I've been reading the book Carrots Love Tomaotes by the late Louise Riotte - its a great book on companion planting and also a really helpful general garden reference. Most people know that marigolds (as I overheard at the garden center yesterday) - "keep something bad away from your tomatoes...or something." But most people don't know that there are plenty of other plants that will protect each other - for example mint planted among cabbage will repel the cabbage butterfly, cucumbers "are offensive to raccoons" so are good to plant with corn to keep them away and corn seems to protect cucumbers from wilt, if you plant garlic in a circle around fruit trees it will protect them from borers. Did you know any of that? I didn't. The book is an excellent reference and her writing style is old-fashioned but cheeky. This book should be on any gardener's shelf.
So, with Louise as my guide, I'm trying to do a little more intercropping than I have in the past - while some parts of my garden are just rows of stuff (with consideration about what is to each side), others are (or are going to be) more of a blend. The three-sisters area (which I'm repeating from last year) is an example of this, but this year I'm doing a different take on a tomato patch.
I had just watered it before this picture was taken, so it gives a better visual. To break it down - there's a big square, segmented into 4 smaller squares. The big square is marigolds around the border (I just put some full grown ones in as markers, but there are others seeded along the sides) and also intersecting the large square and basil at every corner and at the intersection in the middle. Each smaller square will be a tomato plant in the center, an onion at each corner, and one or two Paris Market carrots (I've just ordered them from Seed Savers (dot) org) at the North/South/East/West points on the smaller squares.
This is what a Paris Market carrot looks like:
Isn't that fun? I'm so excited about them.
These are some of my more-developed seedlings having some outside time. Three corn plants and two luffas (which are for the aforementioned 3-sisters area), a cucumber, an eggplant, and two tomato plants.
I'm sure that my neighbors will be happy when this is gone. There are a few bigger (purchased - I'm impatient) tomato plants, a stevia, some extra basil and some trays of corn, watermelon, jenny lind melon, and pumpkin seeds that just went in yesterday. On the sides are pots of morning glory that are staying there and hopefully swallowing up the railing.
And speaking of things that I impulsively bought at the garden center yesterday - lime tree! With limes! Anyone have a good name for a lime tree?
Out in the garden-proper - the broccoli is starting to make food!
The lettuce is starting to look like salad!
Beets are really starting to do their thing!
And it won't be long before my Titans will be knee-high!
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