Feeding Carrots and Onions

CraighB · April 2023

Hi guys,

I'm new to growing veg and thought I'd give it a go and see what happens.

I have planted some onion sets in the ground which are growing away nicely and I sowed some carrot seeds also in the ground yesterday too. However I didn't add any well rotted manure or compost etc however I did dig the ground over really well.

My question is should I start feeding them? And with what?

Thanks

Craigh

purplerallim · April 2023

Carrots like it mean, no feeding them if possible. I tend to add a layer of compost to the top of the bed, an inch or so, to plant the seeds into, but other than a gentle fork of the top few inches that's all they get. You need Carrots to look for food which incourages them to grow. Hope this helps.

Fairygirl · April 2023

Hi @CraighB - carrots like poor, free draining soil, so they don't need fed at all. It's a bit early to sow them though, and they may not germinate well unless the soil's warm enough. You may have to re do them later.

I don't grow onions so someone else will help with those, but I doubt you'd need to feed them anytime soon - if at all, if the soil's decent. Usually it's just a case of putting them in good soil that's had plenty of organic matter added regularly to keep it healthy.

purplerallim · April 2023

Fairygirl is right it is a bit early for Carrots, but not if you can cover them with something like a closhe. Mine are in now, but have a closhe over them, and will have till late May.

CraighB · April 2023

Fairygirl said:

Hi @CraighB - carrots like poor, free draining soil, so they don't need fed at all. It's a bit early to sow them though, and they may not germinate well unless the soil's warm enough. You may have to re do them later.

I don't grow onions so someone else will help with those, but I doubt you'd need to feed them anytime soon - if at all, if the soil's decent. Usually it's just a case of putting them in good soil that's had plenty of organic matter added regularly to keep it healthy.

Oh really I should have looked online

the seed packet was totally useless I couldn't understand it at all!

But as @purplerallim suggested I have covered the carrot seeds with a portable kind of cold frame so hopefully this might help to warm the soil up a bit. If they don't do ok I still have some seed

I also sowed some brocolli but my Niece's and Nephew were round over the weekend and decided to make mud pie. I was happily watching them do it until I was suspicious as to where they were getting the soil from! Turned out it was the newly sowed broccoli seed bed!

Fairygirl · April 2023

It does come down to location and climate - it's certainly too early here for sowing carrots unless it was inside. Fingers crossed your cover will help them survive - and thrive, but sometimes it's about experimenting too

I think I do them early May although I haven't grown them for a while as it's not really worth it. I'd need acres of them to keep me going. I'm sure I must have been a rabbit in a former life...

The problem with info on seed packets is that it's so variable - something I've been saying for a long time. I made lots of mistakes when I started out decades ago, because I didn't realise that I couldn't sow stuff as early as someone in London or similar.

CraighB · April 2023

What about feed for onions? Do they need any?

Fairygirl · April 2023

Like I said - I don't think they need anything much if the soil's right. If you get no response from this thread, it might be worth starting one specifically for your query - call it 'what do I feed onions with? ' or something similar.
People like @Allotment Boy will have plenty of info/knowledge. If he sees my tag, he might look in here

There was an item on one of the recent episodes of G's World with a lady who grows loads of varieties of onions from seed. There might be info on that too -you'd get it on iPlayer if you can't get it on TV.

CrankyYankee · April 2023

I usually plant onion sets and I prep the soil with bone meal, same stuff you'd feed your ornamental bulbs. I just toss it in and mix it well, then pop the little onions in. I don't feed them a lot during the growing season, but once in a while I might give them a little tomato feed along the way. Onions are the one thing I've been consistently successful with, and I was surprised by how low maintenance they are compared to some vegetables. I should add that I'm growing strictly long day onions, but I can't imagine short day onions would be that different.

Feeding Carrots and Onions

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