Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines???

I do and love to hear from you out there.

My companion planting guide is this forum. LOL.

pomolo said:

My companion planting guide is this forum. LOL.

LOL… I have pages of what Culpepper sent to me years ago.

Lucky1 said:

Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines???

I do and love to hear from you out there.

I just look up my copy of “The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening” (darn Yanks, can’t spell)

i just try to avoid planting incompatible plants together, the main one being legumes next to onions or garlic.
also don’t have enough garden space to have uniform size neat garden beds, so i don’t follow any strict program of rotation. i just try to plant something different from previous crop, considering that certain spots are only good for certain vegies, because of sun aspect.
i try to interplant and also to plant some of one vegie here and there. i think this may help against pest/disease and/or wrong conditions ruining entire crop…..although it’s a bit harder to look after. only have one large garden bed that gets good sun most of the year, where nice rows of crops can go in, in an orderly fashion.

Lucky1 said:

Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines???

I do and love to hear from you out there.

i have a book.
i have tried lots of times but its impossible to scientifically discern results.
parsley/garlic/basil/toms, the 3 sisters (corn, beans, pumpkin),peas and beans with everything.

aquarium said:

i just try to avoid planting incompatible plants together, the main one being legumes next to onions or garlic.
also don’t have enough garden space to have uniform size neat garden beds, so i don’t follow any strict program of rotation. i just try to plant something different from previous crop, considering that certain spots are only good for certain vegies, because of sun aspect.
i try to interplant and also to plant some of one vegie here and there. i think this may help against pest/disease and/or wrong conditions ruining entire crop…..although it’s a bit harder to look after. only have one large garden bed that gets good sun most of the year, where nice rows of crops can go in, in an orderly fashion.

I do more or less the same as Pepe.

I have a great little paperback Carrots love Tomatoes – Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening” written by Louise Riotte – illustrated. Originally published in 1975 by Garden Way under the above subtitle My copy is the 11th printing and bought in 1982. printed in USA and I believe that is where author lives.

Oops – I meant Aquarium as quoted! But I WAS replying to a post by Pepe – sorry for mistake in ID.

Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes L1. I do religiously. I ring up home and tell my companion what to plant.
Or if i’m home i plant them while my brown companion accompanies me.

Longy said:

Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes L1. I do religiously. I ring up home and tell my companion what to plant.
Or if i’m home i plant them while my brown companion accompanies me.

lol!

Longy said:

Does anyone follow a set of companion planting guide lines?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes L1. I do religiously. I ring up home and tell my companion what to plant.
Or if i’m home i plant them while my brown companion accompanies me.

ROFL. This sounds like my kind of system!!

However I may need to acquire another companion – current one only does cooking and IT, so I may need a whole set in fact.

has anyone else seen a beneficial relationship between onion and strawberry? i have a number of strawberry plants, most just starting out again after winter. meanwhile, the one strawberry plant next to an onion is growing in leaps and bounds.

aquarium said:

has anyone else seen a beneficial relationship between onion and strawberry? i have a number of strawberry plants, most just starting out again after winter. meanwhile, the one strawberry plant next to an onion is growing in leaps and bounds.

I think I may have heard of it…similar pH, water and soil-type requirements???

Dinetta said:

aquarium said:

has anyone else seen a beneficial relationship between onion and strawberry? i have a number of strawberry plants, most just starting out again after winter. meanwhile, the one strawberry plant next to an onion is growing in leaps and bounds.

I think I may have heard of it…similar pH, water and soil-type requirements???

it’s all in the same garden bed of sorts, next to espaliered fruit trees, so there wouldn’t be any difference in growing conditions. yet definitely that one strawberry plant has heaps of new growth, already three times the height of the others. i thought perhaps it’s a different variety but, i have a few of each variety. anyway, might plant an onion next to another one.

aquarium said:

it’s all in the same garden bed of sorts, next to espaliered fruit trees, so there wouldn’t be any difference in growing conditions. yet definitely that one strawberry plant has heaps of new growth, already three times the height of the others. i thought perhaps it’s a different variety but, i have a few of each variety. anyway, might plant an onion next to another one.

