Mixed crops in the garden. The scheme of planting vegetables in the garden: planning and combining crops

"Correct" beds with their own hands

I have my own house and a garden plot of 7 acres. We have been gardening for 20 years. So, in recent years, I began to notice that the earth is becoming heavy, water- and air-tight, and the crops are getting scarcer and scarcer. By autumn, it became a shame that so much effort, time and money had been invested, and the result was almost zero.

I had to do something, but I didn't know what. It was then that the book by B.A. fell into my hands. bagel “Garden in a new way. The revolutionary method of doing nothing. This book turned all my thinking upside down and allowed me to take a fresh look at cultivated plants, weeds, pests, soil and, in general, mother nature. In nature, everything is interconnected: one with the other, the other with the third, and so on along the chain. And then I looked on the Internet, saw a lot of interesting, smart, instructive things, and in the spring I decided to embody the basic principles of organic farming in my garden.

With the onset of spring, my husband and I broke the garden into "Correct" beds - 90 cm wide and 8 m long(although the length can be arbitrary), row spacing of 60 cm. The width of the beds should be such that you can reach the middle with your hand, because you can’t step on the ground either when planting or when weeding.

Aisles should be wide to provide plants with good air exchange and illumination, since scientists have long proven that plants take only 30% of the required energy from the soil in the form of nutrients.

The width of 60 cm was also chosen because of the convenience when mowing with a lawn mower. The brought earth, compost were poured on top of the beds, and everything was mixed together with garden soil. The beds turned out a little raised, but not high. Several beds were fenced with wooden boards - there was not enough material for everything.

On one bed there were 4 rows for planting seeds of onions, carrots, beets, radishes. I planted seedlings of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage in two rows in a checkerboard pattern. Planting vegetables was carried out according to the principle of "good neighborhood", i.e. culture compatibility. For example, onions along with carrots and beets (along the edge of the garden). In general, beets are considered an "extreme" crop, its place is on the edge of the garden. I planted tomatoes with peppers, cabbage with celery and beets.

Combined plantings are good because plants (at least three species) do not oppress neighbors, but help each other.

Harvest without mulch!

Further, following the principles of organic farming, I mulched plantings, but did this only when shoots began to appear (late spring - early summer). Mulched with mowed grass, but always a little dried in the shade. The mulch was watered with a solution with effective microorganisms and again spilled with water on top. Beneficial microorganisms begin to work when warm weather sets in with an air temperature of at least 25 °.

Throughout the summer, I put more and more portions of mulch (about once every one to two weeks). Ideally, the layer of mulch per season should be at least 5 cm.

And with potatoes, we did this: sprouted bushes after the first weeding and hilling with the whole family mulched with straw and hay. Of course, we had to work hard, but then throughout the summer we no longer weeded the weeds, and the Colorado potato beetle appeared much later and in smaller numbers. The area under potatoes was small, about 4 acres. A bed of strawberries was also mulched with mowed grass, where they then collected clean berries, and there were no rotten ones at all. Weeds grow through the mulch, but very little. To avoid them at all, a dense layer of mulch is needed, at least, as I said, 5 cm.

Mulching is especially important in hot weather, but in rainy weather you need to be careful, as the mulch can rot, especially on heavy soils.

And yet, it has much more advantages: protecting the soil from drying out, reducing labor costs for weeding, enriching the soil due to the decomposition of organic matter by soil microorganisms and bacteria.

Wormwood instead of chemistry

I would like to dwell on ways to control pests and diseases in organic farming. To control pests, I planted plants on the beds that repel them. For example, next to the cabbage I planted marigolds, hyssop, sage and a lot of dill.

White butterflies circled over the cabbage, circled, but I did not notice the pests on the leaves. I planted basil with tomatoes and peppers, which not only repels insects, but also improves the taste of tomatoes and soil structure. I planted onions and carrots not far from each other, since the onion fly is repelled by carrots, and the carrot fly is repelled by onions. Wormwood repels many pests, especially the Colorado potato beetle. Several bushes of wormwood grow in my garden in different places, but aside, not in the beds. With the help of wormwood, I saved the eggplant from the striped pest. In the summer, when all my spicy plants and flowers bloomed, there was such beauty in the garden, and the smell was awesome!

