The scheme of seating of mixed vegetables in the garden. Mixed plantings: choosing the best neighbors for crops

While gardening and horticulture, many farmers are faced with the problem of lack of space, as well as sometimes inexplicable incompatibilities between different plants. Which leads, in turn, to a decrease in yield and various diseases that impair plant growth and the quality of the resulting fruits. Mixed plantings of vegetables, the schemes of which are drawn up taking into account all the features, can solve many problems.

The science of mixed landings

Allelopathy is a science that studies the influence on each other and the ability of them to coexist together. The proximity of vegetables in the greenhouse and mixed plantings are determined taking into account the influencing factors. Each plant releases various substances through its leaves and roots, which, when released into the soil, can both be absorbed by other plants and harm them.

Some species tend to stimulate the growth of related plantings and have a protective effect on them from pests, but at the same time they can also oppress. In addition to the obvious, there is another reason to create mixed landings - this is space saving.

Schemes of mixed and compacted plantings of vegetables

It is very important, when making a plan for future landings, to consider:

1. Climatic conditions in a given area may vary, as some places are drier, while others are more humid. The impact of wind, precipitation and frost must also be taken into account in the calculations.
2. It is necessary to know the characteristics of each specific area, its soil composition, the impact of sunlight on this area, as well as its protection from the aggressive effects of nature.

Planning

These parameters should form the basis of a vegetable garden planting strategy to get the best result from every square meter. Drawing up a plan begins with a study of the characteristics of the site and the features of each individual meter of land. Mixed schemes (planting vegetables in the garden, as you know, are different for their intended purpose) beds must be made taking into account all the climatic and agrotechnical parameters of the soil.

Advantages of the method

Benefits of mixed landings:

Competent combination

The alternation of crops with different nutritional requirements and soil composition makes it possible to avoid partial or complete depletion of the land and the destruction of any individual nutrients needed by plants.

Joint planting of vegetables can improve the quality of life of neighboring crops, and can also affect the taste and nutritional value of fruits.

Basic and accompanying plants

Mixed plantings of vegetables, their arrangement and the principles that guide the gardener in their preparation are based on simple knowledge. In the practice of this method, there are such concepts as a companion plant, or accompanying, as well as the main culture. The main plant is the target plant, and the satellite plant is used to fill gaps and produce large yields.

Mixed Landing Tactics

In the role of accompanying plants, fragrant green fertilizers are more often used, a number of which can benefit their neighbors. The main crops are usually vegetables and are slow-ripening, small-sized specimens, in between which are fast-ripening species.

This tactic is very effective. While the main culture is slowly growing and developing, the accompanying one has time to grow, making room for the main one to develop sufficiently. This is the main principle of drawing up a plan and scheme of mixed landings.

Preferred neighborhood

In order to organically fit into your plan various mixed plantings of vegetables, their location on the site, you need to know the properties of each plant and its compatibility with others. The properties inherent in individual garden crops are conveniently viewed in the form of a table. Mixed plantings of vegetables in the garden are necessarily compiled taking into account the needs of each crop.

Proper Neighbor Table

Today you learned about what mixed planting of vegetables is. Schemes for their compilation are created taking into account the preferences of each individual plant, as well as the conditions of its maintenance, which should be the basis for calculating future beds. There are many advantages to using this progressive method, which are especially important to take advantage of when trying to get the maximum benefit and high yields from every square meter of area.

Joint plantingsvegetable, berry, green and ornamental crops in the country beds x is not a know-how, not an innovation, but technologies used for many centuries of traditional cultivation of vegetable crops. Examples of joint planting vegetables in the bedswere known to both the American Indians and the ancient Slavs. Modern agricultural technicians study the interaction of different crops within a single industry -plant allelopathy. We are talking about the beneficial or depressing mutual influence of various plants planted in the neighborhood. For small country farms themeco-cultivationvariety of vegetables and herbs is especially relevant, since the use of this planting method will allow using the available area more economically in quantitative terms and more efficiently in terms of quality.

Why is it important to properly combine vegetables in the beds

In order to get the maximum yield on the minimum area, using the technology of combined beds, it is necessary to understand the basics of crop rotation, since even the wrong alternation of crops planted on the same piece of land in different years can both improve the result and nullify all efforts. gardener. Since the gardener is primarily interested in the yield and health of plantings, the right choice neighbor and in the garden allows you to solve both problems.

