Last week I planted my carrots and onions. As garden companions, I alternate my rows of onions and carrots to keep damaging bugs away.
Carrots
For my carrots, I use a coated seed. This helps me see where I’m planting them and if I drop some on the ground (that never happens!) I can actually find them!
Before I plant anything, I mix a good amount of manure with the soil and break up any lumps with my hands. I form this mixture into a mounded row.
Following the directions on the package, I plant a seed every 1/4 inch, about 1/4 inch deep. I sprinkle a little Miracle Gro Shake and Feed amoung the seeds and then cover them up.
I like to pat the soil down gently so rain doesn’t wash it away as easily.
As the carrots come up, it is very important to thin them to one plant every 2-3 inches. I always thought this seemed wasteful, but when I tried it, I got an abundance of carrots! So the same principle applies here as in weeding – thin out whatever you planted, as per the package instructions, so there isn’t so much competing for the nutrients in the soil.
Onions
For my onions, I like to plant a bag of red onion sets and yellow onion sets. Starting with the onion sets gives me a harvest of delicious green onions quite quickly.
Again, I work manure into my soil and form it into mounded rows. Then I plant my onions about 1 1/2 inches apart, 1 inch deep. I sprinkle with a little Miracle Gro Shake and Feed, cover them with soil and gently pat the soil down.
As a side note, the only time I add any plant food to my garden is
during the initial planting. After the planting, all I do is weed and water and watch things grow!
When the onions have grown into a nice green onion, I harvest every second one so the remaining onions are spaced about 3 inches apart. Again, this spacing allows the onions to get the needed nutrients from the soil so they can grow into lovely onions that will last a good part of the winter.
Click here for how to harvest, dry and store your onions so they last through the winter.
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