Mixed Vegetable Gardening/ Polyculture

[veggiechicken]

For those of us who don't garden in rows, here's an interesting leaflet about https://www.permaculture.org.uk/site...ourbooklet.pdf
I've been dabbling with Mixed Veg Gardening (MVG) or Polyculture for years but didn't realise there was a name for it.
I may try planting up a "bed" all at once rather than a random bit at a time as I do now.

Who else MVGs?

[Small pumpkin]

I finished planting my overflow bed yesterday. It has a bit of everything in it leeks, sprouts, beetroot, cabbage, kale, turnips, herbs, flowers and courgettes. All far to close together and very few labels.
I found it quite difficult to do. But I'm looking forward to see the difference between them and my well spaced, companion planted beds.

[Darthcider]

Thanks for that, it made very interesting reading.
I recall my grandad never sowed/planted in rows except for potatoes.
He put everything in blocks and harvested as it grew.

Not quite the same as this, but he would mix seeds together that grew at different speeds and just broadcast sow.

The only things he took great care over were his show onions and dahlias, for which he won many prizes.

[burnie]

The only problem is if you don't rotate properly your soil could start to build up problems and for example you could end up with club root in the entire plot instead of just a third of it.

[veggiechicken]

I've been growing perennial kale in the exact same spot for 5 years - same with the leeks. No problems.
With mixed veg growing, plants would be moving to different positions every years. I can see the need to move monoculture plantings regularly but not polyculture (or, as I call it, random).

[forgetmenot]

I'm trying this method this year. So far its pretty successful in terms of appearance and use of space. Although it was quite hard in the first few beds as i automatically wanted to put everything into neat rows!

[Snadger]

I've downloaded booklet to read later (along with all the other stuff I've downloaded to read later, but never get round to it)

Sounds simillar to a planting plan I used to use (pocket planting) and which I am slowly reverting to on my present plot.

[Jay-ell]

A bit like SFG but without the grid.

Next step is to let the plants go to seed and reseed themselves into the bed.

Then get a goat who can come and eat the veg and voila - a veg garden you don't have to do anything in at all.