Top dressing was carried out only once, in the spring, and only foliar. Next season we plan to use homemade solutions and top dressings.

In the fall, we plant the vacated beds with green manure (white mustard). The use of green manure is another principle of organic farming.. They enrich the soil with macro- and microelements, their long rhizomes loosen the soil, increase the humus layer of the soil.

When using organic farming, the land before winter should always be covered with greenery and in no case bare.

And in conclusion, I want to say: in order to carry out the “perestroika” in the garden, my husband and I had to work hard, but the whole family is very pleased with the results of this work! In addition, next season there will be much less work, since the beds will already be permanent, all that remains is to loosen them (up to 5-7 cm) and plant plants.

If you follow the principles of organic farming, the humus layer in the garden will increase every year, as a result of which the yields will increase significantly, and (most importantly!) Absolutely clean from the point of view of ecology.

Dear gardeners, switch to organic farming! It really works - proven by practical experience. Believe me, this is a very interesting process, because mother nature has long taken care of everything for us, you just need to watch her and try to interfere with her less!

Seedlings in diapers

I love experimenting in the garden. I take a plastic bag for a sandwich measuring 20 × 30 cm, without unfolding it, I put 1 tbsp on the left edge. l. (with a slide) of prepared moistened earth, then I place a seedling in the middle of a clod of earth, and on top of another 1 tbsp. l. land, and I roll everything up in the form of a roll - I “swaddle” a seedling, as a baby is swaddled. I wrap the edge of the package (you can pull it off with an elastic band). The leaves of the seedling should protrude above the film.

I put the formed rolls in a container from under the kiwi (you can from under the cake), 13-15 bags are placed. In short, in three containers I got 42 sprouts of seedlings, and they all fit on one windowsill. I put the containers themselves in small trays from under the semi-finished products.

Then, when the seedlings grow up (after a few weeks), you need to unroll the rolls again and add 1-2 tbsp. l. earth. Normal care: watering, lighting.

Seedlings grow remarkably, and by the time they land in open ground, I have healthy and strong tomato seedlings with an elongated root system.

With this method of picking, the most important thing is that the root system is not injured when transplanted to a permanent place, and the tip of the root is not pinched, which contributes to the further growth of the root deeper, where the plant will find more moisture and will not depend on watering.

Having planted my tomatoes in two rows in a checkerboard pattern in a narrow box-bed, I mulch them with hay and straw (but not fresh!). A bed with ripening tomatoes looks so beautiful that it is simply indescribable! And the harvest is so big that before the New Year my whole family eats fresh tomatoes.

By the way, this picking method is very well suited for apartments where there is little space for seedlings, and much less land is used. You can dive in this way and other vegetables, as well as flowers. Try it, you will definitely like it. It really works!

ORGANIC GARDEN - MY FEEDBACK

Garden "under laziness"

The most interesting thing about organic farming is that increasing soil fertility can be translated into a permanent and almost autonomous mode of operation. And the next article is the best confirmation of this.

It's not like that guys...

At the beginning of my gardening journey, I used the experience of my parents, that is, first I dug up the entire garden, and then created beds up to a meter wide, leaving 30-40 cm gaps between them. Then, of course, I fought with weeding plantings, carrying out all torn grass outside the site. But every year it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong, because the work was constantly added and added.

This was especially felt after he began to independently grow seedlings of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. After all, at first I bought it only at the market, but when I was once cheated there with varieties, I decided that now I had to take this matter into my own hands (now I already have a pretty good garden collection, but every year I test one two new varieties or hybrids).

When I was finally convinced that there was no longer any possibility to engage in agricultural technology in the old way, I undertook to study the works of advanced gardeners. Meat-tlider made the greatest impression on me. Thanks to his articles, I fully realized that it is most reasonable to abandon the "wandering" beds, replacing them with boxes installed once and for all in selected places, thereby eliminating the trampling of the earth, which leads to a deterioration in its structure. But at the same time, I left the width of the beds themselves as usual (about a meter), but increased the aisles to 70 cm.

