In untouched nature, plants of different genera and species combine to bundle their defenses. With this strategy, flowers and perennials effectively ward off cunning pathogens and pests. Knowledgeable home gardeners take advantage of these floral coalitions by cultivating their vegetable garden using mixed cultures. This guide explains all the relationships that define this technical term. Examples from daily practice in the garden make it clear which alliances work in the plant kingdom and which do not.
What is a mixed culture? - A definition for practitioners
The rule of thumb 'opposites attract' is more of a wink when looking for a partner. In the realm of plants, however, this saying is based on tangible experience that generations of home gardeners have acquired. The collected findings are primarily used in the kitchen garden. Those who give preference to cultivation according to ecological principles grow their vegetables in mixed culture. The following definition sums up what this is all about:
Definition: Mixed culture refers to the joint cultivation of different types of useful and ornamental plants, which mutually influence each other in terms of growth, health and yield.
Specifically, this definition describes the fact that plants can support each other, despite different growth and diverging demands on water and nutrient supply. Thanks to different root penetration depths, plants in mixed culture do not interfere with each other. In this way, they make optimal use of local resources without leaching out the soil. Thanks to their root excretions, emitted odors and root residues, ornamental and useful plants strengthen each other's defenses and bundle them against diseases and pests.
Conversely, the findings from mixed cultures mean that plants with the same botanical classification influence each other negatively. The adverse effects even go so far that sometimes a year-long break from cultivation until, for example, cabbage or rhubarb are planted again at the previous location can. In commercial agriculture, the adverse effects of monoculture are offset by artificial fertilizers, pesticides and other methods that are harmful to health and the environment.
Tip: You ask yourself why the monoculture still dominates in commercial agriculture? This is undoubtedly due to the increased workload caused by the mixed culture. In addition, incorrect assessments in the planting plan can cause considerable problems if incorrectly incompatible plant species are next to each other in the bed.
Requirements for a successful mixed culture
Since the socialization of different plant species can have both positive and negative consequences, the successful mixed culture is subject to
different criteria. Prudent planning primarily sets the course for a successful process. The planting plan aims to use the beneficial properties and at the same time exclude inhibiting factors. In addition to the attributes of the plants, other aspects come into focus that ensure a high-yield mixed culture. The following overview summarizes all important requirements:- Exact research as to which plants are compatible and which are not
- Choose a location that is suitable for all planned plants
- Careful tillage including digging, weeding and adding organic nutrients
- Sowing and planting at the right time; not too early and not too late
- Pay attention to the height of growth and do not socialize plants that shade each other
Home gardeners primarily use mixed culture in order to be able to do without chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers. Therefore, only organic fertilizers are used in the preparation and continuous maintenance of the soil. With compost, horse manure, horn shavings and sand, you can work wonders in improving the soil. Plant manure from nettles and comfrey also supply the soil with nitrogen and repel pathogens when the pressure of infestation increases. With these ecological methods you strengthen the floral back of your plants and optimize the conditions for a flourishing mixed culture.
Tip: The mixed culture scores in the garden with a decorative advantage, which ensures floral moments of happiness during the entire vegetation period. The colorful dance of delicious vegetable plants, colorful summer flowers and opulent perennials transforms the kitchen garden into a decorative eye-catcher.
Examples of good neighborhoods
The classic for a beneficial mixed culture is the socialization of carrots and onions. Carrots protect their neighbors from the onion fly and onions ward off the carrot fly. Another prime example are imperial crown and milkweed. The root excretions of milkweed have been shown to distress voles that target the onion of an imperial crown. The following table shows you tried and tested examples from the garden for a successful mixed culture:
- French beans: broccoli, Cucumbers, all types of cabbage, lettuce, kohlrabi, pumpkin, Swiss chard, Radishes, beetroot, rhubarb, celery and tomatoes
- Dill: peas, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, beets and onions
- Peas: broccoli, dill, cucumber, kohlrabi, all kinds of cabbage, carrots, radishes, lettuce, zucchini
- Cucumbers: broccoli, French beans, dill, garlic, cabbage, coriander, salads, caraway seeds
- potatoes: Broccoli, broad beans, kohlrabi, and spinach
- Garlic: strawberries, cucumber, pumpkin and carrots
- Cabbage of all kinds: French and runner beans, peas, cucumbers, leeks, carrots, radishes, lettuce, celery, spinach and tomatoes
- Kohlrabi: Beans, peas, potatoes, leeks, radishes, beetroot, celery, spinach, asparagus and tomatoes
- Lettuce: beans, broccoli, dill, peas, strawberries, cucumber, cabbage, radish, radishes, asparagus, tomatoes and onions
- Leeks: strawberries, cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, salsify, lettuce, celery and tomatoes
- Carrots: dill, peas, garlic, leeks, radishes and tomatoes
- Radishes: beans, peas, strawberries, cabbage of all kinds, kohlrabi, carrots, salads, spinach and tomatoes
- Celery: beans, cucumber, cabbage, kohlrabi, leek and tomato
- Spinach: beans, potatoes, cabbage, radishes, rhubarb, and tomatoes
- Beetroot: Broccoli, French beans, dill, kohlrabi, onions
- tomatoes: Beans, broccoli, garlic, cabbage, leeks, carrots, salads of all kinds, radishes, celery and spinach
- Onions: strawberries, cucumber, carrots, kohlrabi, and beets
For the cultivation of berry bushes, the joint cultivation with broad beans, peas, garlic, mustard and French beans have proven to be beneficial. Blackberries harmonize excellently with sweet lupins, blueberries favor the common yarrow as a neighbor and Raspberries want to thrive next to lamb's lettuce and garlic.
