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Help me get my head round this concept...
If you consider that we normally weed our crops to avoid competition for water and nutrients, and, these days, many of us use a thick mulch where there is bare ground, is it still considered a good idea to underplant slow growing veg with quick crops?
In previous years I have always grown one type of plant in a large container - one cordon tomato, three mini cauliflowers etc - with a thick mulch. They're dull, but they produce.
So is there really any merit, in the case of container gardening, to underplant or mix crops? I don't have loads of room, nor an endless supply of large containers, so I thought maybe I should try getting more from my existing space by combining things - add a lettuce or two in the pot with the calabrese, some basil with a tomato, more lettuce with the broad beans. I have read a lot about traditional companion planting, with interest, but I'm not sure how to apply it.
Mixed plantings do look great - at least, they are more attractive than a single straggly plant supported on a cane - but are they good from a crop point of view? Is it just a case of "as long as there is enough food and water for all", or is that naive?
So many questions! I'd love to know the answers
If you consider that we normally weed our crops to avoid competition for water and nutrients, and, these days, many of us use a thick mulch where there is bare ground, is it still considered a good idea to underplant slow growing veg with quick crops?
In previous years I have always grown one type of plant in a large container - one cordon tomato, three mini cauliflowers etc - with a thick mulch. They're dull, but they produce.
So is there really any merit, in the case of container gardening, to underplant or mix crops? I don't have loads of room, nor an endless supply of large containers, so I thought maybe I should try getting more from my existing space by combining things - add a lettuce or two in the pot with the calabrese, some basil with a tomato, more lettuce with the broad beans. I have read a lot about traditional companion planting, with interest, but I'm not sure how to apply it.
Mixed plantings do look great - at least, they are more attractive than a single straggly plant supported on a cane - but are they good from a crop point of view? Is it just a case of "as long as there is enough food and water for all", or is that naive?
So many questions! I'd love to know the answers
---) CARL (----
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