Practice has shown that if in the fall the surfaces of the beds are covered with organic matter, then under this “fur coat” by spring you can get wet and loose earth, which you can not dig, but simply loosen it with a chopper.

But where to get so much mulching material? I began to grow green manure before winter, collect leaf litter along the clearing along which I go to my site, and stopped disdaining weeds. Why put them in the compost heaps? It is wiser to leave it in place, increasing the thickness of the mulch layer, which will serve as extra food for various worms, insects, fungi and microbes. In addition, in the earth "under a fur coat" the moves made by worms are preserved, and empty

you are from decayed organic matter, through which water passes with air and nitrogen dissolved in it. In other words, soil fertilization occurs almost “automatically”! It is generally accepted that nature independently creates 1 cm of humus in about 100 years. If we help her, then this process can be accelerated at times.

Correct Timing

My next step was the transition to ridge planting of potatoes, which also saved me from having to shovel the entire plot area. By creating parallel trenches 10 cm deep and a spade bayonet wide at 70 cm intervals, the soil only has to be laid to the right of them. Very convenient and economical. I called this method of landing "under the sloth." I now plant corn using the same method (the distance between the rows of this crop is 1.2 m, and I place cucumbers or pumpkins between the rows), sunflowers and curly beans. The only difference is that under these plants I do not dig trenches, but loosen strips of earth 30 cm wide.

As for cucumbers, I came to a clear conclusion that in the southern regions they should be grown in three terms. And only so!

First, I plant seedlings in the greenhouse between April 25 and May 1 and get a good harvest in early July. I plant the second batch of cucumbers with seeds in open ground on May 15, and they give me their fruits from mid-July to mid-September. And I plant the third wave of cucumbers in mid-August, which allows me to feast on green ones almost at the end of the season. At the same time, cucumbers of the first and second terms can be both varietal and hybrid, and partheno-carpics. But the third term - only parthenocarpic. The fact is that by September 1, figs ripen, the flowers of which simply ooze nectar, and therefore bees, flies and hornets race to them, pollinating cucumbers along the way. At the same time, I note that cucumbers can be grown from stepchildren, but their survival will be worse than that of tomatoes.

A week before planting cucumbers and tomatoes, I water the beds well with water and immediately cover them with a film, pressing it tightly to the ground around the entire perimeter. Under it, moist soil warms up well, and evaporation of moisture is practically impossible.

When planting, I use a hydrogel, which I carefully place in the holes around the plants, which allows me to forget about watering for 10 days.

It is also important here that when watering, water can turn barely hatched seeds upside down in the soil, and then they will surely die. To prevent this from happening, after planting, I always lightly tamp the soil. And if the weather is hot and windy, then I do all the watering only through a non-woven material stretched over the beds, and from a small watering can and in small portions.

I urge all readers to dig the earth as little as possible. Do not destroy its structure! Do not walk on it unnecessarily. Take care of her. Switch to simple loosening with a depth of no more than 5 cm. Indeed, even in Soviet times, the agronomist T. Maltsev proved in practice that no-till cultivation is the most promising and correct. Deep loosening worsens its structure and leads to overgrinding.

Such land, after rain or irrigation, turns into a swamp with the formation of a soil crust upon drying. And I also urge all gardeners not to get carried away with weeding: do not keep the ground bare, something should always grow on it! After all, vegetation reduces the temperature of the soil and significantly delays the evaporation of water. Mulching is the shading of the soil. Take care of this in advance. I wish you all good health, good luck in your country and personal work. And human happiness!

V.A. GIGANOV. Sochi

I am glad for those who strive to live in step with the times, for those who master the new science of agriculture for them, for those who are not afraid to admit their mistakes and are looking for new ways to communicate with the earth without harming nature. But in almost every issue there are also such letters that simply upset.

About traditions...

Why don't people see their mistakes? Why do they not feel guilty before future generations? They are destroying the earth, leaving no chance to restore its fertility, to create a sustainable balance in nature! Moreover, without hesitation, they also harm the health of their own and their loved ones. Who exactly do I mean?

