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companion planting - let's have it out!
is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting?
because i generally 1: can't be bothered 2: am both ill-informed and disorganised, i don't companion-plant (also, wouldn't it mess with rotation systems? that might be a different issue though) it's not something i pursue. however, for 3 years i have put basil with the tomatoes in good faith because EVERYONE says this is a good thing. however, over the 3 years i've noticed that the basil doesn't come on if it's with the tomatoes - the plants are always small (although the tomatoes are happy). last year i thought the basils were probably too shaded, so i gave more space this year, but the basils are still small & flowering early. my other (seperate) basils are as big as i would expect, though (so it's not dud seed or anything like that). while i don't normally have any tomato diseases (so far - i am quite a newbie gardener though) i can't be sure if this is because of the basil, or if they'd have been healthy anyway (as, after all, tomatoes really aren't that difficult, are they?) so in a nutshell, i'm going to give up on this particular arrangement. i have one tomato plant, though, that was planted quite close to spring onions, & it's a tiny plant. i'm taking out the spring onions as we need them, & the plant's finally getting a bit bigger now. i wonder if the onions are bothering the tomato plant. the other, self-sown toms which are various places are just dandy, despite considerable neglect AND no basil nearby (and no staking, and little watering, etc). does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly & scientifically. thanks!! kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
0tterbot wrote:
is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. Well, we will if I can get the beans to actually come up. It started with the corn. I ended up putting in about four lots of planting before half the 12x12 block took and grew. I've tried planting beans, but only 5 out of 60 shot and black birds ate 3 of them. Meanwhile, the whole patch is being invaded by a self sown pumpkin(jap?) from another patch. sigh. I woundn't feel so bad, but the only flowers are male, Unless they are different to zucchini, which has been a total waste of space so far as it all need hand pollination. Ok well, hope the water tank is full as everything is going to need watering this evening afterthe scorcher that today has been. In summary, we just tend to try everything with everything and see what happens. In reality swmbo always produces too many seedlings that get shoe horned in everywhere. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"0tterbot" wrote in message ... is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? because i generally 1: can't be bothered 2: am both ill-informed and disorganised, i don't companion-plant (also, wouldn't it mess with rotation systems? that might be a different issue though) it's not something i pursue. however, for 3 years i have put basil with the tomatoes in good faith because EVERYONE says this is a good thing. however, over the 3 years i've noticed that the basil doesn't come on if it's with the tomatoes - the plants are always small (although the tomatoes are happy). last year i thought the basils were probably too shaded, so i gave more space this year, but the basils are still small & flowering early. my other (seperate) basils are as big as i would expect, though (so it's not dud seed or anything like that). while i don't normally have any tomato diseases (so far - i am quite a newbie gardener though) i can't be sure if this is because of the basil, or if they'd have been healthy anyway (as, after all, tomatoes really aren't that difficult, are they?) so in a nutshell, i'm going to give up on this particular arrangement. i have one tomato plant, though, that was planted quite close to spring onions, & it's a tiny plant. i'm taking out the spring onions as we need them, & the plant's finally getting a bit bigger now. i wonder if the onions are bothering the tomato plant. the other, self-sown toms which are various places are just dandy, despite considerable neglect AND no basil nearby (and no staking, and little watering, etc). does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly & scientifically. thanks!! kylie I read very recently, on a newsgroup i think, about planting garlic with roses to supress rust pathogens that live in the soil. Garlic also seems to be a good crop to follow on from tomatos with various research indicating it fumigates the soil. rob rob |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message ... 0tterbot wrote: is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. Well, we will if I can get the beans to actually come up. It started with the corn. I ended up putting in about four lots of planting before half the 12x12 block took and grew. I've tried planting beans, but only 5 out of 60 shot and black birds ate 3 of them. Meanwhile, the whole patch is being invaded by a self sown pumpkin(jap?) from another patch. sigh. I woundn't feel so bad, but the only flowers are male, Unless they are different to zucchini, which has been a total waste of space so far as it all need hand pollination. Ok well, hope the water tank is full as everything is going to need watering this evening afterthe scorcher that today has been. In summary, we just tend to try everything with everything and see what happens. In reality swmbo always produces too many seedlings that get shoe horned in everywhere. Don't complain my SWMBO does the digging and weeding in MY plot. Agh the joys of a heart condition. The weeding is under supervision as all look like weeds to younger eyes. But I get the credit for success & failure alike. We have had a wet & cool summer so far, how I love a positive SOI. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
