Companion Planting

[Birdsonghill]

I am from Vermont, we had great soil and only add fresh cow manure from our lovely ladies, tilled it in then planted stuff and had an amazing amount of fresh veggies all summer and canned and frozen veg all winter, then I moved to Phoenix via NYC, where I lived for years, so I did not have a garden for 20 years. We bought a little property in South Carolina out in the country and we put in a garden the first year we were here, it was pretty poor the first year a lot of work and wasted money. LOL I found a lot of sites like: https://www.almanac.com/companion-planting-guide-vegetables to be really helpful.


Our soil was not the best so we started composting immediately to great effect, and we are getting older, so we built raised beds. We did "Lasagna gardening" layered cardboard, tree limbs from tree trimming, we made a vent tube with chicken wire so that we could feed additional composting material down to the bottom layer (this is meant to replenish the nutrients in your soil, then added compost, top soil, and good soil. The garden output improved but was still not great. We plant marigolds and other pollinators in and around all the beds.

Last year, we found out about companion planting and started with the 3-sisters (Sweet corn, zucchini and green beans.), this worked great, we actually had enough corn to freeze some. This year, every thing has a companion and our garden has really taken off.

I have had great success with three sister gardening with heirloom field corn , corn field pole beans and Seminole pumpkins for many years. I don't do it every year now as it is more labor for me in my older age now. I do grow those crops every year but not in the three sisters method of mounds in a circular garden pattern. I would still be doing it every year if I was younger and had the back for it. Mechanical cultivation of the corn is far easier on me and I now grow the pumpkins and beans under heavy mulch or plastic mulch to save labor. The three sisters method produced well for me and was better than growing in rows without mulch, but still needed hand weeding until everything was up large and very well started and my large garden made that miserable. If I was an Indian of old days and could not till to cultivate the rows or use ground covering mulch, I would do this three sisters method always. I grow more corn than I eat every year, mostly as corn bread or grits. Also pumpkins and pole beans that last me all year and more. Actually , I should admit that this past summer a tornado destroyed most of my corn crop and for the first time in years no big surplus crop. I fed the remains to the deer.

 

[Birdsonghill]

I have found lettuce and garlic love each other. I usually plant lettuce between double rows of garlic or onions and the lettuce shades out the weeds and they both thrive in the compost dressing I apply before planting. I then can easily control the weeds growing outside the garlic with a scuffle hoe and a bit of hand weeding only, needed. The fall planted garlic and onions benefit from the early spring lettuce plantings. Pest problems seem less for the lettuce.

 

[crystalsc]

I’m working on building out my vegetable garden for the spring. In the past we’ve just dipped our toes in the water with one raised beds. This year we’re upping our game and will have 4 beds.

I had not heard of the Carrots love tomatoes book nor the permaculture pdf that two people posted here but I’m so excited to check them out so thank you for sharing!

@MrsNorthie where abouts in SC? I’m in Greenville.

YouTube videoI watch YouTube videos about gardening and there are a few channels that do companion planting well. Here’s one.

Sadly I haven’t found any in my own grow zone (8a) but there’s still something to learn from each one. I had heard that a good goal is 1 flower, 1 herb and 1 vegetable together.

 

[MrsNorthie]

I’m working on building out my vegetable garden for the spring. In the past we’ve just dipped our toes in the water with one raised beds. This year we’re upping our game and will have 4 beds.

I had not heard of the Carrots love tomatoes book nor the permaculture pdf that two people posted here but I’m so excited to check them out so thank you for sharing!

@MrsNorthie where abouts in SC? I’m in Greenville.

YouTube videoI watch YouTube videos about gardening and there are a few channels that do companion planting well. Here’s one.

Sadly I haven’t found any in my own grow zone (8a) but there’s still something to learn from each one. I had heard that a good goal is 1 flower, 1 herb and 1 vegetable together.

We are in Belton.

 

[crystalsc]

We are in Belton.

Oh yay! Nice to meet a local! I may message you if I have local garden or chickie questions.

 

[fuzzi]

I’m working on building out my vegetable garden for the spring. In the past we’ve just dipped our toes in the water with one raised beds. This year we’re upping our game and will have 4 beds.

I had not heard of the Carrots love tomatoes book nor the permaculture pdf that two people posted here but I’m so excited to check them out so thank you for sharing!

@MrsNorthie where abouts in SC? I’m in Greenville.

YouTube videoI watch YouTube videos about gardening and there are a few channels that do companion planting well. Here’s one.

Sadly I haven’t found any in my own grow zone (8a) but there’s still something to learn from each one. I had heard that a good goal is 1 flower, 1 herb and 1 vegetable together.

This guy is in Colorado but his information has helped me, and I'm in zone 8a too (eastern NC):

https://www.youtube.com/@GardenerScott

 

[crystalsc]

This guy is in Colorado but his information has helped me, and I'm in zone 8a too (eastern NC):

https://www.youtube.com/@GardenerScott

Oh yes, I like Gardner Scott. I like his no frills approach.

 

[crystalsc]

Look for the book Carrots love tomatoes.
It's a older book (1975) but lots of useful information.

Thank you so much for recommending this book. I bought it on Amazon and spent two hours pouring over it last night. It’s going to be very helpful!

 

[Nym]

I bought a bird of paradise on clearance and read about it After I bought it. It says the plants likes humidity but I live in the desert so I planted other plants with it so their evaporation will give it some addl push. Not sure it will work but I’m hoping it will. Strawberries and lavender do well together. One of my pots has leftover extra plants I ran out of room for. Curious to see how that turns out.

Bird of Paradise is very adaptable. You can also use a water mister bottle to increase the humidity. If it was sold in your local area it's probably well-suited, I would imagine.

Desert Bird of Paradise

 

[Grannys Backyard Chicks]

I was gonna do the classic three sisters planting this year. Besides that, I'm planting a ton of marigolds and nasturtium around near almost everything I can. There's a huge pdf of what likes to be planted by what here. I'm not taking it as gospel, as I don't think any of these companion plantings have ever been studied. But it's somewhere to start out with.

I've never heard of the 3 sisters??