What have you got to lose?

;)

Actually, when you pointed out the onion/strawberry relationship, I got to wondering … some years ago we had a salad of watermelon and onion, and it came up very well..so I was wondering if, as in “carrots love tomatoes” – if things go well as food items, would they go well as companion plants? (sorry if this question has been done to death elsewhere…) Mind you, onions and tomatoes have different pH requirements, so maybe that’s not how it works after all…but I can easily imagine onions and strawberries as a spring salad of sorts…

aquarium said:

has anyone else seen a beneficial relationship between onion and strawberry? i have a number of strawberry plants, most just starting out again after winter. meanwhile, the one strawberry plant next to an onion is growing in leaps and bounds.

Will check pout the book I have and get back to you. Personally haven’t tried to grow strawberries since living in Canberra over 30 yrs ago! – then biggest problem with them was came from snails :P

the Kitchen Cookbook is a good guide as to what grows well together… What tastes good together grows together :)

cackles said:

aquarium said:

has anyone else seen a beneficial relationship between onion and strawberry? i have a number of strawberry plants, most just starting out again after winter. meanwhile, the one strawberry plant next to an onion is growing in leaps and bounds.

Will check pout the book I have and get back to you. Personally haven’t tried to grow strawberries since living in Canberra over 30 yrs ago! – then biggest problem with them was came from snails :P

no snails here….all protein doesn’t get wasted :)….goes to ducks.
i checked the companion planting book and no mention of onion + strawberry relationship. i just planted another small onion from supermarket next to smallest strawberry plant. see how goes.

Dinetta said:

aquarium said:

it’s all in the same garden bed of sorts, next to espaliered fruit trees, so there wouldn’t be any difference in growing conditions. yet definitely that one strawberry plant has heaps of new growth, already three times the height of the others. i thought perhaps it’s a different variety but, i have a few of each variety. anyway, might plant an onion next to another one.

What have you got to lose?

;)

Actually, when you pointed out the onion/strawberry relationship, I got to wondering … some years ago we had a salad of watermelon and onion, and it came up very well..so I was wondering if, as in “carrots love tomatoes” – if things go well as food items, would they go well as companion plants? (sorry if this question has been done to death elsewhere…) Mind you, onions and tomatoes have different pH requirements, so maybe that’s not how it works after all…but I can easily imagine onions and strawberries as a spring salad of sorts…

hmm….strawberry + onion…might not be too bad you know…just need to take it real easy on the onions.
hard to make any decisions based on companion planting advice in books. most of this advice is just a direct copy from earlier works, without any experimentation etc. it becomes a bit impractical as crops are moved and soil conditions changed. i still believe there are some beneficial companion plantings to be done but, not all are practical. anyhow, planted another onion next to a tiny strawberry plant, and will report back in a month.
btw my strawberry plants are coming up nice and clean (no diseased leaves) this spring. the overspray of bordeaux when did the trees might have inadvertently helped them.

Citing reference given earlier in this thread:

“Onion (Allium cepa). Onions and all members of the cabbage family get along well
with each other. They also like beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory
and camomile (sparsley), but do NOT like peas and beans.

Since onion maggots travel from plant to plant when set in a row, scatter your onion
plants throughout the garden.

Toxic substances inn the pigments of red and yellow onion skins appear to be
associated with disease resistance. Russian biologist T.A. Tovstole found a water
solution of onion skin, used as a spray three times daily at five-day intervals, gave an
almost 100% kill of hemiptera, a parasite attacking more than 199 different species of
plants.” (my emphasis)

Great illustrations of Welsh Onions, garlic, chives, Shallots, leeks. caption: “The
onion family is the gardener’s best friend.”

———————————————————————————————————————————-

“Strawberry* (Fragaria). A cover crop of rye following sod will reduce the incidence
of black rot on strawberries. They do well in combination with bush beans, spinach
and borage. Lettuce is good used as a border and pyrethrum , planted alongside,
serves well as a pest preventative. A spruce hedge also is prptective.

