You Gotta Keep Em Separated

This entry is in answer to Peggy Parker's question about where to put plants in your vegetable garden.  She is living in North Dakota and this is information that gardeners everywhere can use.  Thanks for the input Peggy, this link is just for you http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/plantsci/hortcrop/h1185.pdf.  Just like anywhere else you go in the US there is always cooperative extension services provided through the state to help you understand your growing conditions.  I'll bet money that North Dakota's soil is much less alkaline than the soil here in Wyoming.

First of all I'd like to revisit the concept of the raised bed garden.  If you are not familiar with raised beds, here are a couple of examples:

There are several important differences between row gardens vs. raised beds (also known as intensive gardening), not all of which are readily apparent.  Raised beds retain water and nutrients better, allow for greater aeration of the plant's roots, allow more sunlight to reach your plants, reduce your amount of weeding and pest control, and produce a much larger harvest in a small amount of space.  I'm not knocking traditional rows, if that's the way you like to garden you probably already have a system that is working for you.  I've never had good luck growing this way, and I've found that my success rate in a raise bed is much, much higher.  I'm always looking for ways to get more rewards with less time spent.

I like lists, so here is how I plant my garden in order:

1.  Soil preparation is key, it doesn't matter how amazing your plants are if you haven't properly prepped your soil, your harvest will be disappointing.  Peggy, you'll want to go to North Dakota's Cooperative Extension website to get the exact details for your soil type.  However, no matter where you are you are going to need to add organic matter, i.e., compost or Soil Pep.

For Bridger Valley Gardeners, it is a good idea to add Iron, Sulfur, and Gypsum amendments with your organic matter, these help to reduce the alkalinity and increase the water holding capability of your soil.  Conversely, Peggy might need to add lime to her soil to decrease the acidity.  NEVER EVER put LIME in your soil if you live IN BRIDGER VALLEY the only thing it should be used for here it to reduce odors in your crawl space.  It is quite useful in that regard.

Lay out the areas you are going to use as raised beds.  For ease of working 3x6 beds seem to be ideal, and the added organic matter (you need to add roughly 4-5 inches of it) will naturally make nice little mounds.  When done correctly, it will look like a freshly dug grave :)  Double Dig your soil like this:

Rototilling is the devil.  For real, even though husbands everywhere love to do it.  It can quickly destroy your soil structure and completely ruin all the soil improvements you are trying to make.  Correctly double digging is a time investment with huge returns.  If your bent on tilling, I suggest finding someone who will come plow with a horse or mule, I'm actually being serious.  There are people out there that still do this, and they are very reasonably priced.  The results are much like double digging, and it's kind of interesting to watch.  For smaller areas, just double dig.  The exercise is good for you, and the vegetables you will be eating in the future will be good for you too.  And yes, it does need to be done every year.

2.  Soak the soil deeply and let it rest for a day or two before planting.  Mark off the areas you where you will be planting different types of vegetables.  Here is a chart to help you decide how to do this:

