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Carrot companion planting entails a well calculated arrangement of your garden where two plants with a harmonious relationship are grown alongside each other.
Before you begin cultivating carrots you should consider growing them near beneficial plants , those plants are called companion plants. Carrots have several suitable companion plants .
If you’re new to companion planting, or growing carrots, don’t fret. I’ll provide you with a list of plants carrots tend to grow well with.
Those who have little or no knowledge of companion planting especially carrot companion planting, this article will guide you through carrots companion plants.
As there are friends there exist foes as well , this article will give you a indepth understanding of plant you should not grow near your carrots.
Carrot companion plants
1# Legumes
Searching for a soil enhancing companion for your carrots ? Look no more as legumes are a good pick. They make a good companion plant for the carrot plants.
These plants deposit nitrogen in the soil and help turn the nitrogen into a usable form for plants . The good bacteria in the roots of the legumes help carry out this process .
The nitrogen (ammonia) deposited in the soil stays in the soil for a long time even after harvest , nourishing the soil ahead of future plantings.
The increased nitrogen also helps in the growth of foilage and when there is more foilage there will be photosynthesis.
In turn photosynthesis means that your carrots will grow into healthy crops and produce crunchy and tasty carrots.
Legumes are very easy to grow and they take up little spaces in the garden and will give you large and healthy harvest .
They also love full sun as do the carrots , so they make a good companion plant.
2# Rosemary
They have strongly scented leaves that are known to repel the carrot rust fly from attacking your carrots.
3# Radishes
Radishes help in loosening up the soil when they sprout which will allow carrot root grow fast and easy.
Radishes have a quick maturity level , so you can possibly sow radish seeds at about the same time as you sow carrot seeds. By the time the carrots start to grow the radishes would have helped loosen the soil.
4# Lettuce
While carrots are known to grow underground and having small leaves , most varieties of lettuce have smaller roots and a lot of leaves on the surface .
This make for a great pairing between carrots and lettuce as the lettuce will fully make use of the free space available around the carrots.
Lettuce will also through its broad leaves offer shade to the carrots and help protect against weeds competing for the carrots nutrients , the leaves will block out sunlight more and better than that of the carrots.
5# Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are very good companion plants for carrots and many other root crops as they serve as repellent of aphids , carrot fly , and other carrot related pest . They are attraction plants to many pollinators .
6# Brassicas
Recent study has shown that carrots help repel the cabbage root fly from attacking brassicas by covering them with it’s (carrot) leaves or by attracting predatory insects that eat the cabbage root fly or it’s large.
7# Chives
Chives belong to the allium family. When planted alongside carrots will help repel carrot fly and aphids and will also improve the flavor of your carrots. They have very shallow roots as such will not compete with the carrots for space in the ground.
8# Beans and Peas
Your carrot plant will greatly benefit from the beans and peas as they enrich the soil with magnesium. If you chose to plant these two together ensure that you do not combine any further with crops like onions , as onions will stunt the growth of the beans and peas
9# Tomatoes
Tomatoes provide a good companion option for carrots. Tomatoes are the perfect shades your carrots need against the harsh and scorching conditions of the summer thereby, keeping them nice and cool.
When planting make sure to leave a bit of space between the plants , because if carrots are grown very close to a tomato plant it will stunt the carrots root leading to poor harvest .
What can you not plant with carrots?
1# Dill
Dill is a bad companion plant to your carrots . If planted near carrots , Dill will flower and may cross pollinate with the carrots lead to bad cross breeds.
On the other hand carrots attract Parasitic wasp and lacewings that cause significant damage to dill and parsley plants. Dill also emits compounds that are bad for carrots and can inhibit their growth and development .
2# PARSNIPS
They do not seem to cause direct harm to the carrot plant , but they are vunelrable to similar diseases and pest as carrots.
Parsnip should be grown far apart from carrots as it will help prevent a potential pest infestation in your garden .
3# Celery
Celery should not be planted alongside carrots as most of its varieties can attract aphids and carrot flys that trouble carrot plants.
4# Fennel
Fennel is a harmful companion to many plants including carrots. It’s Known to attract a lot of pest It is best that fennel be planted far from your garden so as to draw harmful pests away from your carrots and other vegetables.
5# Potatoes
potatoes and carrots do not go well as companion plants as they are both root crops . Potatoes are a bit fragile and need as much nutrients available to them.
Planting these heavy feeders next to each other will ultimately result in competition for nutrients and will then lead to a reduced in yield and produce unhealthy crops.
Roots crops need a high amount of phosphorus in order to grow well and planting two root vegetables in close proximity will lead to the production of stunted and unhealthy crops and a bad harvest time all together.
Conclusion
Carrots are easy growing and highly rewarding vegetables. They might be stress inclined , and sometimes conditions might not exactly be favorable to produce sweet carrots.
The best method to employ in this case is companion planting . You have been guided through series of good companion plants for carrots .
They are known for dettering pests and and enhancing soil quality through the production of one compound or the other , they also create freeway for your carrots to grow successfully.
Whenever you chose to plant carrots , plant any of these companion plant to get good results.
