I am rapidly running out of space but still need to fit in my pumpkins, butternut squash,courgettes and gourds.Would it be ok to plant them amongst my sweetcorn or maybe my spuds or perhaps round my runner beans and peas.Any advice welcome as I am getting desperate.
The three sister bed is a method in which squash, corn and beans are grown together. The squash covers the soil, the corn supports the climbing beans and the beans supply nitrogene.
So I guess that growing pumpkins (same famliy) and corn, or pumkins and beans should be possible as well.
A lot will depend on the space between the corn or beans and the space the pumpkins take up. Non-trailing courgettes can be very large plants and will hardly fit in between standard spaced corn. But if you spaced them further apart, then it could be okay.
Hope this helps.
I have done this in a variety of ways ;D
... but one I would not reccomend is bush french beans !! Too difficult to get at without disturbing the sweet corn root !! ::)
Last year I planted butternut squash next to the sweetcorn and encouraged them to weave in and out of the sweetcorn as they take up a huge amount of space. We had great harvests of both! Not sure if you'd fit in the courgettes though as they don't sprawl so much.