White hellebore will control sawfly and marigolds are useful too if you suspect the
presence of nematodes. Pine needles alone or mixed with straw make a fine mulch
said to make the berries taste more like the wild variety. Spruce needles also may be
used as a mulch , but my personal preference is chopped alfalfa hay.”
——————————————————————————————————-

Next entry in the alphabetically arranged text is “Succession Planting” – basically
divided to heavy feeders, light feeders and legumes…

So there you are as promised :)

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

cackles said:

Citing reference given earlier in this thread:

“Onion (Allium cepa). Onions and all members of the cabbage family get along well
with each other. They also like beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory
and camomile (sparsley), but do NOT like peas and beans.
…

So there you are as promised :)

thank you cackles. now i’ll just wait for my unscientific experiment to “bear fruit” so to speak ;)

pepe said:

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

have no idea whether carrots and toms will work as companions. i thought both have deep roots and may compete against each other for nutrients? going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

aquarium said:

cackles said:

Citing reference given earlier in this thread:

“Onion (Allium cepa). Onions and all members of the cabbage family get along well
with each other. They also like beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory
and camomile (sparsley), but do NOT like peas and beans.
…

So there you are as promised :)

thank you cackles. now i’ll just wait for my unscientific experiment to “bear fruit” so to speak ;)

:) I see you have worked out the selective quoting bit – I have given up and easier to copy and paste – but then forget to double enter for next line.

Have you ever heard of “sparsley”? No that wasn’t a typo although I found some after I submitted…The way it is written it might be an American alternative name for Camomile?

checking “sparsley” reference….

aquarium said:

pepe said:

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

have no idea whether carrots and toms will work as companions. i thought both have deep roots and may compete against each other for nutrients? going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

i’ve tried corn and beans many times – the last being last year.
great corn crop but beans robbed of light and didn’t climb the corn.
beans and carrots have been ok together with the beans actually robbing nitrogen from the soil .

pepe said:

aquarium said:

pepe said:

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

have no idea whether carrots and toms will work as companions. i thought both have deep roots and may compete against each other for nutrients? going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

i’ve tried corn and beans many times – the last being last year.
great corn crop but beans robbed of light and didn’t climb the corn.
beans and carrots have been ok together with the beans actually robbing nitrogen from the soil .

cool…thanks for that.

regards to “sparsley” in brackets….maybe it’s meant to give plant density planting guide? it could easily mean that, as chamomile does sprawl and can easily overtake a patch of soil.

Aquarium, if you google three sisters gardening, you will come up with some sites that advise when to plant the corn and when to plant the beans. Take pumpkin out of the equation, which is planted after the corn (grows faster and will shade and stunt the little corn seedlings) and you should have the corn and beans routine…

there are lots of sites, if you go for the “school project” type sites, you even get mugs maps…

aquarium said:

pepe said:

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

have no idea whether carrots and toms will work as companions. i thought both have deep roots and may compete against each other for nutrients? going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

Re corn etc – I believe the idea is to get the corn well under way – at least knee or was it waist high before planting the beans and squash – I have info about that somewhere…a la American indigenous people’s practices. I lived in Tucson for 3 years and was quite interested in some of the practical traditional methods. Also during a trip through Africa, (overland London to Johannesburg in 4.5 months) the subsistence type agricultural practices fascinated me. ( My backgrand is rural & first degree is in Rural Sc -have always had an interest.) I want to investigate a bit more the farming on slopes, terracing etc without too many hard structures and try to apply to my steep front slope.

thanks a lot Dinetta.
off topic…i’m starting toms and eggplants inside this year. the bubblewrap as glass insulation for winter is now working as sun heat protector for the seedlings next to back sliding door.
must dash now and get some more pots for seedlings….just found some leftover lista de gandia (my favorite) eggplants seeds. it’s also a very nice day, so can’t sit here in front of computer.
can’t wait for (italian) plums to be in season…to make these (polish) dough balls with the plums inside. it’s very filling, as half the flour is potato flour. after eating a few tend to feel like a stuffed pig.