Understanding the secrets of combined cultivation vegetable x, green and decorative cultures you can achieve not only a rich healthy harvest, but also combine the useful with the beautiful: the garden bed can become a garden decoration, turning into a flower bed. When choosing neighboring crops, the following factors must be considered: Plants with similar conditions of maintenance and care requirements are planted on the same bed: light, humidity, acidity and soil structure, mode and composition of dressings. If most culture parameters are the same, then the nuances can be taken into account correctly by drawing up a diagramjoint landing: plant a more moisture-loving plant in the center of the beds, where the level of soil moisture is higher than along the edge. The same applies to size: the tallest specimens from a set of crops require planting in the center, the shortest - a curb, then everyone will have enough sunlight.

Compliance with crop rotation is an indispensable condition. Related crops belonging to the same family should not follow friend after another from season to season, as they draw the nutrients necessary for these particular plants from the soil (which means that next season the “relative” will already be deprived of soil fertility) and pathogenic microorganisms accumulate during the season that harm this particular family (which means , "relative" is initially susceptible to "family" disease). It is necessary to plant plants with a powerful deep root system and short superficial roots on the same bed so that these crops coexist and alternate: deep-shallow-deep. With such a planting, the roots of the neighbors will not compete for the underground space, each developing in its own direction.

Joint landingdifferent cultures is possible not only within the spatial framework, when plants are planted simultaneously and ripen in parallel.

Joint planting within time limits allows you to harvest some vegetables, making room for later neighbors that are emerging and starting to develop.

good example such conveyor principlecombined planting in the garden, the width of which is 1 m, and the row spacing is 10 cm: Planting: lettuce (leaf) and radish in one row - alternating every 10 cm; next row: watercress, kohlrabi alternates in a row with head lettuce, spinach is planted in three rows in a row, an early potato variety, a couple more rows of spinach. Total 9 k ultur. Harvest: spinach and watercress are harvested first (leaves cut, roots left); as they ripen, radishes are pulled out and leaf lettuce is removed after one; later, after harvesting the head lettuce, kohlrabi and potatoes remain until fully ripe.

Vertical example combining compatible plants on the same bed: The bed is located in an east-west direction. Along the northern border, along the entire length, a trellis support was installed for tying up a climbing crop - beans. Rows: beans, after 0.2 m - undersized tomatoes, after 0.2 m - carrots, after 0.2 m - onions, along the edge - fragrant spice (for example, basil) or marigolds to protect against insects. Carrots, onions and beans are planted first, a little later, when the beans catch on the trellis, tomato seedlings are planted. Harvesting in this combination is almost simultaneous for all vegetable neighbors.

Benefits of mixed landings

The benefits of planting vegetables, herbs and ornamental crops in common beds, given their compatibility, include not only saving space, although this is the reason that often pushes gardeners to mixed cultivation.

Properly using the features of certain plants, you can protect plantings from the attack of insect pests: marigolds, oregano, mint, spicy herbs drive away insects, protecting their neighbors in the garden. Onions and garlic can also be a reliable barrier. If you plant nasturtium next to vegetables, then aphids will prefer an ornamental crop, not reaching the vegetables. The smell of rosemary will ward off lovers of beans, and thyme will help the cabbage resist the attack of insects. As a result, the summer resident will have a harvest of vegetables and aromatic tea additives in the fall. Many cultures are not just friendship t, but show a beneficial effect on the development of each other: tall sun-loving sunflowers and corn they coexist perfectly, as their roots develop at different depths, and create the necessary shade for low plants that prefer light shading: chard, spinach.

Early spinach greens will provide moisture to the soil and keep weeds from growing while beets and beans, potatoes or tomatoes are growing in the same area. And when the time comes to cut the spinach leaves, roots useful for the soil will remain in the ground, helping the neighbors to extract food from the soil. These and others examples of joint planting vegetables in the gardendemonstrate the advantages of growing different crops in a common area, if you know that with what and why it is friendly, what can be planted next to one common garden . It is equally important to consider which of the plants do not tolerate each other.

What are compatible with

Cabbage

Cabbage crops usually suffer from pests, so onions, garlic are planted to protect against voracious caterpillars, and the aroma of mint, sage, rosemary and Bogorodskaya grass will help against butterflies. Snails do not like borage, earthen fleas avoid planting celery.

In addition to the defenders, cabbage there are just friendly neighbor vegetables: potatoes, salads, cucumbers, beets.

Carrots are not recommended as neighbors to cabbage (although with broccoli possibly), beans, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes are planted away from cabbage.

Tomatoes

It has been noticed that basil is not just best neighbor for tomatoes , it makes vegetables taste richer. Combines harmoniously with garlic, which protects against pests, leafy greens, radishes and radishes, beans, carrots, onions and beets. Developing well tomatoes next to peppers , even in closed ground conditions - in a greenhouse or greenhouse. Dill and it is better to plant potatoes far away, but nettle - a malicious weed - is very useful for improving the taste of tomatoes.

cucumbers

There is an experience when cucumbers are planted with corn, which helps to cope with ants, becomes an additional support for tenacious cucumbers, corn leaves cover a neighbor from the hot sun.

