Sunday, March 15, 2015

Small Garden-Companion Planting Part 4

In this small garden series, we are looking at some of the ways to have a successful garden... even when it is just a small one. We have addressed crop rotation, vertical planting and where to put more beds and today's topic is companion planting. Does it really matter where things get planted? Yes, it can be a big help.










I came across this book years ago, at the library, and I checked it out and read it. There was a lot of great information in it and I incorporated it into my garden planning... and it really helped. This is just one of the books I have found helpful.

A few years ago, I found this copy at a garage sale, so now I have my own book. There are many other books on companion planting now, but this was the first one I was exposed to and I have appreciated it.

 By the way, I have MANY other gardening books in my library and I love having sources to go to when I need them.


It tells facts about different garden crops - including what plants grow well together and which ones don't.  It gives gardening hints and tips... and is quite practical.
 At the time, I had to turn the book in to the library and couldn't keep it as a resource, so I made my own list that was more user-friendly for my purposes.....no, it wasn't neat, but it works. :) 

I also copied things that I thought would be helpful to me at the time. There is much more information in this book than I will share here... and other books also have a wealth of information. I take notes from many of them and keep learning.


As I have said before, I have a small area to garden (only a 1/4 acre city lot) and so I put my plants quite close together.... the arrangement in this picture wasn't my first choice, but it did work well that year for a second crop of cucumbers and a third crop of tomatoes.

In my garden beds, I usually have 2 of my 4'x 8' beds that have tomato plants going down each side. (10 total in each bed). In the middle of the bed, between the rows of tomatoes, I plant carrots and have also planted onions in rows in there as well...  it seems tight, but it works.

I have had dill and basil in my herb gardens, but I plan to plant basil in the regular gardens as well. I have been planting dill  "all over". :)  I love dill - such a wonderful herb.
Dill- Not Only For Pickles!
It can help other plants and still be harvested.
 Here are more of my notes on crop rotation... no, I don't follow all of them all of the time... but I appreciate having a guideline that has worked.

Apple Tree: Plant chives around to prevent scab
Fruit Trees: like garlic, chives, onions, nastursiums.... when fruit ripens, hang sliced onions in tree
Broccoli: likes dill, celery, peppermint, beets, onions, geranium, nastursium... does NOT like tomatoes, pole beans or strawberries.
 Carrots: like tomatoes, leaf lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, radishes; does NOT like dill.
Corn: likes geraniums and cukes, potatoes, peas, beans, pumpkin, squash, melon... does NOT like tomatoes
Cucumber: likes nastursium, beans, chives, peas, radishes, dill, sunflowers, and young orchards, but does NOT like beets.
Tomatoes: chives repel aphids; likes garlic, marigolds, mint and basil helps w/ insects and diseases and helps growth and flavor.





 A few more items...

Peas: like carrots, do NOT like garlic or onions
Onions: like dill, summer savory
Lettuce: likes dill, onions, strawberries, cukes, carrots, radishes
Peppers like basil
Strawberries like spinach

Dusty miller around plants can help repel rabbits

Melon, squash, cukes - Do NOT rotate with each other.
Squash likes nastursiums, icicle radishes

Oak leaves repel slugs
Roses - bury banana peels (potassium) 3 at a time. like garlic planted with them or as a spray,


There are many hints and tips.... it is helpful to gather them from books, gardeners, internet or more...  and put them into your own notebook, so that you have access to them.  These are only some of the things I gleaned early on in my gardening.... since then I have learned even more by trial and error, research... and necessity. With a small garden, some of the regular "rules" don't work as well, but with some creativity, the garden can still thrive.

When you have plant likes and dislikes to consider, it can become a bit like a puzzle to put it together.... it is not something to stress out over, and yet, it can be helpful.

I also plant marigolds around my garden beds and nastursium on the border... both can help to repel harmful insects.... AND nastursiums can be eaten in a salad. :)    Onions can be planted around a garden bed to repel rabbits... at least somewhat...  I need to try this and dusty miller more this year... last year, the rabbits ate my pepper, beet, and bean plants right down to the ground several times and I realized I should have followed this tip.   

