Mixed culture: Which plants go together?

A successful mixed culture brings many advantages. Here you can find out what you need to know in order to plant the right plants in the bed.

Mixed culture was invented on farms in the early 19th century. century. Because unlike what the "cottage garden" conveys to us in many botanical gardens, before the 20th century, cottage gardens were Century by no means neatly divided by box hedges, sorted according to aesthetic aspects and properly cared for. Rather, it was about fields on which useful plants for humans and animals grew together without being separated and thus formed a diverse community. In this way, positive influences of the plants were used on each other and space, water and fertilizer were saved. Overall, the yield of the area was increased, while the expenses for the resulting food and fodder remained low. In return, such an area had to be looked after and cared for more intensively so that it did not become completely overgrown. Today, this type of cultivation is called "mixed culture" and can be found in ecological cultivation guidelines, e.g. B. in Demeter cultivation, again. We introduce you to the mysterious world of mixed plantings.

What are the advantages of mixed cultures?

No wonder that nature is also a single mixed culture. Highly efficient ecosystems develop in nature through competition and selection. If you look around in untouched nature, you will not discover any pure or monocultures. In fact, mixed cultures abound, because the more diverse a system, the better use can be made of every available resource. Introducing mixed cultures into your own garden offers many advantages:

• The total yield per area increases: In mixed cultures, plants are planted next to each other that have different requirements. So under a tall, sun-loving tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) a small and shade-tolerant lettuce (Lactuca sativa) can be planted, whereby the space is optimally used and the shading by the higher species favors the other. Incidentally, this principle is also used in agroforestry systems. For example, sun-loving banana trees are placed between more shade-loving ones coffee plants cultivated. However, one should not only consider the above-ground form, but also the root. While some species root deeply and thus obtain their nutrients from deeper layers of the soil, others tend to stay close to the surface. Planting them next to each other has the advantage that they don't compete with each other. The space can thus be optimally utilized in all directions.
• Susceptibility to pests is reduced: Mixed cultures are not only limited to the space requirements and the demands of the plants, but also use the plants' defense strategies. Many plants smell particularly intense, for example types of cabbage (Brassica), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) or sage (Salvia). These smells come from ingredients in the plants that are supposed to ward off pests and pathogens. Essential oils from herbs are nothing more than plant defenses. If you now combine certain plants with each other, you can use this ingenious development of the plants. An effective combination here is, for example, tomato with basil (Ocimum basilicum) or strawberries (Fragaria) with garlic (Allium sativum) against mildew to combine or even roses (pink) with lavender (Lavandula), to the aphid infestation to decrease. In addition, mixed cultures attract less pests and more beneficial insects are promoted by more diverse habitats.

• The vegetables taste better: In fact, with the right combination, those additional ingredients that often serve to protect against plants can have an effect on the taste of fruit. There is no general explanation as to why this is the case. What is certain, however, is that, for example, savory (Satureja) a positive effect on the taste of kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) exerts when it grows underneath.
• Less fertilizer is required: Because in a tightly planted mixed culture there is less bare soil and, moreover, with a If the dense network of plant roots grows through it at different depths, the fertilizer losses are very high lower. Nutrients washed out downwards can be absorbed by deeper roots. There is hardly any "outgassing" of nutrients because those compounds that could volatilize are absorbed immediately. In addition, all plant species have different strategies of nutrient acquisition. This means that they have different tactics to extract nutrient salts from the soil and make them available. If plants now grow together with different tactics, this also increases the use of fertilizer. The reason for this is that each individual plant has a much larger arsenal of ways to extract nutrients from the soil, so to speak.
• More biodiversity: A higher diversity of useful plants and better mixing not only benefit the plants themselves. Many animals also benefit from this, because this way they have many more habitats and food sources.
• Improved ground activity: Due to the new diversity of plants and the resulting increased diversity of plant remains, the soil is not supplied with organic material in one direction. What one-sided organic remains can have as a result in extreme cases becomes clear in pure coniferous forests, where the soil acidifies due to the countless needles. In a mixed forest, however, accumulating needles are not a problem. The multiple remnants balance each other out in their extremes. This not only has a positive effect from a chemical point of view, but also increases the biodiversity of soil organisms, since there are more food sources. Due to the increased three-dimensionality and density of the plants, the space directly on the ground is also better used and thus the ground cover is increased. As a result, erosion is reduced and the soil remains moist, which also promotes soil life, which ultimately leads to higher soil fertility.

What do you have to consider with the mixed culture?

Since mixed cultures are an incredibly complex system, because plants can be transformed in the most diverse ways influence each other - positively as well as negatively - the whole thing seems to be very difficult at first see through. Luckily, through centuries of experience, we humans have figured out which plants go best together. There are planting charts for this that show how well one plant goes with the other. Sticking to these is therefore a good way for you to orientate yourself. The following can be said for the basic structure:

1. The three-dimensional structure of the space should be used optimally, so tall and sun-loving species should be combined with smaller and shade-tolerant ones. The same applies to the combination of deep and shallow rooted species.
2. Plants with an intense smell - such as various herbs, bulbous plants, but also for example tagetes (tagetes) – usually have a deterrent effect on various pests and pathogens. These species can be combined with susceptible species.

The selected combinations should be compared with the planting tables in order to rule out possible incompatibilities between the plants.

Which plants go together?

Plants can affect each other both positively and negatively. We'll tell you which plants benefit each other as neighbors and which ones you shouldn't plant next to each other.

defensive plants

Some plants can protect neighboring plants from pests and pathogens through intensively smelling ingredients. In the following table we have put together some favorable combinations for you.

Effect against / protection against	Crop species affected	effective kind
aphids	General	Marigolds, garden cress, parsley, mint
lettuce and cabbage	chervil
roses	lavender and sage
beans	savory
Cabbage White	cabbage	Sliced ​​Celery, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme
nematodes	potatoes, cabbage	marigold
miscellaneous	Potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, strawberries	tagetes
snails	Edge planting with hyssop, tansy, chervil
bacteria and fungi	garlic and other leeks	strawberries, roses
mildew	Tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage	basil
column grate	currant and jostaberry	vermouth
Monilia	cherry and peach trees	horseradish

Good neighbors, bad neighbors

In the following overview you can find out which plants have positive effects on each other and which combinations have a negative effect.

Expert tip: As already explained, mixed cultivation requires less fertilizer, but fertilization should not be dispensed with entirely. The reason for this is that growing vegetables removes a lot of nutrients from the soil. A quality fertilizer like that Plantura organic universal fertilizer is ideal for your bed.

This is a special kind of mixed culture Milpa bed, where corn, beans and squash are grown together. We will explain how you should create and maintain a Milpa bed.