More On Companion Gardening and Resources To Help.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Posted in Serenity Garden

I added some great books above for those who are interested in companion gardening.  These books are by far THE BEST resources to aide with your gardening plans.

LETTUCE 
Lettuce aids onions, grows well with strawberries, cucumbers, and carrots, and is good to pair up with both carrots and radishes (the three grown together). Radishes grown with lettuce in summer are particularly succulent. / Lettuce is a chummy vegetable. It grows well with beets and cabbage (three together). Interplant it with French Marigolds.

CUCUMBERS 
Cucumbers are offensive to racoons and is good to plant with corn for this reason (as a side note, so are pumpkins - apparently the raccoons like to be able to look around when they eat, and the large pumpkin leaves and pumpkins prevent them from doing this). Corn protects the cucumbers from the virus that causes wilt. Thin strips of cucumber repels ants. Cucumbers like beans, peas, radishes, and sunflower. Radishes protect against cucumber beetles - do not harvest the radishes, remove only after removing the cucumber. Cucumbers dislike potatoes and aromatic herbs. / They like paired vegetables such as lettuce and bush beans or lettuce and radishes.

SPINACH 
Spinach is a useful pre-crop and does well planted with strawberries. / Spinach puts out a exudate that stimulates other vegetables such as cabbage. 

SQUASH 
As with cucumbers, 2 or 3 radishes will help repel insects. Nasturtiums repel squash bugs, and so will cigareette ash and other tobacco residue if planted with the seed when it is planted. Squash planted either earlier or later than ususal often will escape insect damage. / Squash & Pumpkins: Likes to grow among corn plants, provides a good ground cover for corn, holding the moisture in the soil (as an aside, I remember hearing about the Native American Trinity which is to plant pumpkin, corn and pole beans together, at the same time). Good companions are beans, mint and radishes. Nasturtiumsm protect summer squash (like zucchini) from aphids. 

MUSTARD GREENS 
Grows well with salsify.

SWISS CHARD 
Is very flexible and grows well nearly everywhere.

RUTABEGA 
Turnips and Rutabagas: they are mutually helpful. Turnips are helpful to a number of other vegetables including the cabbage family. 

WOODCHUCKS 
Spray the plants they are nibbling on with a mixture of water and pepper.  Recommendations are  fencing the garden with a chicken wire fence greater than 18" high, also with a "skirt" 12" long bent under the soil (so the woodchuck cannot dig under the fence). Also recommend making sure all corners & etc are secure as animals are very ingenious. 

 Happy Gardening Everyone!

• Post A Comment!

Comments