combining veggies

[CrestedHorizonPoultry]

Has anyone ever combine their veggies to help with space or to help another plant naturally protect another plant from bugs? I have a friend that plants radishes with her zucchini to keep squash bugs away. She also puts her cucumbers with her corn to save room. Anyone else do these things and what do you combine?

 

[digitS']

Mostly, I make use of space . . . By that I mean, there is almost always room for an onion set, somewhere.

I don't think that onions, actually a heavy feeder, appreciates crowding anymore than any other plant. Still, if you are needing a scallion that is less than 1/2 inch in diameter, it doesn't need a square foot of soil to grow in.

Leaf lettuce also fits in well. Lettuce can tolerate some shade. It also benefits the gardener to protect lettuce a little from a blazing hot afternoon sun, especially in a dry climate like where I garden. Leaf lettuce isn't destined to stay in the garden for long, either. Growing along the outside of a bed of carrots works just fine for lettuce.

Many of my vegetables are planted in beds and because I grow a lot, they sometimes take up an entire bed by themselves. But if I plant only a few square feet of something, it seems to go well to work it into a bed with something else. Often, I have "salad beds" of all sorts of things.

I read How to Grow More Vegetables, by John Jeavons, many years ago. Kentucky State University uses some of his diagrams to give you ideas about spacing when companion planting. KSU - click here.

This is a real good article about Companion Planting. The author is a knowledgeable advocate of the practice. But, I want you to note what she says about this weird idea of "crystal chromatography" upon which so much has been built regarding companion planting -- plants actually "liking" or even "loving" other plants.

Well maybe, but I think there's reason to believe in some "benefit" and a little "tolerance" on one plant's part towards another . . .

Steve

 

[Grow 4 Food]

I have been looking for this type of info for my boss. Great Timing!

 

[ducks4you]

KSU - click here.[/url]

Steve, , the b&w hexagonal illustraion looks like a diagram of a chemical compound!!
Seriously, though, thanks for sharing --every little bit of information helps.

 

[digitS']

Yeah, . .

With gardens of several thousand square feet, I don't really do this matrix planting anymore. Still, I once did . . . back in the days when my gardening time was confined to those moments after work and on weekends and my gardens were much smaller.

These days, I go shuffling down a path, laying out a row in a 4' wide bed. Often, there are 3 or 4 species of plants in that single bed. Alternating plants set close together and especially in beds helps make good use of the space.

Even tho' our gardens may be laid out in squares and rectangles, plants don't generally grow like this:

Usually, they grow like this:

If we are going to make use of every bit of our garden space, it makes sense to figure out how to fit them in . . .

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

LOVE IT!!!!
I am SOOOOO VISUAL!!!