I haven't found a successful help for squirrels, especially as we live in the city and are not allowed to "ping" them w/ a BB.  If you know of any squirrel helps, I would love to hear about it in the comments... those squirrels LOVE my tomatoes.  :)

There is so much to learn and I look forward to another year of learning and enjoying the fruits(and vegetables!) of our labors. :)  The information in this post is by no means, exhaustive, but maybe you will find some helpful tidbits here. I hope so... thank you for visiting.






 Small Garden Series

Small Garden-Crop Rotation Part 1

Small Garden-Growing UP Part 2

Small Garden-More Beds Part 3

Small Garden-Companion Planting Part 4



Shared on:


Simple Saturdays
Foodie Friday and Everything Else
Home Sweet Home
Homestead Blog Hop
Wise Woman
Tuesday Talk
Modest Mom Mondays
Art of Homemaking

45 comments:

  1. Such great garden advice, we don't have the problems with the squirrels but rabbits, we finally put up a fence around some metal fencing so they couldn't get through and that seemed to help, the birds were also pecking at my green peppers to get to the seeds we imagined and so we had to add some netting around them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't realize the birds would go after the peppers... they have dug into my tomatoes several times... I will have to watch the peppers... of course, last year, the rabbits kept them chewed down. sigh. Fencing sounds good. :) Thank you for visiting..... and I hope you have a wonderful garden this year! :)

      Delete
  2. Aww gardening can be both a challenge and rewarding, I wish I could have a garden, we live in the desert and I have tired for the past 5 years to grow things, it has been a failure. So I will have to stick to flowers to tend.

    Thanks for stopping by to share your garden ideas and the Link back this week!!
    Have a great week and Happy St Patricks Day
    Karren

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That would be so sad to me.... but I can see where a garden in the desert wouldn't do well. :) I'm glad you can at least have flowers.

      Delete
  3. I love that concept! I will have to add in some chives and garlic close to my tomatoes! I have lots of tomato plants and recently added marigolds on my mom's recommendation -- seems like there's a reason! Thank you for sharing. I recently began my garden and have been catalogueing so far on my blog. I would love for you to check it out here: http://bit.ly/flogarden I'll be following you for more tips! Thanks so much for linking up with Tuesday Talk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The thing I really like about it, is that the stuff that helps the garden... is also useful to us. It is a win win. :) I hope your garden does very well.

      Delete
  4. Wow, you are full of garden tips and wisdom! As a newbie gardener I greatly appreciate your garden posts - I am learning a lot from you :)

    Thank you so much for sharing with Roses of Inspiration. I hope your week is going well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) I love it when someone starts gardening... there is so much to enjoy... and learn.... and I am glad you are finding the series helpful. I hope your garden does great this year. :)

      Delete
  5. Saw this on Treasure Box Tuesdays. I am trying companion planting for the first time this year. I have one bed for "the three sisters" and my tomatoes are interplanted with onions and basils. Still working on the third bed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds great!.. I hope you enjoy your garden. :)

      Delete
  6. I enjoyed seeing your garden and gardening tips. I like companion planting, but didn't know about Dusty Miller and rabbits or peppers and basil. Thanks for the tips. Visiting from Share Your Style.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad... there is so much benefit to companion gardening and I know I keep learning more and more also. Thank you for visiting. :)

      Delete
  7. Happy Thursday and thank you so much for linking up with OMHG WW! Please come and share with us again next week! xx Ashleigh @SimplyWright
    Co-Host, Oh My Heartsie Girls Wordless Wednesday Link Up

    ReplyDelete
  8. Depending on the angle of the sun, you should be able to do well w/ that much space.... I hope it does wonderfully well for you. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. You have a wonderful looking garden, there seems to be so much you can do in small spaces. Thanks for the hints on companion planting. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... there is so much to learn and enjoy.... thank you for visiting. :)

      Delete
  10. Thanks so much for nice comment on my eggplant pizza recipe. Thanks for these gardening tips too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for linking up at the Talented Tuesday Link Party! I hope you head across again this week to link up :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Lovely garden! I like to plant like this too! Thanks for joining HSH!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great gardening tips. I try to have a garden every year, but...Thanks for linking up to Funtastic Friday. I hope you can make it again this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... it is close to that time to plant again. :) Looking forward to it. Thank you for visiting.

