In order to provide ideal conditions for their vegetable plants, many gardeners opt for so-called mixed cultures. The aim is to create a bed design that is close to nature and combines plants that promote each other's development. As you probably already know, some plants are ideal planting partners, while others get along less well or not at all. Have you ever heard of the so-called Milpa? This type of bed aims to do exactly that and combines very specific types of vegetables. What is a Milpa bed? We will introduce it to you below so that you can create it yourself in the coming season.
As already mentioned, this is the type of bedabout a mixed culture. To be more precise, this mixed crop consists of pumpkin, corn and beans - a combination that is so good that it is often referred to as the “three sisters”. This type of cultivation has been known since Mayan times and the term itself means something like “the nearby field”.
Creating a Milpa bed – the three perfect cultures
The main crop in this farming system is corn. This grows high and stable enough to support the beans at the same time. Pumpkin plants, in turn, grow low and creeping. This has the advantage that the plants, with their large leaves, shade the ground around all crops. The result is that weeds and other unwanted plants find it difficult to grow, while at the same time the soil is kept evenly moist. These planting partners also lead to beneficial chemical processes that guarantee a good supply of nutrients to the plants.
So if you create a Milpa bed, you only have to follow the usual plant care during the initial period. Once the pumpkin plants have grown large enough, you can leave the plants to their own devices. Nevertheless, regular inspection is recommended because, especially in very hot years, longer dry phases can occur more quickly than perhaps expected.
But not only the type of vegetable should be right, but also the variety of the respective plants. What this means is that, for example, a strong and fast-growing variety of beans would not be a good partner for a variety of corn that grows more slowly. After all, the corn is supposed to be a climbing aid and not eventually be suppressed by the beans. Bush beans are also less suitable. Good varieties are:
For beans: different varieties of runner beans or runner beans, such as: E.g. Blauhilde, Flavorstar, Goldsfield, Grünes Posthörnchen, Markant, Matilda, Musica, Neckargold, Neckarkönigin, Scarlett Emperor, Sunset
For pumpkins: Butternut, Hokkaido, Muskatkürbis
For corn: Black Aztek, Golden Bantam, Rainbow Inka, SF 201, XT Goldcrest
Tipp: Instead of pumpkin or in combination with pumpkin you can alsoPlant zucchini.
What is a Milpa bed - this is how it's done
So you plant corn, beans and pumpkin together and because they harmonize so well with each other, you can keep a small distance between the individual plants in this vegetable patch. Perfect if you only have onesmall gardenand has little space available for vegetables. Another big advantage of this vegetable combination is that a large part of the nutrients are covered by harvesting these vegetables (beans offer a lot of proteins, corn provides a lot of energy and pumpkins provide numerous other vitamins and nutrients). But how exactly is the Milpa bed designed? We'll explain it to you in more detail:
Choose the right place
- Find a sunny spot, as these types of plants like full sun. The area should be at least 1.50 x 2.50 meters. Also take a look at the surrounding plants or think in advance about what else you would like to plant around them. Corn grows very tall and at a certain point could provide too much shade to other plant species and thus disrupt their growth.
Prepare the soil
- Loosen the soil and improve it with compost. All three vegetable plants like humus and nutrients. A humus-rich soil also stays moist for longer.
How to put together the mixed crop of beans, corn and pumpkin
You have the choice between two systems:
- In rows: Plant the corn in the bed at a distance of 40 cm from each other. If you design several rows (for example, two rows are suitable for the area mentioned above), leave around 60 to 80 centimeters between them. This leaves enough space around each corn plant to plant three bean plants. There is still space for the pumpkin plants between the rows of corn. These require sufficient distance from each other because they take up large areas. You should allow for a full two meters here.
- Horstweise: The center is formed by three corn plants, which you combine with two bean plants. Plant them close together so that the beans can climb up the corn. You can then supplement this group with a pumpkin plant, which should be placed at a sufficiently large distance so that it can spread out in peace.
Prefer plants or not?
- You can prefer the corn instead of sowing it directly, as it can only be put outdoors later. To do this, sow each corn plant in separate containers in March (otherwise pricking out would be too difficult due to the strong rooting and you would injure the plants) and then transplant them into the garden in May.
- You can grow the pumpkin indoors from April and then plant it out together with the other plants, or you can sow it directly in the Milpa bed from May if you also plant the corn outdoors.
- DieSow beansPut them directly into the bed in May, as soon as the other vegetables also come in.