And those respected gardeners who are engaged in the "traditional" (or even worse - "grandfather") way of running their farm. Do you think I'm overly categorical? Yes, I myself am worried about these fellow summer residents! But anyway, let's talk about it.

So what do people usually mean by "traditional farming"? And here's what: every-

suitable digging of the soil with a shovel in autumn and spring, weekly weeding in the summer, the application of mineral fertilizers, as well as the treatment of plantings in gardens and vegetable gardens with chemical means of protection against diseases and pests. But is it really a tradition? Yes, the plow was one of the main agricultural tools of the peasants, but who said that they plowed their gardens from and to?

They did this selectively and plowed shallowly, without disturbing the fertile layer. But the main thing is that before that they took manure to the plots, embedding it in the ground.

It will be objected to me that then everyone had a large farm, and no one had problems with the presence of such organic matter. And I don’t deny it, I just want to draw your attention to the fact that digging in itself is not only pointless, but also harmful.

Go ahead. After the Great Patriotic War, devastated villages and villages remained, in which there were neither livestock nor poultry. To accelerate the development of agriculture, a number of forced measures were taken. Forced! In particular, chemists have developed and introduced mineral fertilizers, thereby dramatically increasing the yield of almost all crops.

But the thing is that the "mineral water" replenishes only the chemical composition of the soil, and its balance is constantly disturbed. And the amount of humus from the introduction of chemistry is not added. Moreover, it is gradually decreasing! As a result, the land is becoming more and more depleted, plants, due to a lack of one or another nutrient, grow frail (at first glance, this may not be noticed) and therefore become easy prey for pests and diseases. If you have depleted soil - increase its fertility, but not with the help of "mineral water"! Yes, of course, it will not be easy, you will have to work hard and be patient, because the earth needs time to recover. But you can cure almost any soil, do not believe that there are "lazy" gardens! Move away from old stereotypes. I was wrong?

…and about innovations

Many summer residents often think that natural and organic farming- This is the same. But in fact - no. In the first case, we are talking about the coexistence of different plants on a certain unit of area, and each of them performs its role. For example, tall ones shade low ones from the sun and protect them from the wind, wild ones attract beneficial insects, helping their cultivated neighbors get rid of pests, etc.

And organic farming is the management of one's own economy with the help of waste products of flora and fauna. Here our assistants will be not only the plants themselves, but also everything that can move: from the simplest microorganisms to lizards and birds. I understand how difficult it is to appreciate, understand and accept all this.

In addition, after taking the first step and not getting a good result, many return to their usual methods. But this difficult and long path must be passed by everyone, because each generation must make its contribution to the restoration of the fertility of the earth.

My dears, try to start with a simple one: sow areas with green manure in the fall, do not leave the soil anywhere bare - neither in winter nor in summer. In the spring, just loosen it shallowly, cutting off the grown grasses, and mulch your plantings with them, covering the beds from the sun, winds and showers (they wash the humus deep into the earth). And the covered soil will always be moist, which will create a favorable climate on the site.

Believe me, at one time I also stood at a crossroads, and I didn’t succeed at once either. And now I am looking for more and more new ways of rapprochement with nature. But for five years now I have not digged, I have not weeded, but only mowed grass and put it on mulch. Every autumn I fall asleep near the trunk circles of trees and shrubs with leaves.

I don’t burn the branches left after pruning, but I process them with a chopper and scatter the resulting sawdust in the garden. All food leftovers (as well as paper and cardboard collected over the winter) are buried in the garden at the beginning of the season. I water all the plants without exception with infusions of herbs and chicken manure, sprinkle with baking soda, infusions of garlic, birch tar, practice treatment with whey and biohumates. And all my plantings hibernate without loss, even if there were frosts over -30 °, and in summer I always take good crops, even if the heat was at 40 °. That's it!

: GROWING EARLY Zucchini IN MOBILE...

