and nutrients. Alternating rows make the most of a narrow bed without any extra work.

Tips

Sow carrots thinly and thin them in the evening — the scent of bruised foliage attracts carrot fly. Firm onion sets into the soil just deep enough that the tip still shows. Water evenly; carrots split after sudden heavy watering. Never plant onions into freshly manured soil.