      Delete
  14. My hubby is rebuilding my raised beds to help with my back, but I am losing a bit of space, so i will be rereading this article in a few weeks when they are done and I can plant! Thanks! Jan@ Country Fair Blog Party!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good... it is that time for getting the garden ready.... I need to get at it. Raised beds are so nice to have... and I really hope your back gets to feeling better. :)

      Delete
  15. This is really awesome. I'm just now getting ready to start gardening! I have a link party on Saturdays and would love if you would come share with me!
    Hope to see you there.
    Abbi @ www.seasonsofahomemaker.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... I need to get my garden planted... we have the beds almost ready.. and the planning is almost done.... and I am hearing of so many people who have already planted their garden, so I feel behind. :) I hope to plant today. I will check out your blog party... Thank you.

      Delete
  16. I do the same thing with taking notes! Companion planting is a bit of work, but so very worth it. Great post!

    Thanks for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday. We love for you to link up again this week!

    ~Lisa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is work... such a puzzle sometimes, especially when we rearrange things again. Thank you for visiting and for the great link up party. :)

      Delete
  17. Hi Joy,
    The squirrels and birds have always plagued my tomatoes - but this year Natural Gardener here in Austin recommend a glitter sparkly tape that came in a roll to be tied and looped around the tomato cages. It has worked wonders! It flutters in the wind, and shines many colored prisms as it moves. It seems the sound and the reflective color repels the birds, and for now, it seems, also the squirrels (so far). They are still green, so it will be more of a test as they ripen, but the peck holes I was beginning to see are no more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I LOVE that idea!!!! Thank you... and I will be trying that.... or at least tying them to my tomato stakes. I wonder if it would work with those pesky rabbits also! Thank you for the idea. :)

      Delete
  18. Your gardens look beautiful. Thanks for the tips and suggestions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... I hope the information is helpful to you. :)

      Delete
  19. I love tomatoes, too. Unfortunately we have lots of shad, little sun, and some voracious deer that eat the tomato PLANTS even before tomatoes show up!
    Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-other-worldly-insect-world.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have a LOT of shade also... but thankfully no deer that visit the garden... and the rabbits, squirrels and others who do, don't eat the tomato PLANTS, although those squirrels do eat the tomatoes! It would be sad not to be able to grow tomatoes.... thank you for visiting.

      Delete
  20. Replies
    1. It is an ongoing work in progress... little by little... and things start coming together... don't give up. :) It is really fun to have the garden and to be getting it the way we like in some ways. :)

      Delete
  21. My husband and I are so excited because we are going to once again have a garden! We did years ago, but then the groundhogs won. lol.

    Recently, I read a blog post where they introduced a raised bed, on legs. lol. Which is perfect for our situation. My husband ended up finding very reasonable ones made out of resin plastic. So we purchased four and we are going to enjoy a garden again. This will be soo much easier to tend to and since we have such rocky soil, our carrots won't be growing in odd shapes lol. Which is why I found the book on Companion growing so fascinating! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds great... I hope it works out to be a real blessing to you and I would love to hear about it... I have never used the beds on legs, except for one small one for lettuce. The rocky soil would be a challenge... and hopefully the raised beds will foil those ground hogs! :)

      Delete
  22. I'm really enjoying this series. We have gardened before, but have recently expanded. I am trying to improve our setup and use more companion planting. Thanks, for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... what a joy to hear your comment. :) It is so nice to continue to add to our knowledge of gardening. I hope you have a great garden this year.

      Delete
  23. Carrots love Tomatoes is one of the only book my husband picked up and didn't want to put down again! Love it! Thanks for sharing with the Homestead Blog Hop!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a good book... one of those that I checked out of the library every year and took many notes before returning it..... Finally, I found a copy of it to buy for my own library. :)

      Delete