On Gardener's World this week Monty mentioned underplanting courgettes under sweetcorn. Does anyone know if this works? What distances should the sweetcorn/courgettes be planted apart? Am really interested in this to save space on my small lottie.
I underplant my sweetcorn with squash, did pumpkins this year it works for me! Hadn't thought about courgettes though,(duh me) might try it next year! Thanks Jane!
( I put my sweetcorn a foot apart in each direction, the squash I just leave out a sweetcorn wherever I want a squash, if that makes sense?!)
Bit bizarre - but I underplanted my sweetcorn with bush tomatoes this year. I meant to do sweetcorn and courgettes, but the courgettes got slug-munched.
It worked fairly well. I didn't need to support the tomato plants as the corn did that for me. They didn't rippen on the plant, but I suspect that might've been due to them being delayed along the way.
Will try again next year!
Hi
I did the sweetcorn/courgette thing this year, unfortunately I use raised beds and am pushed for space already so I think I took it one step too far and failed dismally.
The courgettes pushed the corn over and shaded the bottom half from pollination and ripening - so the corn was a disaster and the courgettes got mildew because of the lack of airflow. I, stupidly, planted them in a bed under an apple tree so they also went short of water and robbed each other!!
Also I kept breaking the corn while trying to harvest the courgettes.  :-[
I expect it would be fine if you give them enough space and grew stuff like pumpkins which you wouldn't need to harvest regularly.Â
RosieMÂ Â :D
I planted squash with my corn but gave the courgettes room of their own as you have to be able to get round them from all sides to harvest them practically hourly ;D
I hadn't thought about the problem of accessing the courgettes to harvest them. Maybe pumpkins or squash would be a better idea. Thank you everyone for pointing that out.
Read somewhere about three sisters method - here's a link http://www.theorganicreport.com/pages/519_the_three_sisters_corn_beans_and_squash_activities_for_the_classroom.cfm - though rather embarrassingly aimed at six-year-olds. Not tried it, but going to have a go next year.
bupster if you put three sisters into the search facility here, it comes up with quite a bit. DP
i tried the 3 sisters method this year - sweetcorn did well, climbing beans fine although only put in 3 plants coz i had main crop elsewhere and butternut squash romped away. next time will try a more compact squash but overall quite successful - no weeds to speakof ;D
I grow corn and squashes together, not very successfully, but no more unsuccessfully than they were when I tried them separately. This year I've got one pumpkin, and no butternuts; my one courgette was bought as a pumpkin, and left to grow marrows. None of the corn has ripened, and I wonder whether it will.
My corn was planted 18" - 24" apart in a block with nasturtiums at the base. In between the corn I had french beans.
Next to them were two wigwams of runner beans, and ramping around their base were butternuts.
Instead of courgettes I planted Marrows along the outside edges of the block.
Produce has been very prolific, as well as leaf size. Very happy with this combination, shall definitely do this again next year.
Agree with Rosie M about the need for space to avoid mildew.