Companion planting

[muddled]

Anyone do it?

I really like the idea of companion planting.
I firmly believe that long straight rows of a single veg are like runways for pests and are the least natural way to arrange plants....ever seen a straight line in woods or jungle? and besides, I go to my allotment to relax so I want it to be pretty and informal

BUT
It's so hard to know what goes with what.
Soil requirements, harvesting times around plants that hate root disturbance, sizes and shading and so on.
I 've looked at various graphs and lists (which all seem to directly contradict each other ) but they rarely list half the things I want to grow.

The most promising info I've found so far is on permaculture 'guilds' but these are generally built around trees (of which I have two very small ones) and only contain about five components...the tree, one or two edible plants and the rest supporting plants for the tree like comfrey and birdsfoot trefoil.... not going to give a lot of dinner then

I noticed on here somewhere that MothHawk (I think it was) grew tomatoes up with runner beans. An excellent idea....good rich water retentive bean trench,...toms will love it! harvesting won't trouble either plant and I change the soil out each year and refill over winter (sort of composting in situ) so hopefully no blight build up, I'm definately copying that this season, maybe add a little basil and I always put my sunflowers in there too. A lovely bed that will be

So, I was wondering,
Do you have any winning combinations?

It's so much better to get ideas from gardeners rather than spreadsheets!

[Guest]

I grow marigold in with everything. (french,african and pot marigold) variagated nasturiums (variagated are meant to taste different to cabbage whites) with brassicas. Some years I go from somewhere I was told if you cook things together quite often it is beneficial to grow together i.e. toms and basil. Also if I find self seeded flowers (opium poppies, white silene, violas) I sometimes leave them to grow on. They may not be immediately beneficial but they are pretty and encourage a wider biodiversity for the long run. One tip I gained from going to an open garden day a few years back was growing a few beetroot at the base of french climbing beans. They make use of the nitrogen immediately and you get lovely sized beetroot. Letting some veg go to seed - I don't like scorzonera but the flowers are lovely and they attract so many beasties. I am not so much companion planting more pick and mix with a combination of nature and nurture.

[Kristen]

I'm anti ... sorry!

I read of companion planting to deter This or That bug ... but you still get some, and for me one Carrot fly (for example) is one too many, so companion-planting Garlic to deter the Carrot fly would not be for me - I use a physical (netting) barrier instead.

In terms of crops benefiting from a symbiotic relationship I can see there is sense in that, but I prefer to grow a single crop that I can attend to / feed as suits it best, rather than as a combination. I use crop rotation to rest the soil by giving it a crop with differing nutrient requirements

I do grow Comfrey and Nettles ... but to make feed, which I put on specific plants, rather than as close planted companions.

[nellie-m]

I've tried to use the Gertrud Franck system for many years. I really like it.

It is a system of more or less long rows of veggies, divided into three groups according to how high they get and how long they are on the bed. A rows are for high / long season crops, B rows are for not quite so tall cultures, and the C rows fill in the space in between and are gone by the time the neighbouring crops need the space (and are used again after the main rows have been harvested).

A crops are, for example, peas, spuds, cucumbers,
B crops are, for example, dwarf french beans or kohl rabi,
C crops are, among others, lettuce, early carrots etc.

As for companionship, the most important thing to know is which combinations to AVOID.

The ones that don't do well together, in Gertrud Franck's experience, are

- beans and onions
- brassicas and onions
- potatoes and onions
- potatoes and celeriac
- lettuce and parsley
- beetroot and tomatoes
- red cabbage and tomatoes.

She says that all other combinations are neutral or positive so you're pretty free to experiment. She has a lot of combinations that worked very well for her but that is a much longer list. She did combine carrots and onions, and also combined cabbage and celeriac in the the same row. Beans and brassicas also go well together.

The order of rows is A-C-B-C-A-... etc. They are spaced 40-50cms apart, with a generous layer of mulch in between plants which is renewed constantly. Whatever leftovers there are from the plants is added to the mulch next to that same row. The following year the new rows will be where the mulch was, in a rotating system so that the "friendly" companions get planted in well composted soil of the beneficial last-year neighbour. Where last year's row was, spinach is sowed first thing in early spring, and what is not used in the kitchen gets cut off and builds the basis for the new row of mulch. You try not to walk between the lines much but if you do, the mulch will protect the soil from getting too compacted.

As I don't need endless rows of one vegetable, I have modified this so that my rows are rather short, divided by a wooden board (so I can easily collect any slugs that manage to outwit my slug fence), and then there's another set of short rows etc. But they all are A, B, or C rows from one end to the other.

I hope my description makes some sense.

[veggiechicken]

More about Gertrud here http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...eme_63459.html

[Bigmallly]

I think that's where SFG/SMG comes into it's own as you use companion planting whether you plan it or not.

[Small pumpkin]

I did companion planting in all my beds this year and I found it successful. For guidance I used my book companion planting by Brenda Little. I will be doing it again next year.

[Penellype]

I've not really experimented with this sort of thing as I am usually cramming a quart into a pint pot anyway. However after suffering badly with pea moth maggots last year I decided to try planting nasturtiums next to my peas this year. I have never grown nasturtiums and peas in the same garden before. It is possible that the pea moths would not have been an issue this year, as I have had previous years with very few, but I have to say that I didn't find one maggot in my pea pods, harvested from June right through to October. I will be growing nasturtiums again next year - they have the added bonus that the leaves and flowers are a very pleasant addition to salads.

[Greenleaves]

I grew Nasturtiums for the first time this year, I have no idea if they helped but they looked nice

[muddled]

Wow.

I've just been through that Gertrude thread. I'll need to read it again but it seems the overall consensus was that it did work but was complicated to set up....perhaps the degree to which it worked was in relation to how closely folk stuck to it? (lots of ABC's and parsnips)
French beans and beetroot sound good...makes sense that; and peas with nasturtiams will be beautiful as long as the blackfly they attract don't choose the peas instead.

So much to think about...I'm off to gurgle Gertrude and Brenda Little.

See you in bit.

[nellie-m]

muddled, I must admit that Gertrud was more of a gardener than a writer. Her system is not all that complicated, but when you first read her book, it seems to be overwhelming because she doesn't develop her idea from a basic level and then unfolds it bit by bit, but throws you in the deep end of the water and tries to explain the finished product.

However - it really isn't that hard. Think of it as being basically alternating rows of main crops, tall - low - tall - low etc, but making use of the space in between as long as the main rows don't need it. Add to that the essential idea that the ground should always be covered - crops, mulch or green manure - and avoid the companionships that turned out to be negative, and you've got the basics.