Radishes and radishes repel beetles and improve the taste of fruits. Can plant next to onion with garlic. Compatibility of related plants - cucumbers and zucchini - good example of co-cultivation on the same bed. Spinach, beans with beans, dill, celery and even beets - good ones neighbors in the cucumber beds. Compatibility vegetables and weedsplants in the gardenmanifests itself in a combination of cucumbers and tansy, amaranth, quinoa. These weeds help the crop resist pests.

Cucumbers and tomatoes do not grow side by side, especially in greenhouses and greenhouses - they have too different conditions. Potatoes and spices are also planted away from each other.

Pumpkin

Some gardeners believe that a pumpkin cannot be found in a favorable neighborhood. They definitely don’t plant a pumpkin next to zucchini - this is fraught with pollination, with potatoes, peppers and eggplants and legumes. Possibility of co-planting with radish and nasturtium - these cultures perform a protective function.

Carrot

The best neighbor for carrots - onions, but perennial onions. The fact is that onions and carrots have a fundamental difference in watering needs: either the onion will rot, or the carrot will not be born. Garlic, spinach, radish, lettuce are the most popularexamples of beds with joint plantings carrots.

Dill from carrot beds is torn out mercilessly: these plants, competitors for moisture and nutrition, have the same diseases. Carrots and parsley , not the best neighbor and celery.

Potato

When planting potatoes, many experienced gardeners throw a bean into the hole - the best partner for the crop, helping to get a more abundant harvest. Potatoes have many useful garden companions: beans, coriander, marigolds with nasturtium or tansy protect against the main pest - the Colorado potato beetle. Garlic planted between rows helps to cope with late blight.

Potato friends are radishes, salads, cabbage, eggplant, horseradish (if you control its distribution), calendula, corn.

But the quinoa inhibits the growth of potatoes, for the same reason they do not plant beets nearby. Raspberries and tomatoes can provoke late blight. Zucchini, cucumbers, sorrel - examples of crop incompatibility

Beet

Having identified as neighbors to beets mint or catnip, the gardener saves himself from fighting aphids and fleas, the main pests of the vegetable. Proven neighbors for root crops are cabbage (white cabbage), carrots, onions, celery, carrots, strawberries are also suitable. But for a mutually beneficial neighborhood, all plants need to provide a place - you can not thicken the plantings.

Beet antagonists - potatoes, beans. Not recommended around plant mustard.

bell pepper

Basil is not just a neighbor. It is an active helper for Bulgarian peppers , it contributes to better growth and development of the plant. Onions are good for peppers, and beets are just a good neighbor. Not grown next to the pepper carrots, peas, beans.

Onion

Perennial onions on a feather and carrots - an almost perfect examplecompatibility of plants in the garden. And onions grown for the sake of bulbs are incompatible with carrots, since moisture-loving carrots will ruin a neighbor or an onion crop will leave a gardener without carrots, because they have different requirements for substrate moisture.

Comfortably onions on the same bed with tomatoes, green crops, beets, strawberries. But not with sage, radish, beans, legumes, grapes, gladioli.

Garlic

Garlic is valued by gardeners for its beneficial nutritional qualities and for the vegetable's contribution to pest control: it protects plantings from insects, caterpillars, slugs and even moles if a large area is planted with garlic. Friendly garlic with radishes, salads, celery, strawberries, carrots. It protects potato plantings from phytophthora, and decorative ones - gladioli and roses - from aphids.

Among the enemies of garlic, we note legumes.

eggplant

eggplant with beans - the perfect alliance in the fight against the Colorado potato beetle. Creeping thyme protects eggplant from fleas. Enter into one scheme planting with eggplant turnip onion, peppers, herbs. Incompatible with cucumbers, cabbage.

Other vegetables

radish it is good to grow next to carrots, cabbage, turnips, beans, lettuces, tomatoes, beans. And onions, cucumbers, beets are not suitable for general planting with radishes.

Turnip can grow with peas, but does not develop surrounded by asparagus, next to mustard.

Salads are used in various combined beds. And spinach is recommended for mandatory planting: agricultural technicians mark it compatible with any plants in the gardenand benefit in the enrichment of dacha land.

Unfavorable Neighborhood

The list of plants that do not get along in close company with other crops is small. The leader of this list is fennel, which requires an individual planting.

More often, incompatibility is explained by family ties of cultures (dill, coriander, parsley, the umbrella family, they compete and suffer from the same diseases).