cackles said:

aquarium said:

pepe said:

just a thought
has anyone tried tomatoes and carrots together?
seems an odd combination – i have never tried it.

have no idea whether carrots and toms will work as companions. i thought both have deep roots and may compete against each other for nutrients? going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

Re corn etc – I believe the idea is to get the corn well under way – at least knee or was it waist high before planting the beans and squash – I have info about that somewhere…a la American indigenous people’s practices. I lived in Tucson for 3 years and was quite interested in some of the practical traditional methods. Also during a trip through Africa, (overland London to Johannesburg in 4.5 months) the subsistence type agricultural practices fascinated me. ( My backgrand is rural & first degree is in Rural Sc -have always had an interest.) I want to investigate a bit more the farming on slopes, terracing etc without too many hard structures and try to apply to my steep front slope.

i take it you already know how to make the figure “A” wooden sticks frame to mark out the contour lines?…and then construct swales…..according to permaculture teachings.

must dash now…garden force is pulling too hard ;)

Dinetta beat me re corn-beans-squash routine.

Hi Dinetta :)

Hello Cackles…

“great minds think alike”, hey?

Nah, seriously…I was fascinated by the 3 sisters concept ever since PainMaster mentioned it…tried it last summer as a result of my searches on the internet…the corn only “took” on the second planting so we did not get as many plants as I hoped…the beans took even longer (three plantings!) …I think the seeds may have been duds…I am waiting for the potatoes to decide if they are gonna live or die before starting the next 3-sisters in that bed…

Interesting that you have a Rural Science degree…what was your speciality?

Swales are pretty well established thanks – similar, but on smaller scale to the on farm ones – NSW Soil Conservation Service practices etc – those contour banks were buggers to negotiate with wide machinery – though no worse than all the shade trees my dad left, not only as windbreaks along fence lines but as stock shelter in the middle of the paddocks!

I have some seeper(?) hoses to place across the slopes – don’t need them in the back garden since the advent of ducks – plenty of water being slopped around! Still on my “to do” list at the moment. Sorry getting off topic.

I have to go and do other things too.

Interesting that you have a Rural Science degree…what was your speciality?

I liked everything! But ended up doing honours in Agronomy – got so sick of sight of Sunflowers – only in recent years have I accepted them into my garden again! LOL Really off topic now and anyway more for private discussion…:P

aquarium said:

going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

I have not actually done it myself but I think you need to get the corn going before you plant the beans so it can keep ahead of them in height.

bluegreen said:

aquarium said:

going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

I have not actually done it myself but I think you need to get the corn going before you plant the beans so it can keep ahead of them in height.

Yeah i did it i think last year and planted them all together.
Beans swamped the corn a bit as i recall. Maybe plant the beans once the corn is all germinated and growing.

Longy said:

bluegreen said:

aquarium said:

going to definitely try corn and beans this summer. not only are the beans supposed to help feed the corn but, also saves space and having to trellis the beans. only troubling thought is when to plant the beans so that they don’t overtake the corn. anybody know how long for runner/trellis beans to grow to full size as compared to time it takes for corn to grow to full size? all literature only mentions crop ready times, and corn takes a while to mature on the full size stalks afaik.

I have not actually done it myself but I think you need to get the corn going before you plant the beans so it can keep ahead of them in height.

Yeah i did it i think last year and planted them all together.
Beans swamped the corn a bit as i recall. Maybe plant the beans once the corn is all germinated and growing.

you would probably want to watch you don’t water too much when you plant the bean seeds until they are up so they don’t rot, unless you are planting out seedlings.

Would you space your corn out a bit more than usual doing this?

Would you space your corn out a bit more than usual doing this?

