Companion Planting for Beginners
Tips, Tricks
Companion planting is defined as a method of closely planting two different plants to enhance each other’s growth or protection from pests. 0:33 When should you think about companion planting? 0:38 Does Companion Planting Work to Deter Pests? 1:39 Will companion planting improve the flavor of food grown next to each other? 3:38 Does companion planting attack beneficial insects such as pollinators? 4:22 Polyculture as a method of companion planting to increase harvests Check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaUrbanGarden/ [1] Nematode impacts http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/PD-35.pdf [2] Floral scent emission and pollinator attraction in two species of Gymnadenia(Orchidaceae) http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-004-1750-9#/page-1 [3] Effect of intercropping white cabbage with French Marigold (Tagetes patula nana L.) and Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) on the colonization of plants by pest insects http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/fhort.2009.21.issue-1/fhort-2013-0129/fhort-2013-0129.xml [4] Nematodes http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/a_quick_look_at_plant_disease_caused_by_nematodes [5] Polyculture https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/companion-plantings.pdf [6] Companion planting – do aromatic plants disrupt host-plant finding by the cabbage root fly and the onion fly more effectively than non-aromatic plants? http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0013-8703.2003.00102.x/abstract;jsessionid=7C435781AB8CA302E5C7D628830DD1D0.f02t03?userIsAuthenticated=false&deniedAccessCustomisedMessage= [7] Secondary plants used in biological control: A review http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09670874.2012.659229 [8] Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999: http://www.semencespaysannes.org/bdf/docs/fruit_content.pdf [9] University of California Davis paper: http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-526.pdf
Comments
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Keep in mind, if you hope to attract pollinators, that honeybees can't see the color RED.
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He makes it to sciencey it gets boring 🙄
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Another factor affecting both nutrient content and flavor not mentioned is the fertility of the soil. In the absence of 'flavor confusors' (like refined sugar, refined flour, chemical flavorings - which by US law can included a number labeled as 'natural', and things like MSG) flavor reflects nutrition. Or, put another way, fertile soil allows the plant full genetic expression, which results in more flavor. Most commercial crops are grown on depleted soils AND even more critically- those soils tend to be lacking in or totally devoid of the soil life that makes nutrients available to plants. It is this living element - the soil food web - that allows our garden crops to thrive. For more info, search Dr. Elaine Ingham and/or Soil Food Web, here on YouTube or on the 'net.
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Hello again Stephen, I almost feel bad to keep asking you stuff...
Any ideea for a good cover crops for between stuff like grape vines, melons, corn ?! -
Much thanks to you for making this video and thanks to Chris Towerton for making a video with you and thus for me to discover your garden life!
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Companion planting is pretty much based on anecdotal evidence, but isn't cool that science finally researches on what gardeners knew from trial and error? There is also plants that don't like each other, like the legume family and the allium one. There is also trap plants/crop that pest prefer over plants that we prefer, such an interesting subject of experimentation ;-)
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Thanks Stephen. I agree that Polyculture is a great method. Best wishes Bob.
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Great video. Timely for my garden. I planted garlic next to the peas. Oh my. They seem to be doing well so far.
Anyway if you want a distraction from serious stuff, I ran across a TV show from way back. It's called "In Search of". Anyway the first episode was on plants, (pretty wacky show). You may not have had it in Canada but here it is
https://youtu.be/0BkKFxeGwO8 -
i posted this video a month ago ! Love companion planting, and shared some of its benefits, didnt go as far as to read the peer reviewed literature though. i wish you mentioned carrots and tomatos, there is scientific review about the benefits, there is an exudate from the carrots that benefits the tomatos health, check it out.
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Thank you Stephen for giving this important information and the time you put into giving us these informative links. Much appreciated my friend.
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Good job, my friend! There are some good charts for companion planting available online ; )
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Excellent information, Stephen! I've never followed specific companion planting recommendations but have had great results growing in polycultures.
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It's Awesome :) Thanks Man 😃
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A friend of mine just keeps loads of diversity in her garden. Your polyculture. She's "too lazy" to work out specific companions. It works well for her, and that's what I'm working towards too. :D
I do enjoy some of the science-y stuff too, though. There's a paper I found on google scholar that confirms the benefit of using marigold to reduce some root-feeding nematodes (like those that attack tomatoes). The living plant roots release exudates that act as a pesticide for these nematodes, helping bring down numbers around its root zone. -
Completely unrelated to the content... But is your microphone located in a different spot for this video? It's perhaps a little louder than usual and your breathing seems to have greater emphasis??? Anyways... I'd personally be interested to see more of your paper-trail findings on this subject if you get the desire to do more in the future... Chris
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I tried companion planting for the first time last year. Here is some of my results:
1) Marigolds for pest deterrence/confusion: partial success. They failed to keep away vine borers. They worked well as a trap plant for slugs, in that they generally preferred them over my food plants. It made it easier for me to locate the slugs and salt them to death.
2) Sunflowers near food plants to attract pollinators: success. The bees of all kids came to the sunflowers in large numbers, and also stopped at the nearby food plants. However, something came along and ate all or part of several of the smaller sunflower plants before they reached maturity. Circumstantial evidence suggested deer.
3) Corn with pole green beans and squash types: fail. The green beans took over and choked out the corn, and eventually shaded out the rest.
4) Tomatoes with basil, garlic, and wild onions: mostly success. The basil did keep away the tobacco horn worms for the most part, only found one on the whole season. The garlic failed, but I think that I might have done something that screwed that up. -
Great video! Good job!
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I grow in a sunroom and this year I put a grape vine in it and the ladybugs are a magnet to it! they're doing a great job keeping the aphids and spider mites at bay!
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Stephen, I have an odd question regarding flowers. I need more color in my garden, as its mostly just green so far. When I go to big box stores, I wander around the plant section and smell every flower. I probably look like a loon, but hey, I dont mind. The problem Ive found is flowers that I remember having great scents either have muted aromas or none at all. Is that due to the varieties sold, my sense of smell remembering my youth differently, or are flowers from those stores just over fertilized and need a more natural environment to regain their intended odors?
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I like polyculture better as well. of course there is something to say for strict crop rotation too, but as long as i don't have any problems, i don't see why i can't do polyculture. I mainly interplant slow growing single rows with fast growing rows and i don't look at plant families. If something had dificulties last year, i'm not going to put it in the same place next year. Sofar i'm not having any major pest issues. Cabbages are always difficult. If they wern't so nutricious, i probably wouldn't go through the trouble of growing them. Everything seems to want to eat cabbage. Last week i said to Raf, i'm not having slug issues! Came into the garden a couple of days later after some much needed rain, half of my cabbages and sunflowers nibbled off. :D Slug pellets! where are my beer traps! Quiiiick!
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