When planning a general planting scheme, consider the size of an adult plant, the characteristics of the root system, the need for free space on a plot of land. If we neglect these factors, then even a neighborhood that is favorable in theory will only bring problems in practice.

By studying the peculiarities of the influence of plants on each other, the gardener increases the efficiency of his work. The summer resident transforms the appearance of the site every year, because knowledge of the basics of allelopathy of garden and horticultural crops allows you to create unique flower beds that give a rich harvest and give beauty and joy.

A correctly drawn up scheme for planting vegetables in the garden and a competent plan for placing crops in the country are one of the main components of spring events. When planning planting garden plants in a summer cottage, it is very important to take into account crop rotation, or the so-called alternation of all grown vegetable crops.

Decorative and classic types of beds

Today, in the conditions of home gardening the arrangement of several types of classical ridges is practiced:

• vertical structures allow you to decorate unattractive walls or fences, minimize plant-to-soil contact, reduce the risk of fungal diseases and reduce the growth of weeds. The disadvantages include the limited amount of soil and the need to apply frequent top dressing and irrigation measures. Among other things, such ridges are not suitable for growing perennial crops that can freeze in winter;
• deep structures gained particular popularity in recent years. Such a ridge is a platform of standard sizes, represented by soil dug up twice with manure or good compost to a depth of a couple of shovel bayonets. Such a bed does not require digging for three to five years, and it is possible to loosen, water, weed and lime the earth from the paths laid along it;

• high structures convenient in terms of processing crops of vegetable crops. When arranging, a trench is dug 30-40 cm deep. Branches and paper, as well as plant waste should be placed in the dug trench, after which layers of fertile soil are filled up and lightly tamped. The edging of a high structure can be done with both wooden boards and slate or any other material at hand;
• warm designs a bit like high ridges. A ridge is dug up a meter wide and of arbitrary length. A layer of fresh cow dung is laid on the dug up surface, after which fertile land is covered. The surface must be shed with plenty of warm water and covered with black polyethylene or non-woven material. Vegetables are planted in specially made slots.

Site planning according to the Mittlider method (video)

Decorative ridges can give originality to a personal plot. A striking example is an unusual shape or fences made of beautiful materials. You can draw up a plan for the location of such structures online using special programs. Such a computer drawing up of a scheme-plan is within the power of even non-experienced amateur vegetable growers.

Requirements for beds for vegetable crops

When planning vegetable ridges, you need to remember that such structures must be sufficiently dry and even. It is also impossible to allocate areas shaded by trees or buildings for garden ridges. The right bed should be well warmed up by the sun's rays. Experienced gardeners recommend breaking up the ridges in areas in the direction from north to south. A good result is the arrangement of ridges with low sides that prevent shedding and help retain moisture during irrigation.

On gentle sections of the ridge, it is recommended to break and equip directly across the slope. If there are too large slopes, it is advisable to make special terraces, which are strengthened with wooden boards, logs or sheet slate. Such planting areas allow you to protect the soil and grown plants from strong flood waters or heavy rains.

Currently very popular the following options for the location of garden beds:

• geometric arrangement of square, rectangular or elongated ridges in a parallel and perpendicular direction;
• radial arrangement in spacious areas with planting garden crops with peculiar rays in a circle;
• corner non-standard location;
• spiral arrangement or rockeries that can decorate any landscape and are optimally suited for the cultivation of garden strawberries or other undersized berries.

The shape of vegetable ridges can be completely different. Experienced gardeners prefer to break up a backyard or summer cottage into fairly even, rectangular or square-shaped ridges. To give the garden an original exterior, ridges can be made round, oval, triangular or any other shape. In any case, when planning the location of the ridges, it is necessary to be guided not only by desires and personal preferences, but also take into account the features of the relief.

Scheme for planting vegetables in the garden: basic rules

In the process of choosing a place and a scheme for growing vegetables on a personal plot It is recommended to follow the following rules:

• growing dill, lettuce and radish does not have to be done in an ordinary way. Such garden crops are able to give a fairly high yield when planted as a compactor for other vegetables. Such a planting allows you to get an aesthetic design of the garden and significantly saves free space in the backyard;
• beets, radishes, turnips, carrots and other root crops can be planted on the sides of the beds. Thus, it is possible to obtain a beautiful frame for other garden crops, without inhibiting their growth and development. In the process of designing a garden plot, crop rotation rules must be taken into account, so the same crop cannot be grown in one place for several years in a row;

• climbing plants such as peas, beans or beans are allowed to be planted as a border design for large ridges. Landing is carried out on the north side of the main vegetable crop, which will not allow curly lashes to block sunlight;
• under the pumpkin, squash and zucchini, it is best to allocate separate ridges, which is due to the rapid growth of the plant and the spread over almost the entire free space.