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 site, its soil composition, the effect 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 requirements for nutrition 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 large 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 such a 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 repel bean lovers, and thyme will help cabbage resist insect attacks. 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 keep the soil moist 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 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.

In ancient times, people lived in complete harmony with nature - they worshiped the Sun and respected the Earth. Biological balance was maintained - chlorophyll-containing plants used solar energy to increase green mass, produce seeds, fruits, wood, etc. Plant food was eaten by various representatives of the fauna. Herbivores, in turn, served as food for predators. Various bacteria also actively participated in the biological cycle, keeping the biosphere in working condition.

Scientific and technological progress, aimed at an unlimited increase in everything that can be produced, has caused irreparable harm to agriculture. Farmers were the first to return to natural soil care. Gaining popularity every year organic farming in the country.

Digging or loosening in organic farming?

The main difference between traditional tillage and is its deep digging. With the usual method, a layer of earth about 30 cm thick is removed and turned over, and with the organic method, the soil is loosened in one plane to a depth of 10-15 cm.

Deep (moldboard) digging disrupts natural processes that contribute to the formation of a fertile layer:

• representatives of the soil fauna die;
• damaged weed roots form new growth points;
• weed seeds fall into a favorable environment for germination.

At the same time, the influx of oxygen into the deep layers increases, which at the first stage leads to the formation of a large amount of minerals that ensure a high yield.

Further, the soil becomes depleted, since the fertile layer does not have time to recover, and a large amount of minerals leads to its compaction. The deep root system of grasses is destroyed, and no longer holds the already meager layer. The humus part of the earth is washed away and weathered. An alternative to deep digging is loosening, for which a cultivator is used.

At the same time, one cannot thoughtlessly approach the issue of digging and categorically deny its significance. Clay and uncultivated soils without deep penetration will not give good yields, therefore, for heavy and virgin lands, deep autumn digging is required.

The rule remains unchanged - do not turn over the earth layer, but move it in one plane! The fact is that many worm bugs live at different depths, so those who are used to living on the surface die under a heavy layer, and vice versa.

Methods of natural cultivation of vegetables in organic farming in the country

At organic farming in the country guided by several principles:

1. Only animal and vegetable wastes are used as fertilizers. For example, before autumn tillage, dry tops and grass are burned, and the resulting ash is dug up. The main organic fertilizers in the cultivation of environmentally friendly products are manure, bird droppings and humus. For the manufacture of high-quality humus, it is important to lay it correctly. Also use " " – leftover food items. As a green fertilizer for organic farming in the country apply.

2. Completely refuse herbicides and fungicides. Gardeners come to the rescue:

• yarrow has a detrimental effect on moth, gall midges and thrips;
• wormwood successfully fights cabbage scoop, leafworm, aphids,;
• chamomile, celandine and nettle have an antiseptic effect;
• sow thistle is an excellent cure for powdery mildew.

3. Plan the planting of vegetables with the obligatory consideration of a three- or four-year, as well as a suitable neighborhood of plants. With a four-year period, vegetable crops are divided into groups:

• A - green (cabbage and cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, etc.);
• B - root crops (carrots, onions, potatoes, beetroot, garlic, etc.);
• C - pumpkin and nightshade (except potatoes) - cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes, peppers;
• D - legumes.

4. Do not use hybrid varieties, and the seed is treated with biologically active natural preparations. Extracts and extracts of chamomile, horsetail, garlic, valerian, aloe, etc. are also used for dressing.

5. Be sure to mulch the soil. In nature, the earth is always covered with grass, fallen leaves or needles. Green organic matter rots, increasing the layer of humus. Bare soil is weathered, moisture quickly evaporates, the earth is compacted.

Suitable for mulching:

• any mowed grass (without seeds), straw;
• and humus;
• sawdust, newsprint, cardboard;
• needles, cones and crushed tree bark;
• husks of cereals (wheat, rice, buckwheat);
• sleeping tea and coffee.

Grow an environmentally friendly crop with organic farming in the country is not difficult, and the benefits of it are huge - this is your health.

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, 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.

Gardeners-practitioners 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 them next to each other, 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 seedlings of cabbage 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.