Don't complain my SWMBO does the digging and weeding in MY plot. Hey, you're talking to the garden labourer here. I was lucky to get the corn plot. Agh the joys of a heart condition. Oh, I've got one of those, but not so bad that I can not enjoy the gardening. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message
... 0tterbot wrote: is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. you can also do corn, squash and baby chickens!! (the idea being that when the chicks are tall enough to pop out from the leaves, they are too big to tempt eagles. or something like that. but clearly you have your hands full as it is.) Well, we will if I can get the beans to actually come up. It started with the corn. I ended up putting in about four lots of planting before half the 12x12 block took and grew. I've tried planting beans, but only 5 out of 60 shot and black birds ate 3 of them. Meanwhile, the whole patch is being invaded by a self sown pumpkin(jap?) from another patch. sigh. I woundn't feel so bad, but the only flowers are male, Unless they are different to zucchini, which has been a total waste of space so far as it all need hand pollination. your zucchini aren't getting fertilised without you?! that IS odd. apparently pumpkin will produce more female flowers if you nip the tips off & force it to make a decision. males always come first & you should get females by tipping it. Ok well, hope the water tank is full as everything is going to need watering this evening afterthe scorcher that today has been. In summary, we just tend to try everything with everything and see what happens. In reality swmbo always produces too many seedlings that get shoe horned in everywhere. that is a problem of mine although i'm much better now at ditching the strugglers (hence less problem). getting back to my question - have you made any concrete discoveries yet? :-) kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"George.com" wrote in message
... "0tterbot" wrote in message ... (snip) does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly & scientifically. thanks!! kylie I read very recently, on a newsgroup i think, about planting garlic with roses to supress rust pathogens that live in the soil. Garlic also seems to be a good crop to follow on from tomatos with various research indicating it fumigates the soil. ah yes, heard both of those. garlic is a goodie i think (i've also heard it helps with fruit tree pests when planted under fruit trees - ? i'm inclined to think the smell might keep _all_ bugs away, not just the baddies) (but again, might just be info being repeated that nobody's really checked). kyile |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"0tterbot" wrote in message
getting back to my question - have you made any concrete discoveries yet? Jackie French doesn't seem to be convinced by most of the companion planting info around IIRC. She has writtent hat most of it doesn't work or is untested. Will try to dig out some of her writings ont his and do a report back to you but don't holdyour breath on that as I've got a bit on my plate ATM (perhaps by the time we do lunch?) |
companion planting - let's have it out!
0tterbot wrote:
"Terryc" wrote in message ... 0tterbot wrote: is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. you can also do corn, squash and baby chickens!! (the idea being that when the chicks are tall enough to pop out from the leaves, they are too big to tempt eagles. or something like that. but clearly you have your hands full as it is.) Well, we discuss that regularly, but the $700 to build a decent cage to prevent them becoming cat food is rather off putting. I also weant to be sure that I do not have to them start buying expensive food. your zucchini aren't getting fertilised without you?! that IS odd. Shrug, the last lot of cucumbers are the only curcurbit that has ever managed to self fertilise. Found out yesterday that you need two plants and must cross pollinate. sigh, if that doesn't work, then they are definitely coming out. apparently pumpkin will produce more female flowers if you nip the tips off & force it to make a decision. males always come first & you should get females by tipping it. Hmm, might try that, I've found only one female flower, yet to open at the end of 30' of runner. getting back to my question - have you made any concrete discoveries yet? Oh, there are a few bits that pop up from time to time. We mainly score river pebbles from the previous owners fetish for pebble gardens. {:-). Nope, nothing companion planting wise so far. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"0tterbot" wrote in message ... "Terryc" wrote in message ... 