It is also very important to observe the distance between crops in a row and the spacing between rows when planting seedlings and sowing.

Mixed plantings: bed layout (video)

Crop rotation in the garden: how to plant vegetables

One of the simplest and most popular solutions for crop rotation in home gardening, is based on the division of vegetable garden crops into several main groups:

• leaf group - cabbage, leafy lettuce, green onions, sorrel and spinach;
• the fruit group is represented by tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, squash, eggplant and pumpkin;
• a group of root crops represented by radishes, beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes;
• a group of legumes, represented by beans, beans, lentils,.

The correct alternation of such plants in the backyard and garden plot should be carried out as follows:

• in the first year, fruits are grown on the first bed, root crops on the second, legumes on the third, leafy on the fourth;
• in the second year, fruits are transferred to the fourth bed, root crops - to the first, legumes - to the second, leafy - to the third;
• in the third year, root crops are transferred to the fourth bed, and so on.

No less popular is a crop rotation depending on the indicators of the exactingness of garden plants to soil fertility:

• high exactingness rates are typical for aster, pumpkin and cabbage;
• the average degree of exactingness is characteristic of nightshade;
• slight exactingness is characteristic of amaranth, amaryllis and umbrella;
• legumes are capable of enriching the soil composition.

Nightshade crops are represented by potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and bell peppers. The umbrella or celery category includes dill, carrots and parsley. The most popular amaranth fruits are beets and spinach.. The pumpkin family is represented by cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, watermelons and melons.

Popular cabbages or cruciferous are all types of cabbage, radishes and watercress. Legumes that enrich the soil are peas and beans, while sunflowers belong to the Asteraceae family.

Crop rotation of vegetable crops (video)

Even on small ridges, you can get a decent yield. Proper and timely planning of plantings and crops, as well as compliance with crop rotation, is a prerequisite for obtaining the highest and highest quality harvest from household and garden plots that are insignificant in size.

Such a danger lies in wait for almost any gardener - everything seems to be fine and the crops are rather big, but ... boring.

It's boring to grow the same thing in the same beds year after year.

But there is a way out!

Combined planting in the country and in the garden

I started experimenting with overlapping landings and the results were beyond my expectations. Firstly, the garden has become much more colorful and interesting. Secondly, plants really protect each other from pests. And most importantly, from one bed I now get a crop of 3-4 crops with less labor. Once you try it, you just don’t want to return to the old monoculture beds.

However, I would not say that the harvest with combined plantings has become many times larger - by about 10-20%, when compared with traditional rows.

And this is due to the fact that plants get sick less and are affected by pests, that is, there are more healthy, intact fruits. True, they are much tastier than those grown in the traditional way.

Check it out yourself! Tomatoes growing next to parsley or celery have a brighter and richer taste. Cabbage next to dill suffers less from cabbage scoops or white butterflies. Basil, growing close to sweet pepper, makes its flesh more juicy and especially crispy.

And these are just some examples. When you enter into a creative impulse, you want to plant three, four, five crops together. Yes, even so pick up so that they replace each other during the season.

The most interesting thing in such a garden is the design of plantings. This is what I do right now, while I have free time. For more than 10 years I have been using two tables as a hint: compatibility (which crops are friends with each other) and crop rotation (what to plant for). I compiled them myself, summarizing information from all possible sources.

I immediately determine which crops and in what quantity I need to plant.

For our family of 3, 10-15 heads of early cabbage are enough, but we need a lot of leaf lettuce: we grow about 30 bushes, removing up to 0.5 kg of fresh leaves every day. If you make a conveyor planting, then you need to sow 10 bushes with a break of a week.

We eat eggplant not only fresh, but also dry it for the winter, so I plant about 40-50 plants.

A sufficient amount of asparagus beans not only for food, but also for freezing is provided by 4-5 varieties of bush (15-20 bushes each) and a couple of varieties of curly beans (10-15 bushes each). Much depends on the preferences in harvesting for the winter. But do not plant a lot of what you only consume fresh! Do not eat - it will be a pity to throw it away.

An example is chard.

A family of 3 does not need more than 4 bushes.

Having planned the amount of the crop, I draw a site plan. I indicate what and on which beds grew in the last season. And then, using the reference table of crop rotation and the list of necessary vegetables, I determine where the main ones will grow. I plan plantings so that one or two more crops fit nearby. Which ones - I choose from the reference compatibility table. So the landing plan gradually emerges.

