[Ferris]

Hello there

I have got a vegetable patch for the first time this year although have been growing stuff in pots and bags for quite a while. I have grown some things in trays and pots - mainly toms and runners - and am about to think about sowing other things into the ground in the next couple of weeks - peas, carrots, beets and courgettes.

What I would like to know is if there is an advantageous way of organising these crops in rows with certain plants next to each other either to keep pests away or to maximise yield? For example is it better to put peas and beans next to each other and the carrots and beets together or would I be better off mixing roots and climbers in alternative rows?

Any help greatly appreciated

[Zak the Rabbit]

firstly, you should seperate them on the basis of plant type, ie legumes (peas/beans), brassicas, roots, onion family, and grow each one in a different place each year. This is the principle of crop rotation (in this case a form of 'four course' rotation). the change in location each year reduces the likelyhood of a build up of pests or desiese, and helps prevent the soil becoming deficient in a specific nutrient. For example a plant type that uses a lot of nitrogen may be followed by legumes, that 'fix' atmospheric nitrogen and so take little from the soil. This doesnt mean you dont have to fertilize, but helps balance the nutrients.

secondly, organise where you put things on the basis of how fast they grow, how big, and your need to access them. If you grow your peas in the middle of your carrots, it'l be difficult to pick them without standing on the carrots! grow fast maturing plants (radish, lettuce) intersperced with slow growers. They will provide protection over them and increase your productivity. A fast plant will also help mark the row where the slow ones are!

There is some evidence that growing certain plants alongside others reduces pest problems, such as growing marigolds along with carrots. The idea is that the stronger scent of the 'companian' plant masks that of the main crop, and makes it difficult for the pest to locate. I will be planting marigolds around the edges of my carrot rows to try and deter carrot fly.


hopefully thats a good background for you - now prepare for a mass of advice from everyone else (all most likely very good, i will point out)

[Ferris]

Thanks thats a really useful start. I also read that French Marigolds deter pests from tomato plants so a kind of Carrot - Marigold - Bean trio would seem logical?

On a tangent point can anyone pass on advice as to the various merits of growing beans up wigwams (in a circle) as opposed to in a line? If you go with the wigwam methos what kind of gap should you leave between each wigwam of say 6 plants?

[WG.]

On a tangent point can anyone pass on advice as to the various merits of growing beans up wigwams (in a circle) as opposed to in a line? If you go with the wigwam methos what kind of gap should you leave between each wigwam of say 6 plants?

See http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=2100

[Annie]

Also list your planting dates and where things are as this is invaluable over time(says she who gets vague around june when potted stuff starts to go out).So although strict rotation is hard you get a feel for what works and when and how and also what doesn`t.
And that I begin to waffle after a couple of glasses of wine......