0tterbot wrote: is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. you can also do corn, squash and baby chickens!! (the idea being that when the chicks are tall enough to pop out from the leaves, they are too big to tempt eagles. or something like that. but clearly you have your hands full as it is.) I was visiting a neighbour a few weeks ago who has two tiny fluffy white dogs, put on a handle and they would make a toilet brush. We went out to the verandah and the dogs scampered into the garden. She was really paranoid and then she scooped up the dogs and put them inside. She believes that the local wedgetails have designs on little Poopsie and Fluffina and she had sighted one cruising around. To get on topic I am unsure about companion planting. I think that it *might* work but the evidence is scanty. The local organic growers society members will tell you all the combinations that are supposed to be beneficial but when you ask them how they know they cannot tell you. I believe there has been at least one study showing it didn't do anything but I cannot find the reference right now. I would like to see that study and how it was done at least before making up my mind. One of the problems with such things is determining cause and effect. There are so many factors which affect how plants grow and if pests are a problem at any given time. Unless a factor is really strong and has a very obvious result under all circumstances you are left to wonder or to plant large numbers in latin squares and all that. To take an example of this problem some members of the society believe in moon planting. We were told by one that she had planted one lot of seedlings by the moon and another not. The ones by the moon did somewhat better therefore it's great. I didn't ask how she controlled for differences in soil, sun, water, etc, etc nor how many plants did better and how she determined this. Such things can become a religion and you don't want to go there. David |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
To take an example of this problem some members of the society believe in moon planting. We were told by one that she had planted one lot of seedlings by the moon and another not. The ones by the moon did somewhat better therefore it's great. I didn't ask how she controlled for differences in soil, sun, water, etc, etc nor how many plants did better and how she determined this. Such things can become a religion and you don't want to go there. That reminds me of Esther Deans :-)) She used to plant by the moon but in addition used to use a pedulum to check each seed to see if it was viable. I haven't seen her book for ages - must have a hunt in the library after I log off. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message
Shrug, the last lot of cucumbers are the only curcurbit that has ever managed to self fertilise. Found out yesterday that you need two plants and must cross pollinate. sigh, if that doesn't work, then they are definitely coming out. If you can find someone else who has some of the same plants then use a camel ahir paintbrush to shove in all their flowers then bring it home in a plastic bag and go round having sex with your own plants. I did this last year when I was trying to get my rockmelons to set fruit and I thought we had too few bees. Dunno if my sex with the rockmelons or the bees eventually did the job but I did end up with a few rockies. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
In article ,
Terryc wrote: Yes. Generally there is very little useful information. The few books we have tend to not mention many of the veges we grow, Yep, or they are for different soils and climates. We are currently trying the corn, beans and squash trilogy. Well, we will if I can get the beans to actually come up. It started with the corn. I ended up putting in about four lots of planting before half the 12x12 block took and grew. I've tried planting beans, but only 5 out of 60 shot and black birds ate 3 of them. I've never seen that work. The squash is too rampant here. However, both Dad and I have had good results by combining corn and cucumber plants (Sydney clay belt). Meanwhile, the whole patch is being invaded by a self sown pumpkin(jap?) from another patch. sigh. I woundn't feel so bad, but the only flowers are male, Unless they are different to zucchini, which has been a total waste of space so far as it all need hand pollination. Don't worry, the makle flowers always seem to arrive first on pumpkin vines. You should see the female flowers shortly. Ok well, hope the water tank is full as everything is going to need watering this evening afterthe scorcher that today has been. In summary, we just tend to try everything with everything and see what happens. In reality swmbo always produces too many seedlings that get shoe horned in everywhere. That's the way I garden, too. I try to be a bit more organised, but Things Happen! -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/ |
companion planting - let's have it out!
In article ,
Terryc wrote: you can also do corn, squash and baby chickens!! (the idea being that when the chicks are tall enough to pop out from the leaves, they are too big to tempt eagles. or something like that. but clearly you have your hands full as it is.) Well, we discuss that regularly, but the $700 to build a decent cage to prevent them becoming cat food is rather off putting. I also weant to be sure that I do not have to them start buying expensive food. But the better solution is to deliver the cats to the RSPCA for the cost of petrol... -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) http://chookiesbackyard.blogspot.com/ |
companion planting - let's have it out!
Chookie wrote:
But the better solution is to deliver the cats to the RSPCA for the cost of petrol... pfut, it would work out more expensive in the long run. The idiots around here let them breed and run wild so there is a continuous supply. The only thingthat would work is to frebomb the "owners" |
companion planting - let's have it out!
