We spent countless hours digging up this baby, cursing the sod every back breaking minute of it. But now that it is finally a big empty plot, and the fruits of our labour (well thats getting a bit ahead of ourselves, but you get the point) couldn't be more satisfying. So here she is our nice 9m x 5m plot all ready for a good ol till of the land, and some fresh compost...
...and again...
And as she awaits the arrival of the last frost date, I will be busy as a bee planning out where everything will go. I have a huge list of plants to go into this garden (some will be planted elsewhere in the garden, and others in containers) including tomatoes, an assortment of carrots, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beet roots, swiss chard, celery, celeriac, peas, pole beans, cucumber, zuccini, squash, spinach, lettuce, melon, rhubarb, onions, leeks, aubergine, chilies, peppers, potatoes, artichokes, and even sweet corn.
But where oh where should I seat all these lovely plants?
Carrots and tomatoes like each other, and carrots love onions, but onions don't like beans...yes must keep those two apart from one another. Oh the joys of companion planting!
It is so important for gardeners to consider if trying to plant organically since certain plants ward of bugs that would normally be attracted to a paired plant, while others will provide necessary protection from the elements.
While companion planting is important, crop rotation is even more important....and this is why it is crucial to have a well thought out plan.
Crop rotation comes down to rotating crops from one bed to the next from year to year. Just like people; soil can adapt to the same old same old, and after awhile too much of the same thing can get stale. Planting the same crop type in the same bed year after year can lead to soil borne pathogens that can make it downright impossible to successfully grow and harvest that crop organically.
Theoretically both Companion Planting and Crop Rotation make sense on their own, but trying to plan out our garden for this year (and future years to come) using both organic gardening techniques has been quite the challenge. It's like planning out the seating arrangement for a party (think don't sit Aunt Sue next to Uncle Al her ex-husband) while making sure that for the next party everyone sits at different tables. It does sound simple enough after typing it out like that, but when you mix types of plants together the order in which to rotate your crops becomes a bit less obvious.
So needless to say a HUGE PROJECT! I am a little intimidated, but honestly the worst thing that could happen is that seeds don't germinate or the plants don't make it. I guess it all boils down to trial and error, fingers crossed that there isn't too many errors though!
