Mixed planting, the influence of plants on each other, the use of weeds

Practical knowledge of mixed plantations of vegetables in the beds, the compatibility of garden and garden plants, and their influence on each other have been accumulated by many generations of gardeners and gardeners. We try to learn more about them, get to know them, take this knowledge into account in our practice. Sometimes, however, they are quite contradictory. For example, it seems that there are often assurances of many about the incompatibility of growing cucumbers and tomatoes in one greenhouse. This is explained by the different requirements of these vegetables to the conditions of detention, temperature, humidity. But, nevertheless, for many they get along perfectly with each other. Why is this so? Until now, this controversial question has no definite answer. Can I plant potatoes with cabbage?

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Allelopathy -

plant compatibility Let's start with the theory.

What is allelopathy? This word is of Greek origin - allēlōn - mutually and páthos - suffering - mutual suffering. It is understood that plants can influence each other, cause each other suffering, inconvenience. This is the original meaning of the word allelopathy. Now, by allelopathy, they began to understand not only negative, but also positive interaction of plants with each other. Allelopathy is understood as the interaction of plants with each other through various secretions - root and leaf.

Plants release various substances through the roots, mainly organic - amino acids, sugars, biologically active substances, antibiotics, hormones, enzymes, and others that can affect neighboring plants, both positively and negatively.

Through the leaves of the plant also emit various substances - most often volatile. But they can also produce water-soluble, which are washed away by rain or watering, fall into the soil, and have a different effect on neighboring plants.

These properties - the influence on each other - the plants acquired during a long evolution, when they grew all together in natural conditions. They had to compete, to establish some kind of relationship with each other. It is assumed that this property - allelopathy - is developed by plants in the process of competition for light, water, nutrients in the soil. In this competitive struggle, plants can even apply chemical protection, that is, they release chemicals: enzymes, vitamins, alkaloids, essential oils, organic acids, phytoncides.

Some of these compounds resemble herbicides in their properties, which are used to kill weeds. These substances, called inhibitors( inhibitors), kill neighboring plants or retard their growth, inhibit seed germination, reduce the intensity of physiological processes, and their vital activity.

It is important to note that inhibitors act negatively only when there are many of them. Their small concentrations act as accelerators of physiological processes, that is, as stimulants.

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Joint planting is the basis of organic farming

What is written above is more likely theoretical information. Is it possible to put this knowledge into practice in our garden?

Possible, even necessary! They must be taken into account when sowing, planting seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground, as this knowledge has been verified not only by science, but by many generations of gardeners and gardeners. It goes further about mixed or joint plantings.

Such planting is part of organic or, as it is also called, biodynamic agriculture. It is based on working with nature, and not against it. The founder of biodynamic farming was the famous German philosopher Rudolf Steiner. Now the idea of ​​organic farming is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. A mixed planting in the gardens and gardens of Europe has long become commonplace.

Receiving joint planting in the garden for a long time and successfully used in Germany. The Germans are very pragmatic approach to these things, they believe that it is irrational to aimlessly lose the area of ​​their personal plots. The main thing for them is the quantity of products per unit of area. They are very proud to have learned how to get the most benefit from each piece of land. For example, one vegetable plant is planted on the garden, and the sides of the garden are empty - this is a mess. No matter what grows in this area - cucumbers or tulips.

In Russia, the reception of mixed, combined landings is not yet very common.

Let's take a closer look at the experience of German gardeners. The optimum width of the beds, they say, is 1 meter. The central part of the garden, the middle must be occupied by some main crop. This is the culture that will grow in the garden for a long time, until the end of the season. During this period, it will grow greatly, over time, will take up the entire area of ​​the beds. For example, it can be cabbage or tomatoes.

But at the beginning of the growing season they are small. The side area of ​​the garden can be planted with something else that quickly ripens. It can be spinach, lettuce, radishes - friendly crops. Spinach, generally compatible with almost all crops, it even stimulates the development of neighboring plants.

By the time tomatoes or cabbage grow, spinach, radishes or lettuce will be cut, torn out for food. This is just one aspect that speaks in favor of joint planting.

Supplementary, quickly ripening plants should be small in size, compact, so that their root system does not interfere with the main crop.

Often joint plantings protect each other from pests. For organic farming it is very important, as it is against the use of herbicides or other chemical means of protection. For such purposes, most often used aromatic plants - basil, coriander, onion, sage.

Many spicy herbs bring triple benefits: they are beautiful, they enrich our table, they attract healthy insects to our garden, a vegetable garden.

It is believed that the coriander with its smell can even scare the Colorado potato beetle from the potato. But, it should be borne in mind that such aromatic plants should be planted a lot in order for the aromatic fumes to create significant cover over the site.

For cabbage, aromatic protection is also important, as it itself attracts with its smell various butterflies. By the way, the Colorado potato beetle, butterflies find their prey - potatoes, cabbage - by smell. Lettuce or celery planted around the edges of the garden can help protect cabbage from pests. That is, if aromatic herbs are planted next to them, their smell will kill the smell of potatoes or cabbage, to some extent disorient the pests.

A common term among gardeners is a nurse plant. It is believed that if you plant a nasturtium along the perimeter of a bed of cabbage, the cruciferous flea will pounce on the flowers first. That is, nasturtium - a nurse for cabbage - distracts pests. By the way, cabbage salad is also to some extent a nurse - it distracts slugs, which are very fond of salad, which has more tender juicy leaves than cabbage. And if slugs have a choice, then they choose a salad.

Want to protect the cabbage from slugs - plant lettuce. And how to protect the salad from slugs, without resorting to chemistry? This is more difficult. .. It is believed that oak bark, used as mulch, will protect the salad( and not only it) from slugs.