Chookie wrote:
I've never seen that work. The squash is too rampant here. However, both Dad and I have had good results by combining corn and cucumber plants (Sydney clay belt). Well, I'm happy to try that as well. We actually have 2m tall corn plants.Just waiting for the silk to arrive. In summary, we just tend to try everything with everything and see what happens. In reality swmbo always produces too many seedlings that get shoe horned in everywhere. That's the way I garden, too. I try to be a bit more organised, but Things Happen! It makes for a more interesting garden too. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
0tterbot wrote:
does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? SWMBO says that she finds the notes we downloads from the Canberra Organic Growers society most useful. http://www.cogs.asn.au/ |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
... "0tterbot" wrote in message getting back to my question - have you made any concrete discoveries yet? Jackie French doesn't seem to be convinced by most of the companion planting info around IIRC. She has writtent hat most of it doesn't work or is untested. Will try to dig out some of her writings ont his and do a report back to you but don't holdyour breath on that as I've got a bit on my plate ATM (perhaps by the time we do lunch?) ok! tbh, i've had a gutful of jackie french & never intend to read anything she's ever written, ever again! (also, i came to realise recently that it was she who patronised me at the tea urn during a meeting one time). i'm just so over that blase approach she's got where no new info is added - it just gets more & more blase. as though if you're having trouble with something, you must be an idiot. i'd have to back doesn't work &/or untested, however - i'm just strongly suspecting that it hasn't been in any organised way. (not least because of so much contradictory info - but then again, much garden info is directly contradictory, isn't it?) kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message
... Chookie wrote: But the better solution is to deliver the cats to the RSPCA for the cost of petrol... pfut, it would work out more expensive in the long run. The idiots around here let them breed and run wild so there is a continuous supply. The only thingthat would work is to frebomb the "owners" i really think you should be able to put together a good chicken set up for far less than $700!!! we have 16 chooks atm, 3 chook houses which i made, and a great deal of fencing & it can't have cost more than $200 (which is a generous guess indeed). kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
... She believes that the local wedgetails have designs on little Poopsie and Fluffina and she had sighted one cruising around. (i'm pretty sure wedgetails have better taste than that ;-) To get on topic I am unsure about companion planting. I think that it *might* work but the evidence is scanty. The local organic growers society members will tell you all the combinations that are supposed to be beneficial but when you ask them how they know they cannot tell you. I believe there has been at least one study showing it didn't do anything but I cannot find the reference right now. I would like to see that study and how it was done at least before making up my mind. i doubt actually the entire concept could be covered in just one study, though :-) taking an educated guess, i'd hazard some combinations would be beneficial or actively harmful, & often there wouldn't be a difference one could detect. however, as you say below: One of the problems with such things is determining cause and effect. There are so many factors which affect how plants grow and if pests are a problem at any given time. Unless a factor is really strong and has a very obvious result under all circumstances you are left to wonder or to plant large numbers in latin squares and all that. that's exactly it. even in one garden there are a multitude of factors. to therefore extend that advice to everyone is probably pushing it. however, i will from time to time conduct a few experiments & see if i can find any good ideas which seem to genuinely work (i'm totally dropping basil & toms, though! i've just seen no evidence in favour of it over 3 seasons, which is enough for now.) if i find something i really feel genuinely works, then i'll do it. why not? To take an example of this problem some members of the society believe in moon planting. We were told by one that she had planted one lot of seedlings by the moon and another not. The ones by the moon did somewhat better therefore it's great. I didn't ask how she controlled for differences in soil, sun, water, etc, etc nor how many plants did better and how she determined this. Such things can become a religion and you don't want to go there. that's right. better to take a more flexible approach, i find, unless & until one has enough time & dedication to really take good notes on some aspect that is of interest, & decide for oneself. i'm not saying that planting by the moon doesn't necessarily NOT work - just that putting faith in it cos someone says so is not in & of itself enough to make me a believer, & plus, extremists of all kinds bother me very badly. i don't care what kind of extremist they are - i disapprove equally of them all :-) kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message