Many plants help each other resist insects and are more resistant in certain pairs. These are potatoes and beets, carrots and onions, cabbage and dill, corn and cucumbers, spinach and tomatoes or tomatoes and cabbage, strawberries and garlic, eggplant and beans.

I also use more complex combinations. For example, after cabbage, cucumbers grow quite successfully. If you install a trellis in the middle of the bed, then on both sides of the bed you can sow carrots and plant onions on a turnip. I have been growing this well-established trio for a dozen years! The main thing is to sow carrots in time and grow seedlings of cucumbers ahead of time.

Another option: I plant winter onions or garlic along the edge of the garden in autumn, and stepping back 10 cm from it, I sow carrots. My beds are stationary, with trellis posts installed, so I do this on both sides. I leave the middle free: later I will plant seedlings of cucumbers here.

The third option: I sow radishes along the edge of the garden. When it comes time to clean it up, I make a selection and plant seedlings of early cabbage.

By the end of June, the cabbage is harvested, and in the second half of July, daikon can be sown. I remove it and plant winter garlic.

And there are also such beds, where in the spring I sow lettuce along the edges. But so that pepper seedlings can be planted between its bushes later. Simultaneously with pepper (in May), I sow spinach in the center of the bed - also with a double step. And in the midst of the harvest of salad crops, I plant tomato seedlings in the center, and sweet peppers between the salad. When leaf cultures move away, I simply cut them at the root. And in early autumn, I plant winter shallots between peppers - it will give fresh greens in early spring.

Of course, these are just a few examples of combining vegetables in the beds.

But even these will be enough to make the time spent on the site more interesting. And by the way, such beds require less care. After all, part of your routine work will be done by the plants themselves! They will scare away some insects, leading them astray to the "dinner table", or ruin their appetite, forcing them to leave the beds. So, for example, the Colorado potato beetle bypasses the beds with eggplants and beans planted together. As a camouflage net, a trellis of curly asparagus beans works on the border of the site, reliably protecting the same eggplants from alien Colorado beetles. Basil and flowering dill attract a host of pollinators whose larvae clean cabbages and peppers from aphids. And this is just one of the advantages!

In addition, combined plantings allow plants to create a special microclimate (like lettuce and sweet pepper seedlings), shade each other from the midday heat (cucumbers and corn), rationally distribute moisture and nutrition (winter garlic and carrots).

Having reasonably organized watering, I immediately provide 2-3 crops with moisture. Landings must be mulched - this can significantly reduce the number of watering and weeding. Often, my care for the beds consists in the timely harvesting and planting of other crops to replace those that bear fruit. The beauty!

You begin to fully feel like a creator who does not just plant tomatoes and onions, but creates his own unique symphony from plants, and each has its own, special one.

Combined planting vegetables photo

COMPATIBILITY AND CROP TURN OF SOME VEGETABLE CROPS - TABLE

Practical knowledge about the mixed planting of vegetables in the beds, the compatibility of garden, garden plants, their influence on each other has been accumulated by many generations of gardeners. What are the advantages of mixed landings? What plants can not be planted next to the beds? How can plants influence each other? What vegetables grow well together? How to choose the best neighbors for your plants? What are the benefits of co-planting? We try to learn more about them, to take this knowledge into account in our practice. Sometimes, however, they are quite contradictory.

For example, it seems that there are often assurances of many about the incompatibility of growing cucumbers and tomatoes in the same greenhouse. This is explained by the different requirements of these vegetables to the conditions of detention, temperature, humidity. But, nevertheless, for many they get along well with each other. Why is it so? Until now, this controversial question has no definite answer. Is it possible to plant potatoes with cabbage?

Allelopathy - plant compatibility

Let's start with theory.

What is allelopathy? This word is of Greek origin - allēlōn - mutually and páthos - suffering - mutual suffering. This means that plants can influence each other, cause each other suffering, inconvenience. This is the original meaning of the word allelopathy. Now, allelopathy has come to be understood not only as a negative, but also as a positive interaction of plants with each other. Allelopathy refers to the interaction of plants with each other through various secretions - root and leaf.

Plants secrete through the roots various substances, mainly organic - amino acids, sugars, biologically active substances, antibiotics, hormones, enzymes, and others, which can affect neighboring plants, both positively and negatively.

Through the leaves of the plant, various substances are also secreted - most often volatile. But they can also release water-soluble ones, which are washed off by rain or when watered, enter the soil, and have a different effect on neighboring plants.

These properties - the influence on each other - plants acquired during a long evolution, when they grew together in natural conditions. They had to compete, to establish some kind of relationship with each other. It is assumed that this property - allelopathy - is developed by plants in the process of competition for light, water, and nutrients in the soil. In this competitive struggle, plants can even use chemical protection, that is, they release chemicals: enzymes, vitamins, alkaloids, essential oils, organic acids, phytoncides.

