Gardening gurus!! I need your help!!

[lisahaschickens]

you can definitely do this... in fact, it would be a modification of what is called the "three sisters' garden," which was a traditional companion planting done by Native Americans. They make mounds and plant corn in bunches on it, then intersperse beans to grow and climb up the cornstalks - the beans fix nitrogen in the soil and so help the corn grown, and the corn provides support, and then they planted pumpkins underneath and they grew down the mounds.

You could climb your cukes up your corn, but it might be a bit of work and it wouldn't be as beneficial as doing it with beans... plus, i'd be careful because cukes need lots of sun and the corn might shade it too much since corn has to be planted in blocks to properly pollonate and produce full ears. But, again, you could plant the cukes to grow up the cornstalks... it would be a fun project.

 

[redhen]

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i usually do bush beans..i have never tried the vine ones...hum...now ya got me thinking here.. ;o)

 

[schmije]

The book "Carrots Love Tomatoes" is a great resource for companion planting. It tells what things should and shouldn't be planted together and why. I've been happy with the results in my garden.

 

[karanleaf]

I made a Bean tepee some years ago in my garden that we grew vineing beans on my oldest Grandson still talks about it.

I am thinking of doing it again this year as a WOW factor for the Greenhouse but also as a source of beans.

Karan

 

[Wifezilla]

Anyone ever teepee cucumbers? zucchini? what else works well for that?

 

[lisahaschickens]

zucchini grows in a bush habit and doesn't climb. A tepee format is standard for beans and peas, but you could climb anything up it. For cucumbers, I would suggest a trellis. I have accidentally had pumpkins climb up a fence, which they do fine, but if the fruit gets too big, it can break the plant or fall off, so you don't really want them to climb.

 

[redhen]

could i put peas with my corn??

 

[lisahaschickens]

sure. That would be very similar to the beans - they also fix nitrogen and would help boost the corn's growth.

I agree with the post about the book. I have both "Carrots Love Tomatoes" and "Roses Love Garlic" and again, they have no exact science in them but they are fun reads and you can get some good info from them. They were written quite a while ago and so are a bit outdated, but still good. My favorite chicken book is from 1975, so old doesn't mean bad in the world of agriculture

 

[shelleyd2008]

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You can use a trellis for watermelon and pumpkin and such. You just take some old pantyhose, cut the legs out, put the 'sock' over the fruit, and tie it to the trellis. Then it won't break the plant down

That's one trick I have learned!

Another question, do things like watermelon, pumpkin, and cantaloupe have to be in the garden? Like if I turned some soil in the yard somewhere, would they grow all right? They take up a lot of room!

 

[lisahaschickens]

I've had plenty of pumpkins grow out in a field under some trees where I tossed last years and they grew on their own. Also, they seem to always grow out of compost heaps and get HUGE from all the nutrients. you can grow them anywhere. The reason to put things in a "garden" is to keep all your efforts in one spot, reduce work for things like watering, and to be able to protect plants from pests... but a garden is just a patch of dirt

A garden is where you plant things, no real definition...