companion planting in a raised bed
by Mia Barb
(Vienna, Virginia)
My husband and I are preparing to plant our first vegetable garden in raised beds. I've read some articles on intensive gardening and the advantages of growing "complimentary" vegetables together near one another. To date, I have not been able to crack the code of what to plant next to what in my raised beds. Is there a simple, no nonsense guide that outlines "plant X next to Y" or diagrams of the "magical combinations" to make this easier for a newbie to not mess up? Please help!!
Doug says that to the best of his knowledge there is no one-size-fits-all vegetable plan for companion planting. The problem rests with the crops you want to grow. Or rather what you grow determines what you plant next to it - and no plan exists for "your" garden crops.
This is, I'm afraid, one of those things that require some experience and patience in learning.
But bottom line. I ignore the practicality of companion planting in my garden because for the most part I believe it to be an overrated technique that's way too confusing for most folks.
My advice to you as a "newbie" :-) is simply to ignore the confusing (and conflicting) advice and simply plant the vegetables you want to eat in whatever order and amount you want to eat them. (Do check out the video on planning and crop rotation however because you're going to want to know this stuff)
Get the soil right (lots of organic matter). Get the fertility right (lots of compost or organic fertilizer). Get the watering right (no water stress) and you can vegetable garden with the best of them right out of the gate.