Some of these compounds are similar in properties to herbicides used to kill weeds. These substances, called inhibitors (inhibitors), kill neighboring plants or retard their growth, inhibit seed germination, reduce the intensity of physiological processes and their vital activity.

It is important to note that inhibitors only act negatively when there are many of them. Their small concentrations already act as accelerators of physiological processes, that is, as stimulants.

Mixed plantings - the basis of organic farming

What is written above is rather theoretical information. Can this knowledge be put into practice in our garden?

It is possible, even necessary! They must be taken into account when sowing, planting seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground, since this knowledge has been verified not only by science, but by many generations of gardeners. We will talk further about mixed or joint landings.

Such plantings are part of organic or, as it is also called, biodynamic farming. It is based on working with nature, not against it. The founder of biodynamic agriculture was the famous German philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Now the idea of ​​organic farming is becoming more and more popular all over the world. And mixed plantings in the gardens and vegetable gardens of Europe have long become commonplace.

The reception of joint plantings in the garden for a long time and has been successfully used in Germany. The Germans are very pragmatic in their approach to these things, they believe that it is irrational to lose the area of ​​their personal plots without any purpose. The main thing for them is the amount of production per unit area. They are very proud of the fact that they have learned to get as much benefit from every piece of land as possible. For example, one vegetable plant is planted in the garden, and the sides of the beds are empty - this is a mess. It does not matter what grows on this square - cucumbers or tulips.

In Russia, the reception of mixed, combined landings is not yet very common.

Let's take a closer look at the experience of German gardeners. The optimal width of the beds, they say, is 1 meter.

The central part of the garden, the middle should be occupied by some kind of main crop. This is the culture that will grow in the garden for a long time, until the end of the season. During this period, it will grow strongly, over time it will occupy the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden. For example, it can be cabbage or tomatoes.

But at the beginning of the growing season they are small. The side area of ​​the bed can be planted with something else that quickly ripens. It can be spinach, lettuce, radish - friendly crops. Spinach is generally compatible with almost all crops, it even stimulates the development of neighboring plants.

By the time the tomatoes or kale have grown, the spinach, radish, or lettuce will have been cut, plucked up for food. This is just one of the aspects that speaks in favor of joint landings.

Additional, fast-maturing plants should be small, compact, so that their root system does not interfere with the main crop.

Often joint plantings protect each other from pests. For organic farming, this is very important, as it is against the use of herbicides or other chemical protection products. For such purposes, aromatic plants are most often used - basil, coriander, onion, sage.

Many herbs bring triple benefits: they are beautiful, they enrich our table, they attract beneficial insects to our garden.

It is believed that coriander with its smell can even scare away the Colorado potato beetle from potatoes. But, it should be borne in mind that a lot of such aromatic plants should be planted so that aromatic vapors create a significant cover over the site.

For cabbage, aromatic protection is also important, since it itself attracts various butterflies with its smell. By the way, the Colorado potato beetle, white butterfly find their prey - potatoes, cabbage - by smell. Lettuce or celery planted along the edges of the garden can help protect cabbage from pests. That is, if aromatic herbs are planted nearby, then their smell will kill the smell of potatoes or cabbage, to some extent disorientate pests.

Among gardeners, such a term is common - a nanny plant. It is believed that if you plant nasturtium along the perimeter of the cabbage bed, then the cruciferous flea will first attack the flowers. That is, nasturtium - a nanny for cabbage - distracts pests. By the way, cabbage salad is also somewhat of a babysitter - it distracts slugs, which are very fond of salad, which has more tender juicy leaves than cabbage. And if slugs have a choice, they choose lettuce.

If you want to protect cabbage from slugs, plant lettuce. And how to protect the salad from slugs without resorting to chemistry? This is already more difficult ... It is believed that the oak bark used as mulch will well protect the salad (and not only it) from slugs.

Practitioner gardeners have long noticed that neighboring plants can not only compact plantings, protect each other from pests, but also improve each other's taste. For example, basil improves the taste of tomatoes, while dill improves the taste of cabbage.

Isop, parsley, lavender, sage, borage, thyme, mint, chamomile, chervil work well on almost all vegetables. Planted along the edges of beds or plots, white lamb, deaf nettle, valerian, yarrow make vegetable plants healthier, more resistant to diseases and pests.

Here's something else interesting about mixed plantings. I read this from N. Zhirmunskaya in the book Good and Bad Neighbors in the Garden Bed.

