All posts by Jordan Charbonneau

Companion Planting: Benefits & Techniques

In many ways, highly organized rows of crops are easy on the gardener. They allow us to easily layout our space, weed efficiently, and keep track of exactly what’s growing where! Unfortunately, these gardens have their downfalls too. Large sections of single crops tend to take up more space than necessary, be more susceptible to pest and disease issues, and without careful tending, they can be tough on the soil. Companion planting is one way to address some of these issues, providing a more “natural” ecosystem in the garden without letting it go completely feral. 

Why Use Companion Planting

  • Companion planting can protect your crops from some pest and disease issues.
  • It can help you use space efficiently and maximize production.
  • Companion planting creates beautiful, cottage-style gardens.
  • It can improve your soil.
Lemon Drop French Marigolds
Lemon Drop French Marigolds

Control Pests

Every gardener deals with pest issues at some point in their career, sometimes even every year. In many cases, companion planting has been shown to reduce pest issues by repelling pests with scents or compounds they emit, attracting predatory insects, or interfering with pests’ ability to find plants through sight or smell. Here are a few examples:

  • In a study in Holland, Golden Guardian Marigolds were shown to more effectively reduce the presence of nematodes than chemical insecticides.
  • A 2015 study found that flower strips reduce pests and crop damage in wheat fields.
  • A study from Iowa State University found that interplanting thyme, onion, and nasturtium helped to reduce cabbage looper and imported cabbageworm damage in broccoli.

Just as a mix of crops may make it harder for insects to spread through the garden, it may also slow the spread of diseases. 

Attract Beneficial Insects and Birds

Many plants also serve to bring our garden allies into the fray. These are the creatures like flies, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies that help pollinate our crops and the efficient hunters like wasps, spiders, and songbirds that eat pests.

Flowers are more important than you think. Obviously, they encourage pollinators to visit, but they also attract predatory insects. Two of our favorite native predatory insects, lady beetles, and lacewings feed on nectar and pollen in their adult stages. Having flowers they enjoy, like goldenrods, sunflowers, buckwheat, dill, alyssum, cosmos, and coreopsis, can encourage them to spend time and lay eggs in your garden.

These beneficial creatures also need varied habitats. To give them spaces to move about freely, opt for a garden with few or no bare areas and vary your plants’ height and structure. 

Woman picking Hill Country Heirloom Red Okra Natural Trellises & Shade

In addition to providing structure for birds, tall plants can also provide structure and shelter for other plants. The most well-known example is growing pole beans on corn stalks as part of a three-sister’s garden. However, many different options would work well, too. Here are a few example crops:

Tall Trellis Plants

  • Corn
  • Sorghum
  • Amaranth
  • Sunflowers
  • Tithonia
  • Okra
  • Sunn Hemp

Vining Plants

  • Pole Beans
  • Cucumbers
  • Red Malabar Spinach
  • Fall Peas
  • Mini Pumpkins
  • Pocket Melons

The tall trellis plants can also be used to offer partial shade to cool-weather crops like lettuce.

Red Malabar Summer SpinachMaximize Space with Companion Planting

A great way to make the most of a small garden is to pair early-season or quick-maturing crops with slower-growing or summer crops. Here are a few examples:

  • Start red Malabar spinach below a pea trellis. The peas will be finishing up as the spinach really begins to grow.
  • Sow rows of spring radishes between rows of onions, carrots, beets, and other root vegetables. The radishes will be harvested before the others need plenty of room.
  • Plant peppers and tomatoes among beds of early greens. They’ll provide a bit of shade, and the early crops will be finished by the time they’re large.

Improve Soil Health

Nitrogen-fixing crops are the big ones for this category. Again, the classic example comes from the nitrogen-fixing pole beans in the three sister’s garden. However, many nitrogen-fixing crops exist, including peas, beans, vetch, clover, sunn hemp, and even buckwheat!

Besides fixing nitrogen, plants can also help improve the soil by breaking up compaction. Growing rows of potatoes, turnips, or daikon radishes between rows of other crops can help break up compacted soil, improving your garden for next season while still offering a good harvest.

Lastly, crops can improve your soil health by adding organic matter. Crops like rye, buckwheat, oats, and wheat can be planted in between rows, paths, or empty beds. Then, they can be cut, mowed, or tilled in. If left on the surface, crops like buckwheat make an excellent mulch for transplanting fall crops. 

Some companion planting suggestions may be rooted in old wives’ tales, but modern research is proving that it can make a significant impact. Try a few of these methods this season and see if you notice any changes in your garden.

Simple Succession: 5 Easy Ways to Get More from the Garden

Succession planting is one of the best ways to get more out of your garden. It means you can spread out your harvests rather than having periods of extreme abundance and shortage. Unfortunately, people often picture hauling out a calendar, looking at spreadsheets, and spending hours calculating exact schedules. While some cut flower farmers and vegetable market growers do get it down to an exact science, succession planting in the home garden can be much simpler while still providing benefits. Here are a few simple ways we spread out the harvest with succession planting. 

