What To Plant
After Carrots

The Best Crops To Plant After Carrots

(The Quick Answer)

Carrots are light feeders, pulling mostly from the subsoil and leaving much of the topsoil pantry untouched.

This makes them an ideal predecessor for beans, peas, onions, garlic, tomatoes, or peppers, all of which will thrive without competing for the same resources.

Avoid: Other root crops like beets, parsnips, or more carrots. They can invite the same soil-dwelling pests and diseases to linger.

Why These Work

Carrots loosen the soil as they grow, making it airy and well-structured for the next crop.

By rotating to a different plant family, you break the cycles of carrot-specific pests like root-knot nematodes and carrot rust fly, while taking advantage of the bed’s improved tilth.

Not sure which crop is right for following after your carrots?

Let’s look more closely at the best options, why they work, and how to know when each one is the right choice.

Seeds are promises for the future, neatly tucked into paper.

Best Options to Grow After Carrots

(The Detailed Answers)

Onions or Garlic

Why it works: Alliums pull different nutrients and don’t share carrot pests or diseases.

Best when: You can plant in late summer for overwintering garlic/onions or in spring for a quicker crop.

Consider: Mulch well for winter; rotate alliums annually to prevent disease buildup.

Bush Beans or Peas

Why it works: Legumes are the soil’s quiet philanthropists, pulling nitrogen from thin air and tucking it back into the ground.

Best when: Soil is warm enough for beans or cool enough for peas, depending on the season.

Consider: Inoculate seed for better nodulation, pick often, and don’t be surprised if the beans arrive in generous handfuls you didn’t see coming.

Tomatoes or Peppers

Why it works: Nightshades like tomatoes & peppers are heavy feeders that benefit from the loosened soil and available nutrients.

Best when: You have enough warm season left for fruit set and ripening.

Consider: Stake for airflow; mulch to retain moisture in freshly loosened soil.

Cover Crops (Oats + Peas, or Winter Rye + Hairy Vetch)

Why it works: When it’s too late for another “main event,” a cover crop dresses the soil in green over winter, feeding the underground life while protecting against erosion.

Best when: You’ve run out of growing season but want spring-ready soil.

Consider: Know your chosen mix’s temperament - oats die back with frost for easy spring prep, rye demands a formal ending with a crimp or cut.

More Unusual Companions

Leafy Greens (Spinach, Lettuce): Quick crops that take advantage of loosened soil and open canopy.

Asian Greens: Fast and flavorful, ideal for the cooler weeks after carrot harvest.

What to Avoid After Carrots (and Why)

More Carrots:

Increases risk of pest/disease buildup.

Other Root Crops:

Beets, parsnips, radishes share pests like root maggots and diseases like cavity spot.

Bed Reset & Prep

✅ Remove any carrot fragments or pieces of tops

✅ Compost healthy plant material and burn any with disease.

✅ Loosen the soil gently, keeping structure intact.

✅ Spread ½–1 inch compost; re-level.

✅ Mulch if planting a fall crop; water in deeply.

Growing food is more than just growing food.

It’s partnership. A quiet rhythm shared between you, the plants, and the soil, deepening with each season.

All About Timing Cheatsheet

If it's:

All Summer: Plant beans, tomatoes, peppers, or leafy greens.

Early Fall: Sow spinach, Asian greens, or a quick cover crop.

Cool climates: Tuck in garlic/onion or an overwinter cover crop.

Warm climates: Beans or peppers for an extended harvest.

The seed remembers the hand that sowed it.

Go Forth & Grow...

Carrots hide their sweetness deep, asking for trust in what lies beneath the soil.

They remind us that the unseen can be nourishing, and the hidden often holds the greatest worth.

Whether you unearthed straight roots or crooked treasures, you discovered the garden’s small secrets.

This carrot guide was just the beginning. Use it to choose the crops that follow, letting the soil shift from roots to new forms of life.

Pull, share, plant again.

This guide was created with dirt under my fingernails, late nights, and a lot of care. No ads, no paywalls, just a simple offering for fellow growers.

If it helped you, inspired you, or made crop rotation feel just a LITTLE less mysterious (or even just if you enjoyed your ads-free time) there are two simple ways to say thanks:

Share the Love... Sow it Forward!

Share it with someone who might be interested in it.

Pin it, email it, or send it to that friend who always talks about tomatoes.

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Created by Bethany Archer, lifelong gardener and founder of Grow & Gather Life.