The history of the use of the idea of ​​​​such landings has more than one century. The ancient Indians grew corn, pumpkin, and beans in the same field. They noticed that corn, for example, creates a shadow, protects the earth and pumpkin from the scorching rays of the sun, and is a good support for beans. Pumpkin covers the ground with its leaves, stifles the growth of weeds, retaining moisture, protects the ground from drying out.

In addition, the ancient Indians did not destroy all weeds, for example, amaranth, quinoa, which are now weeds for us. They let them grow along with the vegetables.

How weeds help garden plants or the benefits of weeds

It turns out that some weeds can benefit cultivated garden plants. Even the ancient Indians noticed that amaranth, a malicious weed in our gardens, can share with some plants the nutrients it receives from the depths of the soil.

There is, for example, an opinion that one should not weed all the amaranth over potatoes, leaving 3-5 plants per square meter. Having no competitors nearby, amaranth grows, its powerful root system, penetrating deep into the soil, extracts nutrients there - phosphorus, potassium, calcium, which are much more at a depth than in the upper layers. Excesses of these elements are released through the roots into the soil, nourish the potatoes. That is, amaranth, as it were, shares these surpluses with potatoes. Moreover, these nutrients are in a digestible form, easily absorbed, absorbed by potatoes.

Agronomists have already established through laboratory experiments that, indeed, plants can share their root secretions with each other. I must say that plants do not skimp on root secretions - this is very important for them. It has been established that approximately 20% of what is synthesized in the leaves of plants is released by their roots into the soil.

Recently, the issue of the benefits and harms of weeds has been significantly revised. If weeds are not allowed to grow uncontrollably, stifle cultivated plants, especially in the early stages of growth, then they can play the role of a useful member of the plant community.

By the way, I noticed that thistle - a malicious weed - distracts aphids. Cucumbers grew in my greenhouse. They grew well. Were healthy. The harvest was good. Sow thistle grew in the corner of the greenhouse - I did not immediately notice it, Only then I paid attention to it, when it grew over a meter tall, I even threw out the buds. Decided to root it out. She gasped when she saw that he was covered with aphids. Here it is, I think, a breeding ground for pests - it must be destroyed. And what? Not even a day passed after that, as all my, still healthy, cucumbers were covered with aphids. I had to take measures to destroy the aphids. It turns out that sow thistle protected my plants from aphids.

I never pull out all the weeds on tomatoes planted in open ground. I do weeding only in the first growing season, when there is a danger that the weeds will clog the tomatoes and cover them from the sun. But, when my tomatoes gain strength, they are not afraid of weeds. They cover the soil from the burning sun - it does not crust, does not dry out, it can be watered less often. In addition, grass, weeds protect fruits from sunburn, which is very important in our southern hot climate.

Most weeds have deep root systems. In the struggle for existence, they developed the ability to get food deep in the soil. In cultivated plants, which we pamper with our care, this ability is rare.

The most important vegetable plants, such as potatoes, corn, head lettuce, cucumbers and a number of others, have a shallow root system and receive nutrition from the upper layers of the soil. And, for example, a dandelion with its powerful root system extracts calcium from the depths. In addition, this weed releases a large amount of ethylene gas into the air, which accelerates the ripening of fruits, not to mention the fact that its bright flowers attract bees and other pollinating insects to the garden.

Incompatibility or which plants should not be planted nearby

So far, we have talked about the positive influence of plants on each other. But there is also a negative impact.

For example, do not plant carrots and parsley side by side. These are plants of the same family and their influence on each other is negative, they do not tolerate each other's root secretions.

There are plants that do not like their own root secretions - they are not recommended to be planted in the same place, even two years in a row. It is believed that beets belong to such plants.

All legumes do not go well with all types of onions and garlic. That is, they cannot be planted side by side.

In one year, I placed nearby, practically didn’t even leave a path between them, onions and peas. Didn't know they were incompatible. And what? Peas could not stand such a neighborhood. Two rows of peas - closest to the onion - sprouted, but disappeared after a while. So the peas themselves made a path between themselves and the onions.

Watercress adversely affects many vegetable crops.

Pumpkin does not like the neighborhood of potatoes.

Even plants of different ages can affect each other in different ways. That is, the plants are not initially hostile to each other, but planted one much earlier than the other can suppress each other.

Here is an example not from a book - from my experience. I identified one bed for late cabbage and Beijing cabbage. I decided that Beijing cabbage will ripen earlier and make room for late cabbage. Seedlings of Beijing cabbage planted much earlier than cabbage. What came of it? Until I removed the Beijing cabbage, which, by the way, has grown very much, the cabbage seedlings froze in growth. As a result, she began to gain growth much later, she could not form heads of high quality. I think this did not happen if I planted them at the same time, or at least one after the other with a small time gap.