Gardeners and practitioners have long noticed that the neighboring plants can not only seal the plantings, protect each other from pests, but also improve the taste of each other. For example, basil improves the taste of tomatoes, and dill - the taste of cabbage.

Isop, parsley, lavender, sage, borage, thyme, mint, chamomile, chervil work well on almost all vegetables. Planted along the edges of the beds or plots, white ash, dead nettle, valerian, yarrow make vegetable plants more healthy, resistant to diseases and pests.

Here's something else interesting about mixed, joint plantings. I read this from N. Zhirmunskaya in the book Good and Bad Neighbors in a Garden Garden.

The history of using the idea of ​​such landings has more than one century. Ancient Indians grew corn, pumpkin, and beans on one field. They noticed that corn, for example, creates shade, protects the earth and pumpkin from the scorching rays of the sun, is a good support for the beans. The pumpkin covers the ground with its leaves, drowns out the growth of weeds, retaining moisture, protects the ground from drying out.

In addition, the ancient Indians did not destroy all weeds, for example, shchiritsu, quinoa, which for us are now weeds. They allowed them to grow with vegetables.

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How weeds help garden plants or the use of weeds

It turns out that some weeds can benefit cultivated garden plants. Even by the ancient Indians, it was noted that the shchiritsa, a malicious weed in our gardens, can share with some plants the nutrients it receives from their depths of soil.

There is, for example, such an opinion that one should not spit out the whole shiritsu on potatoes, leaving 3-5 plants per square meter. Not having a number of competitors, schiritsa grows, its powerful root system, penetrating deep into the soil, extracts nutrients there - phosphorus, potassium, calcium, which are much more deep at the depth than in the upper layers. The excess of these elements are excreted through the roots into the soil, nourishing the potatoes. That is, the schiritsa is sharing these surpluses with potatoes. Moreover, these nutrients are in digestible form, easily absorbed, absorbed by potatoes.

Scientists-agronomists have already established in laboratory experiments that, indeed, plants can share with each other their root secretions. I must say that plants do not skimp on root secretions - for them it is very important. It has been established that approximately 20% of what is synthesized in the leaves of plants is excreted by their roots into the soil.

Recently, the issue of the benefits and harm of weeds has been significantly revised. If weeds are not allowed to grow uncontrollably, stifle cultivated plants, especially in the early stages of growth, they can play the role of a useful member of the plant community.

By the way, I noticed that the blackthrow - a malicious weed - distracts aphids. Cucumbers grew in my greenhouse. Grow well. Were healthy. Crop gave a good one. In a corner of the greenhouse, a blackmail grew - I didn’t immediately notice it, Only then I paid attention to him when he raised his feet taller than a meter tall, he even threw out the buds. I decided to uproot it. Gasped when she saw that he was covered with aphids. Here it is, I think, a hotbed of pests - must be destroyed. And what? Not even a day passed after that, like all my healthy ones so far, the cucumbers were covered with aphids. I had to take measures to destroy aphids. It turns out that thistleship protected my plants from aphids.

I never drop all the weeds on tomatoes planted in open ground. We only do weeding during the first growing season, when there is a danger that weeds will clog the tomatoes and close them from the sun. But when my tomatoes gain strength - they are not afraid of weeds. They cover the soil from the burning sun - it does not crust, does not dry out, can be watered less often. In addition, grass, weeds protect the fruits from sunburn, which is very important in our southern hot climate.

Most weeds have a deep root system. In the struggle for existence, they developed a peculiarity of getting food deep in the soil. In cultivated plants, which we indulge in their care, this ability is rare.

The most important vegetable plants, such as potatoes, corn, cabbage lettuce, cucumbers and a number of others, have a shallow root system and are fed from the upper soil layers. And, for example, dandelion with its powerful root system extracts calcium from the depths. In addition, this weed plant releases into the air a large amount of ethylene gas, which accelerates fruit ripening, not to mention the fact that its bright flowers attract bees and other pollinating insects to the garden.

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Incompatibility or which plants should not be planted next to

So far, we have talked about the positive influence of plants on each other. But there is, after all, their negative influence.

For example, do not plant carrots and parsley next. These are plants of one family and their influence on each other is negative, they do not tolerate root secretions of each other.

There are plants that do not like their own root secretions - they are not recommended to be planted in the same place even for two years in a row. It is believed that the beet refers to such plants.

All legumes are poorly combined with all types of onions and garlic. That is, they can not be planted next.

In one year I arranged side by side, practically I didn't even leave the path between them, onions and peas. Did not know about their incompatibility. And what? Peas could not stand such a neighborhood. Two rows of peas — closest to the onion — rose, but disappeared after a while. So the peas made the path between themselves and the bow.

Watercress has an adverse effect on many vegetables.

Fennel recommend sowing away from all vegetable crops.

Plant beets away from cucumbers and potatoes.

Pumpkin does not like the neighborhood of potatoes.

Even plants of different ages can affect each other in different ways. That is, plants are initially non-hostile to each other, but planted one much earlier than the other can overwhelm each other.

Here is an example not from the book - from my experience. I identified one bed for late cabbage and Peking cabbage. I decided that the Beijing cabbage will ripen earlier and make room for late cabbage. Seedlings of Peking cabbage landed much earlier head. What came of it? Until I removed the Peking cabbage, which, by the way, has grown a lot, the cabbage seedlings are stunted in growth. As a result, she began to gain growth much later, she was unable to qualitatively form heads. I think this would not have happened if I had planted them at the same time or at least one after another with a small time gap.