Plant Type	Companions / Compatible	Incompatible
Anise	Coriander
Asparagus	Tomato, Parsley, Basil
Basil	Tomatoes
Beans, Bush	Potato, Celery, Cucumbers, Corn, Strawberry, Summery Savory	Onions, Fennel
Beans, Pole	Corn, Summery Savory, Radish	Onion, Beets, Kohlrabi, Sunflower
Beets	Bush beans, Lettuce, Onions, Kohlrabi, Cabbage	Pole beans, Mustard
Borage	Tomato, Squash, Strawberries
Cabbage	Celery, Onions, Potatoes, Aromatic Herbs, Beets, Chamomile, Spinach, Chard	Strawberries, Tomatoes, Pole beans, Dill
Carrots	Lettuce, Radish, Onions, Tomatoes, Peas, Rosemary, Sage	Dill
Celery	Onions, Tomato, Cabbage, Bush Beans, Nasturtium
Chervil	Radishes
Corn	Pumpkins, Peas, Beans, Cucumbers, Potatoes, Pumpkin	Tomatoes
Cucumbers	Corn, Peas, Radishes, Beans, Sunflowers	Aromatic herbs, Potatoes, Sage
Dill	Onions	Carrots, Cabbage
Eggplant	Beans, Marigold
Fennel	plant by itself if possible.	plant by itself if possible.
Garlic	Roses, Raspberries
Lettuce	Onions, Strawberries, carrots, radishes, cucumbers
Mint	Cabbage, Tomatoes
Onions (& family including, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives)	Lettuce, Beets, Carrots, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Cabbage, Summer Savory	Peas, Beans
Parsley	Tomato, Corn, Asparagus
Peas	Carrots, Cucumbers, Corn, Turnips, Radishes, Beans, Potatoes, Aromatic Herbs	Onions, Garlic, Leek, Shallots, Gladiolus
Peppers	Tomato, Basil, Parsley, Petunias, Carrots, Onions, Okra	Fennel, Kohlrabi
Potatoes	Beans, Corn, Cabbage Family, Marigolds, Horseradish	Pumpkin, Squash, Tomato, Cucumber, Sunflower
Pumpkins	Corn, Marigold	Potato
Radishes	Beets, Carrots, Spinach, Parsnips, Cucumbers, Beans, Lettuce, Peas	Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Turnips, Hyssop
Rosemary	Beans, Cabbage, Carrots, Sage
Sage	Rosemary, Cabbage, Carrots	Cucumbers
Squash	Radishes, Cucumbers, Corn, Nasturtium	Potatoes
Tomatoes	Carrots, Onions, Parsley, Nasturtium, Asparagus, Cucumber	Cabbage, Cauliflower, Fennel, Potatoes
Thyme	Cabbage
Turnip	Peas	Potatoes

Certain plants help each other to grow.  Corn is nitrogen depleater, and peas are a nitrogen producer.  My husband likes to plant them together because they help each other out, peas provide nitrogen for the corn and corn provides a natural trellis for the peas to grow up.  If you are going to try this, plant your corn several weeks before your peas so that it has a chance to get tall enough to grow well before the peas start to climb it.  Carrots and Tomatoes make a good combination too.  Cucumbers and Melons don't make good neighbors, my Brother-In-Law, Dean, did this one year and ended up with melons that tasted like cucumbers because they cross pollinated.  Cucumber Melon is a nice lotion scent, but a nasty fruit salad.

3.  Broadcast your seeds evenly over the area you want them to grow, cover lightly if necessary.  After they have sprouted and grown about an inch, run a garden rake over them lightly in one direction.  This will thin them enough so that they can thrive.

4.  You have reached the maintenance phase at this point, and now all that is necessary is occasional weeding and regular irrigation.  Intensive gardening reduces weeds because when you plant more veggies, here is less room for weeds to take hold.  Good plants will choke out the ones you don't want growing.  

In my dream world, I would have drip irrigation with a timer on all of my raised beds.  Right now I just used a good sprinkler and it works just fine.  A good tip for watering is to do it early in the morning, this reduces the chances of plant diseases and keeps your garden hydrated throughout the day.

5.  Harvest and Cleaning.  Harvest your edibles as they become available and enjoy.  There is no greater confirmation that you are loved by your creator than eating produce fresh from your garden.  This is also a good reason to learn how to preserve your harvest for cold winter days. I'll be covering the basics of canning/dehydrating/freezing in this blog throughout the year, so check back often.

Once you have finished harvesting for the year trim down the remaining stalks and vines from your garden and dig them into their surrounding soil or take them to your compost pile.  This helps to add organic matter for next year's harvest.  Once you've got it cleaned up, spread a 3-4 inch layer of organic matter such as Soil Pep over your beds and let them rest.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions about where and what to plant.  Our Container Gardening Workshop is quickly approaching, and I can't wait to see everyone.  Several lucky participants are going home with the demonstration containers I plant that night, and everyone gets to enjoy garden fresh snacks and goodies.  Remember May 4th, 6pm, Mountain View Library.