... 0tterbot wrote: does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? SWMBO says that she finds the notes we downloads from the Canberra Organic Growers society most useful. http://www.cogs.asn.au/ thanks terry, i'll have a look. kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"0tterbot" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message "0tterbot" wrote in message getting back to my question - have you made any concrete discoveries yet? Jackie French doesn't seem to be convinced by most of the companion planting info around IIRC. She has writtent hat most of it doesn't work or is untested. Will try to dig out some of her writings ont his and do a report back to you but don't holdyour breath on that as I've got a bit on my plate ATM (perhaps by the time we do lunch?) ok! tbh, i've had a gutful of jackie french & never intend to read anything she's ever written, ever again! (also, i came to realise recently that it was she who patronised me at the tea urn during a meeting one time). That would be enough to put one off. But I still think she is one of the better garden writers for Oz, although I do like a chap called Harry Grover (such a good name for a gardener too). i'm just so over that blase approach she's got where no new info is added - it just gets more & more blase. as though if you're having trouble with something, you must be an idiot. i'd have to back doesn't work &/or untested, however - i'm just strongly suspecting that it hasn't been in any organised way. (not least because of so much contradictory info - but then again, much garden info is directly contradictory, isn't it?) Indeed. How to control for all the variables would be a nightmare. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
0tterbot wrote:
i really think you should be able to put together a good chicken set up for far less than $700!!! we have 16 chooks atm, 3 chook houses which i made, and a great deal of fencing & it can't have cost more than $200 (which is a generous guess indeed). I want to do something other than pokie small. We have two sheds,which I want to fit it between with a central hutch so I can control access to either sides. It also has to be strong enough to withstand the occassional small gum limb. so the price was based on having to buy 2" pipe and mesh. |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"0tterbot" wrote in message
... "Terryc" wrote in message ... Chookie wrote: But the better solution is to deliver the cats to the RSPCA for the cost of petrol... pfut, it would work out more expensive in the long run. The idiots around here let them breed and run wild so there is a continuous supply. The only thingthat would work is to frebomb the "owners" i really think you should be able to put together a good chicken set up for far less than $700!!! we have 16 chooks atm, 3 chook houses which i made, and a great deal of fencing & it can't have cost more than $200 (which is a generous guess indeed). kylie not that it matters, but upon reflection, we only have 15 atm. 14 hens (half of whom are totally mental) and a rooster. gawd, things are grim when you can't even remember how many chooks you've got!! /goes to look up "brain transplants" in the yellow pages kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Terryc" wrote in message
... 0tterbot wrote: i really think you should be able to put together a good chicken set up for far less than $700!!! we have 16 chooks atm, 3 chook houses which i made, and a great deal of fencing & it can't have cost more than $200 (which is a generous guess indeed). I want to do something other than pokie small. We have two sheds,which I want to fit it between with a central hutch so I can control access to either sides. i'm not sure what you mean here, but my point was that chicken wire is relatively cheap, and chicken houses you build yourself even more so. the chooks can have a tiny house, that you don't go into (but organise access via lifting roof or wall). they enjoy lots of room for strolling about, but that's where wire is cheap, so no problems there. with a bigger shed, they can use it as extra living space, but they really like the sun on all but the absolute hottest days, so they mightn't use it much except at night & during bad weather. It also has to be strong enough to withstand the occassional small gum limb. so the price was based on having to buy 2" pipe and mesh. hmm, our yards are under some old gums ( i wasn't really thinking things through when deciding the location!) several small gum limbs have fallen. we have nylon fruit-tree mesh over the top (supported by fencing wire going across) & the chooks are fine - no falling limb has ever done any damage so far. the other thing is that chooks will nervously hang around their home spot (shed, house or whatnot) in windy weather, so provided the roof of their housing is all right, they should be fine even if a limb does come down on them & reach ground level. the roofs of our chook houses are made of old tin with star pickets for the legs, arranged over each house for shelter. anyway, your decision entirely of course, but it's really not expensive to organise chooks & their living quarters, as a general rule. if you want to, you can go as expensive as you like, but there are always cheaper ways to do things - which includes allowing for the possibility all the chooks will be killed by a falling limb (or that a limb will knock over the fence you laboriously put up!! which would be kind of worse, as chickens are actually pretty cheap to buy. well, that sounds awful, but you understand my point, i'm sure.) kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
... tbh, i've had a gutful of jackie french & never intend to read anything she's ever written, ever again! (also, i came to realise recently that it was she who patronised me at the tea urn during a meeting one time). That would be enough to put one off. i actually think it's a bit peurile of me. she probably didn't mean to be patronising. but i detected the same blase tone that annoys me in her writings!! But I still think she is one of the better garden writers for Oz, although I do like a chap called Harry Grover (such a good name for a gardener too). not heard of him! haven't found any australian person who really stands out for me, although i've read some books i liked. i probably need a new garden-crush ;-) kylie |
companion planting - let's have it out!