Select Staggered Varieties

You may find a wide variation in days to maturity, even among the same crop. This is ideal for enjoying that crop over an extended period. A great example of this is cabbage. 

For early fresh eating, choose a variety like Early Jersey Wakefield (64 days) or Golden Acre (62 days), which will be easily ready in time to make coleslaw for your summer barbeque. Start a longer-season variety like Premium Late Flat Dutch (100 days) for fall storage, sauerkraut, and cooking.Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage

Select Staggered Crops

Some crops naturally have their season, and that’s okay, too. While we might get a few successions of spinach and lettuce in the spring, it eventually gets too hot to have much luck with them. In these cases, selecting a different crop rather than another variety is best.

For example, we know that eventually, our lettuce will bolt in the summer heat. If you’re not keeping it all for seed, you should have a crop you can quickly put in that bed next. After lettuce, you may choose relatively quick-to-mature summer crops like bush beans or zucchini. 

Plant a Couple of Rows Every Couple of Weeks

You can also use the same variety and do your sowing over a longer period. For example, you can plant a few mounds of cucumbers every couple of weeks in the spring. We’ve found that this method can be especially helpful for crops like sweet corn and spring radishes that need to be harvested and used relatively quickly once they’re mature.

Corn succession plantingPlant a Couple More Rows When Crops Reach a Couple Inches High

As time to maturity can vary with weather conditions, some growers opt to plant more when their first section reaches a specific size. A good example is planting another section of sweet corn when the first section reaches 1 to 2 inches tall.

Intercropping

Intercropping may not be the same as succession planting, but it generally has the same desired effect by helping you get more from your space. You can use a trellis of pole beans to offer shade for greens or sow radishes in between mounds of watermelons, knowing they’ll be ready to harvest before the watermelon vines spread too much. 

Succession Planting Tips

  • Rotate your crops by family.
  • Add a couple of inches of finished compost in between planting to improve fertility and soil structure.
  • Pull plants that are no longer productive and plant another crop as soon as possible. 
  • Ensure you have the seeds you need for later successions and fall gardening.

Succession planting doesn’t have to be complicated. Try a few of these simple methods to spread out your harvest and have a more productive garden this season.

How To: Harden Off Seedlings

We’re starting to transplant some of the more cold-hardy seedlings, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, into the garden this week. Before we transplant any seedlings, we complete a process known as hardening off. 

In your home, your seedlings experience controlled climate conditions. They receive consistent light, moisture, temperature, and no wind. When we harden them off, we prepare them for the uncontrolled climate outside in the garden. If you skip hardening off, transplanting can shock your seedlings, meaning that they can stunted, fail to thrive, or die from the sudden changes. 

When and How to Harden Off Seedlings

Generally, we start hardening off seedlings one to two weeks before our ideal transplant date. Longer, slower hardening-off periods are usually better, so give it the full two weeks if you can. We start with just an hour or two of outside time each day and slowly increase that until the plants are ready to spend the whole day outdoors. 

Don’t place your seedlings outside on very windy days or when the temperature remains below 45°F. These conditions can shock even cold-hardy seedlings. 

Hardening Off Considerations

When we think about hardening off our seedlings, there are a few things we want to consider: sunlight, water, wind, and temperature. Below, we’ll dive into how to manage these factors as we harden off our seedlings. 

Sunlight

Your indoor lights are great for starting seedlings but aren’t as harsh as the natural sunlight your plants will face in the field. 

To begin hardening them off, set them out in a shady, sheltered location for one to two hours per day. Gradually move them to sunnier areas and increase the amount of time they spend outdoors. 

Water

Plants in the field probably won’t receive the same consistent moisture they received under your watchful eye indoors. Occasionally, letting seedlings dry out but not wilt will help them adapt. tomato seedlings

Wind

Your tender seedlings have never dealt with any wind in your house. Start them outside in a sheltered location and avoid putting them out on very windy days. While your seedlings are still indoors, you can mimic the wind by gently brushing the tops with your hand.

Temperature

Sticking seedlings out as soon as we’ve had a few warm days can be tempting, but you want to avoid damaging your plants. Don’t harden off seedlings when temperatures are below 45°F. Some plants will fail to produce if exposed to cold temperatures overnight. 

For example, broccoli may “button up” or only produce tiny heads if the seedlings experience temperatures below 20°F. These cold temperatures make the broccoli think it has gone through winter and is time to flower. 

Cucumbers and melons may also stop growing if the temperatures get too cold. Bring them in at night until temperatures stay above 50°F.

If your area is still experiencing cold temperatures, placing your seedlings in a low tunnel, cold frame, or hoop house can provide a buffer and help them slowly adapt to cooler temperatures. 

Transplanting Tips

  • Transplant on an overcast or cloudy day. 
  • Ensure your soil is loose, and add compost to the bed or planting hole.
  • Loosen the roots on any root-bound plants.
  • Water seedlings well.
  • Place mulch around seedlings.

It can be tempting to haul your plants out to the garden and put them in the ground on a sunny day. However, making the most of your plants requires a little more preparation. Hardening off your seedlings is essential to thriving crops.