Examples of bad neighborhoods
Corresponding to the table with recommended plant neighbors, we do not want to withhold unsuitable partnerships from you:
- French beans: peas, garlic, leek, and onions
- Peas: French beans, garlic, leek, tomatoes and onions
- Cucumber: Potatoes, radishes and tomatoes
- Potatoes: peas, cucumber, beets, celery and especially tomatoes
- Garlic: French beans, peas, and most types of cabbage
- Cabbage of all kinds: Strawberries, Garlic, kohlrabi and onions
- Kohlrabi: all types of cabbage
- Lettuce: parsley and celery
- Leeks: beans, peas and beetroot
- Carrots: French and runner beans, potatoes and beetroot
- Radishes: cucumber
- Celery: potatoes
- Spinach: cauliflower and beetroot
- Beetroot: spinach
- Tomatoes: peas, cucumbers and especially potatoes
- Onions: French beans, peas and potatoes
Fatal plant communities
Different ornamental and useful plants of the same genus are not well-disposed towards each other. You should therefore avoid a mixed culture with species of the following plant genera:
- Cruciferous vegetables: all types of cabbage, such as cauliflower, kale or Chinese cabbage as well as cress, radishes, beetroot or mustard
- Legumes: including types of beans, peas, lupins and vetches
- Umbelliferae: for example dill, lovage, carrots, parsley or celery
These genera are not only completely unsuitable for a mixed culture with one another. In addition, a time interval in the cultivation is strongly recommended. After harvesting cauliflower, please wait at least 4 years before planting cabbage or another crucifer in the same area again. Otherwise diseases such as the dreaded coal hernia will have an easy time of it.
Flowers and herbs for mixed culture
The following flowers and herbs
promote the advantages of a mixed culture in several ways. With their pretty flowers, they beautify the kitchen garden or bring fresh herbs to the kitchen for the preparation of dishes. Furthermore, they attract busy pollinators to the bed, loosen the soil with their roots, enrich the earth with nitrogen and ward off diseases and pests.Flowers and perennials
- Tagetes promote soil health
- Marigolds repel harmful nematodes, wireworms and bean aphids
- Sweet lupins enrich the earth with nitrogen
- Purple bells and sun hats ward off snails
- Lily of the valley is said to have a healing effect against fruit rot and berry diseases
- Forget-me-not drives away the raspberry beetle and spoils maggots' appetite
Herbs
- chives fights fungal infections such as gray mold with essential root excretions
- Chamomile improves resistance to fungal infections and drives away leek moths, nematodes and thrips
- Nasturtium repels ants, lice, whitefly and caterpillars
- Lavender protects against powdery mildew and aphids
- Thyme has a protective effect against insect pests, lice, cabbage white flies, snails and deer
Some flowers and herbs are included in the mixed culture planting plan to be sacrificed to protect vegetables. Nasturtiums magnetically attracts voracious snails. Socialized with cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale or lettuce, these vegetables are spared the pests. The mixed culture with potatoes and horseradish is moving in a similar direction.
Practical example of a bed with fruit vegetables
The following example from the practical application of mixed culture illustrates how you can actually implement the table in your garden. A bed 1.20 meters wide is planned for the cultivation of tomatoes and peppers as the main crop. The family wants fresh salads and crunchy radishes as secondary crops. A look at the table shows that these types of vegetables are compatible with one another. How to proceed sensibly in the course of the year:
- In the autumn of the previous year, dig up the soil and incorporate 3-5 liters of compost per square meter
- In spring, weed and rake the bed and divide it into 4 main rows
- Sow spinach in all rows between mid-March and early April or plant early young plants
- At the end of April, sow seeds of radishes, lettuce and garden cress between the main rows
- After about 6 weeks, harvest radishes, lettuce and cress when spinach takes up more space
- Tear off all the spinach leaves in mid-May
- Plant tomatoes in the two middle rows
- In the two outer rows paprika and put hot peppers
- Sow marigolds and marigolds between the main rows
When the temperatures drop below 15 degrees Celsius in autumn, the time window for the harvest of tomatoes, bell peppers and peppers closes. You can harvest unripe fruits and let them ripen in the house. If the plant remains in the bed have died, they are removed and disposed of on the compost. If the weather permits, now is the best opportunity to prepare the soil for the next year with a hardy green manure.
Conclusion
Mixed culture is one of the main pillars for natural cultivation in private kitchen gardens. This concept is based on the wealth of experience that home gardeners have accumulated over generations. Specifically, vegetable plants of different genera and species are grouped together in a bed in order to promote each other in terms of growth, health and profitability. Conversely, since there are also unfavorable neighborhoods in the realm of plants, the planting plan requires precise knowledge of tolerances and intolerances. The examples listed here with a table provide concrete support for the successful implementation of a mixed culture in your vegetable garden.