When gardeners prepare for growing season, most of them plan to have a deep clean of a greenhouse, get necessary supplies or building a raised bed. Although these are crucial steps in preparing a greenhouse for planting, but you also need to plan ahead what to plant after you harvest spring crops. What to plant after tomatoes? What to plant after beans? List goes on and on, but in this article you will find out what to plant after onions or garlic.
Individual vegetables are members of the family of vegetables. For example, peas are the members of bean family along with clover, vetch and beans. Planting the same vegetable or a member of the same family in the same spot every year provokes the build up of soil-borne pests and diseases.
Moreover, it will deplete the nutrients in soil. To prevent that, you need to practice crop rotation. Crop rotation is basically growing different plants in the same spot each year rather than planting the same vegetable or a member of the same family of vegetables.
Also, you can save precious growing season time by planting seedlings straight away after harvesting. So, to understand what to plant after onions or garlic we need to know to what family they belong and if they are heavy feeders.
Onions and garlic along with leeks and shallots belong to the Onion Family also known as Amaryllis Family or Amaryllidaceae. They are light feeders which means that they take small amounts of mineral nutrients from soil. There are also heavy feeders plants like corn that need lots of nitrogen and other nutrients. However, members of the pea family add nitrogen to the soil and help building soil fertility.
What to plant after onions and garlic?
- Winter Squash
- Pumpkin
- Swede
- Winter Cabbage
- Chilli
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Radishes
- Carrots and Celery
- Beans and Peas
Keep in mind that what to plant after onions and garlic depends on when you planted them and will you have enough time to harvest the follow up crops. Also, it depends on the climate you live in. However, you can also extend a growing season by growing in a greenhouse.
Onions and garlic are light feeders, so you can grow heavy feeders after them like Lettuce from Composite family or members of the Brassica Family. These vegetables are Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, Collards, Cress, Kale, Kohlrabi, Radishes and Turnips.
Also, carrots benefit from planting after onions. That’s because the strong smell after onions stays and confuses carrot root fly which is not going to lay its eggs to feed on carrots. Although you can plant legumes (beans and peas) after any other vegetables family, DO NOT plant beans and peas after onions and garlic.
Garlic and onions can bring diseases into the soil which can affect legumes growth. Diseases will then stay in soil on broken roots. Also, some of the beans can have the same root rot type of fungus. So, it is better not to plant beans and peas after onions and garlic.
What should I plant after Onions?
If you live in a warm climate and harvested onions in March, you can plant Winter Squash, Pumpkin, Swede, Winter Cabbage, Chilli and Tomato seedlings after onions. If you live in cooler climates, you should plant Chinese Cabbage or Bok Choy after onions.
However, if you planted onions later in the growing season, plant the fast growing vegetables like lettuce, spinach, mustard and various herbs including chives, coriander. Also, you can plant potatoes after onions as you can harvest them until the end of August.
What is good to plant after garlic?
If you planted garlic in fall, so around October or November, you will harvest it in July or August. So after harvesting garlic in summer, you need to plant something that grows very quick or something that grows over winter. So, good plants to grow after garlic are members of Nightshade Family (Solanaceae):
- Eggplants
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Chillies
Can you plant garlic in the same spot?
Although it is recommended to avoid growing garlic in the same spot for three years in a row, don’t plant garlic in the same place year after year. Plant other vegetables next year instead to prevent problems with thrips and onion maggots.
Also, there is a risk of plant material staying in the soil and accumulate. It can then harbor fungal diseases. So if you start noticing problems with garlic, you most likely need to implement crop rotation.
Tip: soak garlic cloves in Vodka for an hour before planting out to kill any pathogens!
Can you plant leeks after Onions?
You can plant leeks as soon as you harvest onions, it should work out well. Leeks can grow in the same soil after onions. That means that you need minimum soil preparation before planting. Both onions and leeks grow well in light soil as opposed to the members of Brassica family.
They can grow only in firm soil. This means that you need to add some topsoil for plants to anchor in. You can also plant the half of bed after onion with leeks and half with late summer salad leaves. If you didn’t sow leek seeds beforehand, just buy the plants and plant the bed with leeks.
If you have any questions about crop rotation or you just want to say “hello”, please reach out by using this contact form!
Happy Growing!
