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Okay, I'm with the idea of rotation having read all the advice on here - but where does sweetcorn fit in? It isnt a brasicca, root veg, legume ... what IS it?!?!

And what about melons? My OH wants to have a go at growing them, but again I'm not even sure what family they are, so don't know where to put them in a rotation plan?

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Sweetcorn doesn't fit into one of the other groups. You can put it in with any of the others and move it along with them.

Melons are curcubits, like cucumbers courgettes and squashes. Melons grown here (UK) would not normally be included in a rotation because they are grown indoors, but if they are they can be added to one of the other groups, like sweetcorn.

I'd put it in with the 'everything else' bed which has all the short season stuff with the toms, squash, lettuce and stuff in.

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 15/11/2008......there's gold in them thar...compost bins!......

Ahh, that explains why I couldnt figure them out!! Okay - the sweetcorn can go next to the toms. I presume it isnt suseptible to blight though? If it is, is it still okay to put it next to toms?!

And I might let OH have a little space in the greenhouse for a melon - as a reward for fixing the glass hahaha!

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Blessed the neutral veggies (along with what Cutecumber mentioned, think spinach, lettuce but not Oriental leaves, they're Brassica apparently ), I love them too. You can put them anywhere and also alongside the other main vegetable family.

I'm also giving a go with Melon this year, heaven bless me! They're not supposed to be straightforward unless you grow them under cover but you never know with with perfect sunny weather, you might just get away. I'm growing normal Canteloupe type melon and a rock melon both from Real Seeds just to test out their claims that they do the researching work for you so that you don't have to. Hopefully we'll have few discussions on melon growing.

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Food for Free

Sue, blight cannot affect sweetcorn, I promise.

I have grown tomatoes and sweetcorn next to one another, but they need different feeding & watering.

Good luck to you Veg4681 - we can compare stories and tips later in the year - cant wait!!

I dont mind different watering and feeding, in theory at least! I think the toms will be in pots/growbags so they will have their own enviroment, while the sweetcorn is in the ground, with the pumpkin I think. Still in the very early planning stage and given that I'm a libran and prone to changing my mind ..............

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A bloke on my site grew water melons outdoors last year despite the total lack of sun. I dont know if he started them indoors or what variety they were but they were definietly water melons, very big, dark green and a few had stipes on them and they were rambling around all over the place.

Wow! I didn't think that was possible in the UK.

Are you sure they weren't squash?

I was only on my allotment plots very occasionally last year (didnt have the lottie then!) but I'm sure there were a couple of melons being grown outside, maybe all the rain helped plump them up?

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

If your very clever and do what Carol Klein did last year You can plant you sweet corn have the Climbing french beans using the sweet corn to climb up and then plant out your melons and let them ramble between (she used sqaushes/pumpkins to ramble between) it seemed to work really well although Melons are better under cover if you want a really good crop

Wont the sweetcorn block the sunshine from the melons? I was thinking of putting them in the sunniest corner of the plot, but I do like your idea fivespud364 - and it saves on building a support for the beans and sounds like a pretty display too

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It is possible to grow ordinary melons outside in sheltered sunny conditions but watermelons need more heat. Considering last year's summer... I wonder

Growing beans up sweetcorn works to a point, but the beans (even french ones) will want to go higher than most sweetcorn plants. Mine went crazy and romped all over the place. A few tall stakes amongst the sweetcorn would help - and if the winds are strong it gives you something to tie them too, as well. There was too much shade on my sweetcorn/ bean plot for anything much to grow under or between them. If you can space the plants out more it might be more conducive to a third crop.

Do the sweetcorn and beans (and melons??) give each other help - nutrients or the like? Or is it just a supportive marriage to use up space more efficiently?

If the latter, I may well keep them separate, after all I have the space now so the beans can stay with the other legumes.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Personally, I'd keep them separate, Moggssue - although the three sisters thingy sounds a good move, you must remember that you'll find it difficult (or virtually impossible!) to pick the beans or sweetcorn until the end of the season.

So ok if you want the beans and corn for drying, not so clever otherwise.

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Sat 15/11/2008......there's gold in them thar...compost bins!......

What! Watermelon! Shockers! And outdoor! And with last year wet weather! Are you sure you're based in UK ? I pass off the watermelon seeds thinking they'd never make it and even if you try to grow in the greenhouse, it must take up too much space.

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Food for Free

Agreed! Being a complete numptie newbie I grew beans up my sweetcorn last year and it was a right b*gger trying to pick the sweetcorn fresh!

I didn't find the combination a big problem, but I kept moving the stems of the french beans as they grew so that they wound around the bottom of the cobs, out of the way. This made it easy to pick the cobs without damaging the beans.

This is easy enough to do with 16 plants, of course, not for a whole field full!

I personally wouldn't grow anything more with those two as it would make it difficult to get into and around the crops to check or harvest them.

Sue - the theory of combining the three crops is both about efficient use of space and the idea that they help each other. The sweetcorn act as a frame for the beans, the beans fix nitrogen, the squash cover the soil surface and reduce evaporation, etc. In practice, you need great soil, warm sheltered conditions and a long growing season.

Hmm, all starting to sound a bit complicated for this numptee (love that word by the way hehe!), so I think I'll keep everything separate, for my first year at least. Interesting idea though, one to keep in mind for when I have a bit more experience.

And I'll let you know what happens with the melon and watermelon, but dont hold your breath - I mean, if they're not supposed to grow anyhoo, I have no chance but hey ... nothing ventured!!

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but since we're here we might as well dance

Hiya
Nope they were definitely watermelons cuz we were all amazed as well! The bloke in question is a horticultural professor tho! I havent actually ever seen said bloke (Im a weekend allotmenteer and think he does weekday mornings) but if I ever do I will ask him how to go about it. They did take up a huge amount of space tho - they were through the fence and onto the verge outside.
Its inspired me to try some melon this year, Sweetheart F1 from the gardenorgnic catalogue. It says its the easiest to grow and can be grown outside in a sunny spot.

Maize (sweetcorn) is a grass.

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