+++++++++++
I didn’t, but mine wasn’t overly successful either.

regarding the corn, bean, pumpkins -
I was thinking back to 1985 when i was in Jamaica and helped the rasta men plant their bean crop. After planting we went off to a celebration (Niabingy) on the other side of the island. When we returned, 10 days later, they were picking the red beans (probably a kidney bean). Since the water is always warm in the gulf of Mexico and the humidity and temperatures are high they are able to harvest certain bean crops in 2 weeks from planting.
Parts of Mexico have a similar climate, so the original idea was probably to get the bean crop in and out quickly, then plant equally fast growing corn and finish the season off with a pumpkin crop.
Its probably a sensible rotation rather then an inter-planting of crops.

This is probably as good a thread as any for this question:

Is it possible to have a bed just for herbs, as in not have to rotate them with the vegetables?

Dinetta said:

This is probably as good a thread as any for this question:

Is it possible to have a bed just for herbs, as in not have to rotate them with the vegetables?

It must be, some are quite long lived. Mine just stay were the self seed.

Dinetta said:

This is probably as good a thread as any for this question:

Is it possible to have a bed just for herbs, as in not have to rotate them with the vegetables?

Josh does in his garden that was featured back a few years ago.

Lucky1 said:

Dinetta said:

This is probably as good a thread as any for this question:

Is it possible to have a bed just for herbs, as in not have to rotate them with the vegetables?

Josh does in his garden that was featured back a few years ago.

that’s what i reckon too….it’s too hard to work rotations into beds with companion planted herbs. unless you can use the herbs as edging or something.
i just try to avoid the common enemies growing together, rather than working out any planned companion scheme. it might not be too handy that i sometimes end up planting small drifts/plots of vegies all over the place (as space becomes available.) wife always used to complain about things being all over the place. but i reckon it gives me some protection against total failure (of a one area only plot for a particular vegie) and get succession of vegies.

Here’s a good idea, a herb spiral. The idea is to make a raised circular/spiral bed so that you can put a cheap circular sprinkler on top of the bed and it waters the lot. Some herb spiral plans have a little pond at the bottom to collect run-off. Plant herbs that like drier conditions (eg lavender) towards the top, water-lovers towards the bottom, on the eastern face and/or near the pond.

Whack ‘herb spiral’ into your friendly local search engine, I came up with a couple of interesting sites:

Here’s a good idea, a herb spiral. The idea is to make a raised circular/spiral bed so that you can put a cheap circular sprinkler on top of the bed and it waters the lot. Some herb spiral plans have a little pond at the bottom to collect run-off. Plant herbs that like drier conditions (eg lavender) towards the top, water-lovers towards the bottom, on the eastern face and/or near the pond.

Whack ‘herb spiral’ into your friendly local search engine, I came up with a couple of interesting sites:

http://welcometovoluntarysimplicity.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/how-to-build-a-herb-spiral/

http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/planning/herbspiral.asp

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s978487.htm

Yeehah said:

Here’s a good idea, a herb spiral. The idea is to make a raised circular/spiral bed so that you can put a cheap circular sprinkler on top of the bed and it waters the lot. Some herb spiral plans have a little pond at the bottom to collect run-off. Plant herbs that like drier conditions (eg lavender) towards the top, water-lovers towards the bottom, on the eastern face and/or near the pond.

Whack ‘herb spiral’ into your friendly local search engine, I came up with a couple of interesting sites:

http://welcometovoluntarysimplicity.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/how-to-build-a-herb-spiral/

http://www.gardenguides.com/how-to/tipstechniques/planning/herbspiral.asp

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s978487.htm

Thanks Yeehah, the garden bed in question is rectangler, but it does slope a bit…I might look up my encyclopaedia of organic gardening for a few ideas as well…

Dinetta said:

the garden bed in question is rectangler,

Come on Collie, where are you???

“Rectangler” !!!! … Collie could do wonders with that! ;)

Yeehah said:

Dinetta said:

the garden bed in question is rectangler,

Come on Collie, where are you???

“Rectangler” !!!! … Collie could do wonders with that! ;)

I was tired, teach…

Come on Collie, where are you???

“Rectangler” !!!! … Collie could do wonders with that! ;)

==================

8^)