Dr. Pennie Schwartz 516-599-6556 (better known as my mom)
just spent the morning building two caps for two additional planters in the veggie garden and another planter box for, hot peppers and eggplant as well as more radishes and maybe beets or garlic. Rototil some new soil and messed with the compost, stoked to see so many worms moving around in it. Used seaweed as an old irishman told me to do last summer as the bottom soil for the tomatoes it will be cool to see how those turn out. Have not determined where on the farm to place cucumbers yet but that is next on the list along with coercing my buddy to help me drag the hibiscus, plumeria, and elephant ears outside.
Trying to follow this list below in order to keep the garden happy and symbiotic. Of course had I read it before I planted this morning I would not have had to spend the last 20 minutes digging out the tomatoes I had planted between my hot peppers, rookie mistake of not reading directions before getting started. Its all good. Fotos of the veggie garden will be posted tonight or tomorrow night when I get back frim NYC.
Vegetables
Beans - Beans come in two types (excluding lima beans), bush and pole. Bush beans are what their name implies, growing pods on bushy plants while pole beans grow as twining vines and will need support from a trellis , fence, posts, or anything they could wrap their vines around. One of the 'three sisters', beans add many benefits to the garden, including another member of the 'three sisters' - corn. Beans add nitrogen to the soil which corn, a very heavy feeder, will find beneficial. Bush beans should be planted in rows in between corn while pole beans can actually twine around the corn stalks, using them as support. Beans also have shown to be of aid when planted with cabbage, cucumbers, summer savory and especially carrots. Beans dislikes include any member of the onion family. Pole beans also are hindered by kohlrabi and sunflowers. In an odd twist, beets and bush beans grow well together, however, beets will not grow well pole beans.
Beets - As mentioned above, beets will grow well with bush beans but not pole beans. Onions are also of benefit to beets, as well as lettuce and cabbage. Kohlrabi also is friendly to the beet plant for they both require the same growing conditions and take nutrients from different levels of the soil. In addition to pole beans, beets to not grow well with field mustard.
Broccoli - A member of the cabbage family that does well growing amongst aromatic plants such as dill, camomile, sage, peppermint and rosemary. Vegetables that perform well with broccoli include, potatoes, beets and onions. Broccoli dislikes tomatoes, pole beans and strawberries.
Cabbage - Cabbage covers a wide range of vegetables which include broccoli, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts. As discussed in the broccoli section, cabbage finds mutual benefit from a variety of aromatic herbs and vegetables which helps to repel pests such as the white cabbage butterfly. Cabbage is a heavy feeder and lots of compost should be worked into the soil before planting cabbage along with regular bouts of compost added into the top layer of soil or appropriate amounts of organic fertilizer. Cabbage dislikes pole beans, tomatoes and strawberries, so try to avoid planting them together.
Carrots - Carrots do best when planted along side tomatoes. Both crops serve as mutual benefit to one another by helping to add nutrients to the soil to help each other grow as well as tomatoes help to shade carrots from the heat of summer. Long bouts of hot weather will cause carrots to lose their sweetness and crispness. Carrots, when planted in summer under tomatoes for the fall, will survive the first several frosts and freezes being a cold tolerant plant. So once the tomatoes are killed off by frost they will have the benefit of full sun late in the season. Carrots enjoy the company of onions, leeks and herbs such as rosemary or wormwood which repels the carrot fly whose larvae attacks the young rootlets of carrots.
Cauliflower - Celery when planted amongst cauliflower will repel the white cabbage butterfly. For all other cauliflower info see cabbage
Celery - Celery grows well wit h leeks, tomatoes, cauliflower and cabbage. Remember that cauliflower and cabbage do not grow well together, so when planting the celery amongst tomatoes and cabbage/cauliflower make sure to put the celery in between those plants. Celery should be planted in a trench as opposed to a hill or row and could be planted in a circle so that the roots make a bed for beneficial garden dwellers such as earthworms.
Collards - Collards do well planted with tomatoes due to the propensity for tomatoes to repel the flea beetle the number one pest of collards. For all other information on collards see cabbage
Corn - Corn grows well amongst a wide variety of vegetables including, potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. Squash varieties of crops gain benefit from the shade the stalks provide during hot summer days. Peas and beans grown with corn add nitrogen to the soil which is used by the corn, which are extremely heavy feeders. Tomatoes should not be planted with corn due to a common pest - the tomato fruitworm or the corn earworm. Cucumbers, pumpkins and squash planted around corn will help to deter raccoons, which find those plants offensive.