0tterbot wrote:
is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? because i generally 1: can't be bothered 2: am both ill-informed and disorganised, i don't companion-plant (also, wouldn't it mess with rotation systems? that might be a different issue though) it's not something i pursue. however, for 3 years i have put basil with the tomatoes in good faith because EVERYONE says this is a good thing. however, over the 3 years i've noticed that the basil doesn't come on if it's with the tomatoes - the plants are always small (although the tomatoes are happy). last year i thought the basils were probably too shaded, so i gave more space this year, but the basils are still small & flowering early. my other (seperate) basils are as big as i would expect, though (so it's not dud seed or anything like that). while i don't normally have any tomato diseases (so far - i am quite a newbie gardener though) i can't be sure if this is because of the basil, or if they'd have been healthy anyway (as, after all, tomatoes really aren't that difficult, are they?) so in a nutshell, i'm going to give up on this particular arrangement. i have one tomato plant, though, that was planted quite close to spring onions, & it's a tiny plant. i'm taking out the spring onions as we need them, & the plant's finally getting a bit bigger now. i wonder if the onions are bothering the tomato plant. the other, self-sown toms which are various places are just dandy, despite considerable neglect AND no basil nearby (and no staking, and little watering, etc). does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly & scientifically. thanks!! kylie I start with a chart, http://www.google.com.au/search?as_q...filetype=p df When you group them into families you can see that there are families that don't like each other and there are families that are OK with most other plants. You can get it down to 3 or 4 groups, say red, green, blue and grey, with red and blue being the most antagonistic to each other. Then you write your plant names on matching colored paper squares that corespond to the size of the plant/patch you need. Once you have that worked out you can start laying out the plants on a plan of your garden. Keep in mind that you will still need to account for each plants microclimate requirements and height to account for shading etc. Or you could just prance naked through your garden at midnight with a large bag of mixed seed, flinging them gaily at the full moon, then see what pops up and grows well. I assure you, at leaset one of the above methods works well for me. ;-) |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Dan" wrote in message ... 0tterbot wrote: is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting? because i generally 1: can't be bothered 2: am both ill-informed and disorganised, i don't companion-plant (also, wouldn't it mess with rotation systems? that might be a different issue though) it's not something i pursue. however, for 3 years i have put basil with the tomatoes in good faith because EVERYONE says this is a good thing. however, over the 3 years i've noticed that the basil doesn't come on if it's with the tomatoes - the plants are always small (although the tomatoes are happy). last year i thought the basils were probably too shaded, so i gave more space this year, but the basils are still small & flowering early. my other (seperate) basils are as big as i would expect, though (so it's not dud seed or anything like that). while i don't normally have any tomato diseases (so far - i am quite a newbie gardener though) i can't be sure if this is because of the basil, or if they'd have been healthy anyway (as, after all, tomatoes really aren't that difficult, are they?) so in a nutshell, i'm going to give up on this particular arrangement. i have one tomato plant, though, that was planted quite close to spring onions, & it's a tiny plant. i'm taking out the spring onions as we need them, & the plant's finally getting a bit bigger now. i wonder if the onions are bothering the tomato plant. the other, self-sown toms which are various places are just dandy, despite considerable neglect AND no basil nearby (and no staking, and little watering, etc). does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly & scientifically. thanks!! kylie I start with a chart, http://www.google.com.au/search?as_q...filetype=p df When you group them into families you can see that there are families that don't like each other and there are families that are OK with most other plants. You can get it down to 3 or 4 groups, say red, green, blue and grey, with red and blue being the most antagonistic to each other. Then you write your plant names on matching colored paper squares that corespond to the size of the plant/patch you need. Once you have that worked out you can start laying out the plants on a plan of your garden. Keep in mind that you will still need to account for each plants microclimate requirements and height to account for shading etc. Or you could just prance naked through your garden at midnight with a large bag of mixed seed, flinging them gaily at the full moon, then see what pops up and grows well. I assure you, at leaset one of the above methods works well for me. ;-) I go for the last method - works for me :-) |
companion planting - let's have it out!
"Dan" wrote in message
... I start with a chart, http://www.google.com.au/search?as_q...filetype=p df When you group them into families you can see that there are families that don't like each other and there are families that are OK with most other plants. You can get it down to 3 or 4 groups, say red, green, blue and grey, with red and blue being the most antagonistic to each other. Then you write your plant names on matching colored paper squares that corespond to the size of the plant/patch you need. Once you have that worked out you can start laying out the plants on a plan of your garden. Keep in mind that you will still need to account for each plants microclimate requirements and height to account for shading etc. well, thank you (and it appears that nothing much likes onions! which does make sense. except for the plants which purportedly do....) however, i'm starting to think i need a total personality transplant to even get that organised. i've also realised why my rotations don't work easily, (which is another issue entirely!). i will try to think about melding the two issues with all my other issues (just the gardening ones, of course ;-). i was easily able to try celery-with-beans just recently, as there were good spots for bush beans between the celery trenches. beans aren't up yet, but we'll see what happens there. one small experiment at a time is the way it is going to have to be! Or you could just prance naked through your garden at midnight with a large bag of mixed seed, flinging them gaily at the full moon, then see what pops up and grows well. this sounds a bit more like my style ;-) kylie I assure you, at leaset one of the above methods works well for me. ;-) |
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