BY KOKHEONG MCNAUGHTON
Los Alamos
A method I get essentially the most out of my backyard is using the strategy of companion planting, which is a type of polyculture involving rising sure crops shut collectively in order that they assist each other produce extra. This may be within the type of one plant supplying sure vitamins within the soil that the opposite plant wants, deterring pests that the opposite plant is vulnerable to, attracting useful pollinators for its companion, or just offering shade or a bodily safety to the companion plant. Companion crops don’t compete with each other for soil vitamins or atmospheric circumstances, to allow them to be planted nearer collectively to maximise rising area.
Conversely, sure crops rising shut collectively adversely have an effect on one or the opposite. I keep away from planting onions and garlic (or different members of the allium household) subsequent to peas and beans (or different members of the legume household). The peas have been noticed to develop poorly and might reportedly purchase an onion style.
A google search on “companion planting” will present up some nifty charts indicating which crops are appropriate for companion planting and which mixtures are to be averted. They are often printed out for fast references.
For hundreds of years, Chinese language farmers have planted mosquito ferns of their rice fields to extend yield. Though the ferns are thought-about to be an invasive species of aquatic weed right here in america, they’re hosts to a bacterium that fixes nitrogen from the air, and their proliferation retains the rice paddies weed-free, supplies nitrogen to the rice crops, and acts as a sustainable fodder for livestock. One other good instance of companion planting is the “Three Sisters” system (see photograph) consisting of corn, bean and squash rising shut collectively, a way that originated from Native American practices. Corn is planted first in the midst of a mound of dust. When they’re about 8-10” tall, the beans are planted round them. The corn stalks present helps for the beans to climb. Squashes are planted final, after the beans are established, by which era the bottom is heat sufficient for them. They maintain down the weeds, fortify the dust mound that holds the corn and beans collectively, and take advantage of use of the horizontal rising area not wanted by both the beans or the corn. Their prickly leaves and stems deter small rodents from devouring the beans and corn. The beans in the meantime repair nitrogen within the soil and make it obtainable for the opposite two “sisters.”
I plant perennial and annual herbs for causes past culinary. Lots of them are fantastic companion crops for my different greens. I notably like having mint, borage, thyme, tarragon, oregano, sage, dill, parsley, cilantro, and fennel scattered across the backyard to discourage all kinds of pests like cabbage worms, tomato hornworms, beetles, squash borers, and others. Not solely do their flowers look and odor good, additionally they appeal to pollinators to my backyard. Particularly, dill, cilantro, and fennel lure ladybugs from my neighbors’ gardens into mine! I like rising flowers like nasturtiums, marigolds, and calendulas not just for their long-lasting blooms but in addition to maintain dangerous bugs at bay. A typical apply of companion planting is sowing a mixture of carrot and radish seeds collectively. The radishes germinate first, breaking apart the soil as they develop, to permit carrot seeds to determine themselves. After the radishes are harvested, the carrots proceed to develop in the identical spots, their roots profiting from the loosened soil and areas beforehand occupied by the radishes.
I’m not fairly positive why, however planting sure greens subsequent to at least one one other enhances their flavors. For instance, chives are identified to sweeten carrots, whereas basil is believed to make tomatoes sweeter. Though I can’t vouch for the previous declare, I consider the latter declare is definitely an affordable one. Basil retains sure pests away from the tomato crops, creating more healthy tomato crops which usually tend to produce more healthy fruits.
Selecting tall crops to offer shade for shade-loving crops like lettuces and spinach will maintain them from bolting too quickly. I typically put a number of lettuce crops beneath a fruit tree or a berry bush and allow them to go to seed so I can have recent lettuce late into the autumn and early spring the subsequent yr.
Have you ever experimented with companion planting in your individual backyard?