Allotments 4 All

I'm thinking of using companion planting as a experiment this summer, and have heard lots of combinations.

What is your experience of what works or what is whacky and why??

Ann

I plant sweet peas among thefrench and runner beans frame - to attract pollinators. Pot marigolds and tagetes near tomatoes, carrots and onions mixed to repel whitefly and carrot fly. Seem to work. Also grow phacelia and borage in od spots to attract bees and hover flies.

In my view companion planting is all about creating diversity in your plot - the more different things you grow, the more wildlife (of the good kind) you attract and the more nature keeps its pests at bay.

Last year I trailed my butternut squash plants through the gaps between the sweetcorn.
I think that is done to conserve space rather than being beneficial to each other.

Only one I've tried is french marigolds with tomatoes to repel whitefly, which does seem to work. I'd also be interested in other people's experiences.

bd

I grow squashes with corn, which works well.

all of the above, plus letting herbs flower, including chives..and self seeded nasturtiums, draws the nasties away , oh, and sunflowers, just 'cos I like them  ;D

Strangely enough I was reading yesterday in an allotment book about the '3 sisters' planting scheme. Squash, beans, sweetcorn together. The beans run up the sweetcorn and the squash suppresses weeds / protects the others from bird attacks. The notes I made were. ...

Create mounds 1 spade tall and wide and 2-3 spades between mounds.
Each mound is for 2 sweetcorn and 2 or 3 beans. Plant one squash between every 2 or 3 mounds. Start the corn first and plant the squash and beans when the corn is 15cm tall.

Sounds like people have tried combinations of this. I was thinking about trying it this year as I've got seeds of all.

I think the original version used much taller corn than most of us grow. I haven't tried it because I worry about the effect of all the pulling about picking beans on the corn. It would probably work if you were careful. Another thing is that climbing beans are a lot taller than any corn I've grown.

Could you not use a smaller growing French climbing bean?

I grew nasturtium with the cabbages and found the butterflies didn, tbother with the cabbages as much
I grew drawf beans inbetween the sweetcorn,I like to think that is why it did so well
am growing squash for the 1st time this year so that will go there as well
marg

The 3 sisters is an old native American method. As fae as pulling about when picking beans, you're misunderstanding how the 3 sisters is used. The sweetcorn would normally be left on the pant longer as it's for grinding rather than using fresh and the beans are left on to dry. Native Americans relied on cornmeal, dried beans and squash for over the winter.

sweet peas with my runner beans, tagates at the greenhouse door, marigolds everywhere, A few foxgloves,  all the above for insect attract or repel, but leeks in your strawbs bed works! the sulphur content of leeks is of use to the strawbs.

Tansy is meant to repel ants, can be a thug tho.....seeds everywhere. French Marigolds, Calendula, Nasturtium and I'm also trying Nicandra this year from Amazin for repelling whitefly :D

I think Tansy repels moles too, I will have check that out. So Mr mole gets his cards this year >:(

Quote from: barkingdog on March 16, 2008, 17:45:02
Only one I've tried is french marigolds with tomatoes to repel whitefly, which does seem to work. I'd also be interested in other people's experiences.

bd

This is the only 'companion planting' we have had success with.  We plant two or three french marigolds in the tops of the 10" plant pots we grow the tomatoes.  It has worked for us for many years against whitefly.

valmarg

This is a useful site for most companion planting. (Well worth saving in favourites). I have a copy printed off and in my lottie shed.

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/companion.htm

I found this today  http://www.thegardenscoop.com/
As a complete newcomer to growing stuff I don't know whether it's any good or not but thought I'd post it anyway.

French marigolds amongst the brassicas really do keep the white fly away>
;D

I agree with star on the Tansy - here and there it takes all the blackfly, gets loaded with it.

Quote from: beckydore on March 16, 2008, 18:07:46
Strangely enough I was reading yesterday in an allotment book about the '3 sisters' planting scheme. Squash, beans, sweetcorn together. The beans run up the sweetcorn and the squash suppresses weeds / protects the others from bird attacks. The notes I made were. ...

Create mounds 1 spade tall and wide and 2-3 spades between mounds.
Each mound is for 2 sweetcorn and 2 or 3 beans. Plant one squash between every 2 or 3 mounds. Start the corn first and plant the squash and beans when the corn is 15cm tall.

Sounds like people have tried combinations of this. I was thinking about trying it this year as I've got seeds of all.

I would not recommend this because of the difficulty of picking the crops. Trying to pick without stepping on squash vines etc.  would be a nightmare not to mention finding the beans.  The Indians were successful because, as mentioned earlier, they let the crops ripen and dry on the vines for their winter food.

Hmm I wonder if that would be a good method for dried type beans? I am growing a type of "shelly bean" called the Coco de Paimpol, you eat it semi-dried or dried. I guess it is similar to your Borlotti beans. Maybe that could go withthe corn, as well as the squash? I am going to have to get in a LOT of manure to cope with all those greedy feeders in one spot though!!!

I thought of trying the marigolds with tomatoes idea, if only because it looks so pretty. They say basil with tomatoes improves the flavour? (in the ground, not just on the plate)  ;)