Cucumber - Cucumbers grow well with beans, peas and radishes. The beans add nitrogen to the soil which cucumbers will feed off of. The radishes repel cucumber beetles which are a very voracious pests that will decimate young cucumber plants. Sunflowers may also be grown with cucumbers as=2 0they will shade the plants preventing them from wilting during hot dry summer days. Cucumbers dislike potatoes and should be grown far apart in the garden due to a blight that cucumbers develop via the potato plant. Cucumbers also dislike aromatic herbs.
Eggplant - Eggplants are a delicacy of many pests which could very quickly eat their way through the leaves of the plant leaving them unable to photosynthesize, eventually killing the plant. Leaf hopper beetles and Colorado potato beetles are the main pests that will decimate the eggplant. Bush beans help to repel the potato beetle, while a hot pepper and garlic spray can be used to help repel other pests. To make the hot pepper spray, crush hot peppers and garlic cloves together and set inside water. After 24 hours strain and add enough water to make a spray that will be sufficient to mist your plants with an initial spray, after rainfalls or whenever pests arise. Use the strained peppers and garlic to add to the soil around the base of the plants which aids in pest prevention as well.
Kale - A member of the cabbage family, kale seeds can be sowed following the harvest of spring peas and beans and can be grown amongst cabbage or potatoes. For other information see cabbage
Kohlrabi - Grows best with onions and beets as well as aromatic herbs. Kohlrabi can also be grown with cucumbers for their roots occupy differing soil strata. Kohlrabi is also a heavy feeder, requiring lots of water and compost and will benefit from filtered sunlight. Kohlrabi dislikes tomatoes, pole beans and strawberries.
Leeks - Leeks grow well amongst celery and onions and share a mutual benefit with carrots, which repel the carrot flies that attack them. Leeks are heavy feeders and should be planted in a bed rich in humus and compost.
Lettuce - Lettuce grows well with strawberries, cucumbers and carrots. Radishes planted amongst lettuce make them especially flavourful. Since radish repel cucumber beetles a section of garden containing cucumbers, radish and lettuce are an unbeatable combination. Since lettuce is a cool season crop they will require shade during the height of hot summer afternoons. Onions grown alongside lettuce will help to control rabbits, if rabbits are a problem in your area.
Onions - The onion family, which includes chives, shallots, leeks and garlic, is a great companion for many common garden crops due to their aromatic properties and their inability to rob the soil of its nutrients. They grow well with all members of the cabbage family, beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce and summer savory. Just about the only plants onions don't get along with are peas and beans.
Peas - This legume performs great in most gardens due to the shallowness of its roots and the fact that they don't need much soil amendment, although wood ashes help greatly in controlling aphids which can be a pes t of peas. Peas grow well with a wide range in crops including carrots, radishes, cucumbers, turnips, potatoes, beans and corn as well as many aromatic herbs. However, they are detrimental to the onion family.
Peppers - Sweet bell peppers grow well with basil and need to be stakes or caged for their stems are quite fragile and can be broken by their heavy fruit. Hot peppers have little known pests, although some moth and butterfly larvae may attack a few of the fruits. Usually the plants produce enough fruits to lessen this issue. Hot peppers and sweet peppers should not be planted together as your sweet peppers will not be as sweet as originally planned.
Pumpkins - Although most pumpkins are grown for jack-o-lanterns come Halloween, pumpkins are a nutritious high yield squash that can be used as a side dish or in pies. Pumpkins grow quite well with corn and dislike potatoes.
Radish - Radishes can be a gardeners best friend if you particularly like cucumbers or any member of the Cucurbit family. Radishes protect these plants from the cucumber beetle which can decimate cucumber and cucurbit family crops which include the melons, pumpkins and squash. Radishes also prevent the two-spotted spider mite when grown with tomatoes. Radishes also grow well with kohlrabi, pole and bush beans. Lettuce makes radishes more tender while garlic juice prevents disease. Radishes do not grow well with hyssop and should not be rotated with members of the=2 0cabbage family.
Squash - These members of the cucurbit family will find benefit when planted with radish for they deter cucumber beetle infestations. Squashes will also find benefit from being planted next to nasturtiums.
Tomatoes - Tomatoes and hot peppers are perhaps the most widely studied plants and much is known about them. Tomatoes grow well with chives, parsley, onions, basil, marigolds, nasturtiums and carrots. Garlic will prevent red spider mite infestations while stinging nettle will improve their keeping quality. Tomatoes should not be planted next to peppers, members of the cabbage family, potatoes or fennel. Tomatoes should also be kept away from corn due to a common pest - the tomato fruitworm. Crushed tomatoes leaves along with water and a spoonful of cornstarch then strained will make for a fungicidal spray against black spot on roses. Smokers beware! Tobacco contains diseases that tomatoes are susceptible to, so wash your hands before handling tomatoes if you smoke.
Topic: flower planter stoke (Read 1831 times)
January 12, 2006, 03:45:09 PM
