Intercropping

 This week we have a guest blogger, a friend and a great gardener, Gardening Jones. She has a wealth of knowledge and this article on intercropping can be very helpful towards your success and growing an awesome garden!

Harvest More with Intercropping

Take companion planting to the next level by intercropping and you will get higher yields from the space.

If you already know which veggies grow better together, you can use that information to plant your garden by taking a look at their growth habits.

For example, carrots and beets grow below ground while Chinese cabbage and kohlrabi grow above. Therefore they can be planted closer together and use space that would otherwise be wasted; or worse, filled in with weeds.

Similarly, tomatoes grow well with greens and basil at their feet. The tomatoes will shade what is growing below and help prevent them from bolting. Many gardeners grow carrots at the base of their tomatoes. We have found this tends to inhibit the carrots’ growth, though we have had success with white carrots. Go figure.

Strawberries and asparagus were made for each other. As the berry runners skim across the soil surface, the asparagus are happy to stand their ground year after year. If your bed is still new, fill in any gaps with spinach and bush beans; strawberries just love that. All together it is a wonderful, and tasty, way to get more from your space and help prevent weeds at the same time.

Most gardeners have heard of the Three Sisters of the Field, intercropping at its finest. In the days of the indigenous people, they would plant field corn, dry beans, and winter squash. The beans helped to feed the corn and anchor the stalks, while the squash vines kept away weeds and deer. All were harvested at the same time as winter approached.

Many gardeners still intercrop the three sisters, but instead use sweet corn, green beans, and squash or melons. Other than harvest time, it is the same idea.

We accidentally grew pole beans in with our tomatoes one summer; don’t even ask. When we realized what had happened, we thought for sure the legumes would give off too much nitrogen and our tomato harvest would suffer. Instead they did really well together, and we didn’t need to stake the beans as they used the tomato stems and stakes for themselves.

Think this sounds like fun and a great way to do less weeding and more harvesting? Then check out a book on companion planting, like Carrots Love Tomatoes, or find a website that has the combinations listed.
We have one here on our website.

Think about what the plants look like when they are growing. Which ones go together, but can either shade each other or save space. Where were you mostly likely to be pulling weeds last season, or did you have to mulch for prevention?

One last thing to remember: When you intercrop, also known as intensive planting, be sure to provide your veggies with enough nutrients and water to keep up with their needs. Garden on!

Gardening Jones is the pen name for Jeanne Kunz Hugenbruch, mother of three, grandmother of one, and married to her childhood sweetheart. She has been gardening and putting food by for decades in their home in northeast Pa., zone 6. Find more on her blog Gardening Jones and follow her by that name on social media.