Mixed culture in the garden is becoming increasingly popular and not without reason. A natural-looking vegetable patch not only looks beautiful, but also gives all plants the advantage of growing healthier, stronger and more protected. Mixed vegetables are less at risk of disease or pest infestation because they protect each other. In addition, the risk of nutrient deficiency is reduced because the competition is made up of a balanced combination of heavy and weak eaters. But in order for the whole thing to work, you should of course know which plants go together and which tend to compete. We have clearly illustrated this for you in a table so that you can put together exactly the right mixed vegetable culture.
Which vegetables you can plant together
In principle, this depends on whether the plant in question is a heavy feeder, a medium feeder or a weak feeder. If you put too many heavy feeders in one place, they have to compete for the nutrients in the soil and this affects their growth. That's why low-nutritive vegetables or moderately nutritious vegetables are the better choice. You can't just differentCombine vegetables with each other, but also put spice plants and flowers in between, because it is precisely these that protect against pests and diseases. There is also so-called green manure, which is intended to supply all plants with nutrients. We introduce:
Mixed culture of vegetables - list of heavy eaters
The following vegetables grow very quickly and have a high nutrient requirement, so you should not combine them with each other, but also use low-feeding vegetables as planting partners.
- artichoke
- Aubergine
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Chili
- Cucumbers
- potatoes
- Kohl
- pumpkin
- Leek
- More
- Mangold
- Paprika
- Porree
- Rhabarber
- Saddlery
- asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Melon
- Zucchini
Since peppers and cucumbers, for example, both have high nutrient requirements, they are not well suited to each other or should at least be placed at a sufficient distance from each other so as not to disturb each other. The same applies if you use cucumbers andPlant zucchini together, although the fact that they get the same diseases and can infect each other also plays a role here.
You can safely plant heavy feeders together if their roots are at different depths. For example, deep-rooted organisms get their nutrients from deeper areas of the earth than shallow-rooted organisms, so that they do not interfere with each other. That's how it works toothe so-called Milpa bed.
Medium feeders include the following plants
These vegetable plants represent the golden mean and can in principle also be planted together with heavy feeders.
- Lamb's lettuce
- fennel
- Kohlrabi
- Mangold
- carrots
- Rote Beth
- Salat
- Spinach
- Onions
Weak eaters and the effects of herbal plants
Herbal plants are perfect as companion plants for vegetables, not only because they require few nutrients and therefore do not take anything away from the vegetable plants. Among other things, they also have the property of protecting against diseases and pest infestations when combined with the right plants. We summarize a few heavy feeders and the effects of herbal plants below:
- Broad beans
- Beans
- Peas
- Lamb's lettuce
- Garlic
- Herbs
- purslane
- radish
- Arugula
If you combine tomatoes, cucumbers or cabbage with basil, you can protect the plants from, for example, powdery mildew and even whitefly. Chervil is effective against lice if you plant it near lettuce. Aphids in particular shy away from nettles.Protect leeks in mixed culturesUse leeks to protect them from leek moths, while marigolds protect potatoes and cabbage from harmful nematodes and wireworms. The flower also improves soil quality and promotes bountiful harvests. Dill is a perfect planting partner for carrots, beets and cabbage because it not only repels pests but also improves germination.
Mixed culture for vegetables - table with suitable varieties at a glance
The following mixed culture table gives you a list of plants that do or don't go together, so that you know exactly which ones are good neighbors and which are bad neighbors for the most common varieties. The first and second columns of the table tell you which plants get along, while the third column lists varieties that are not a good idea.
Also interesting:Planting marigold flowers in the vegetable patch: advantages & tips
Which plants go together - table with suitable and unsuitable varieties
If youa mixed culture with potatoesIf you want to combine it with vegetables, beans, cabbage, kohlrabi and corn, for example, are a wonderful idea. You can also plant marigolds and caraway seeds between the plants. However, the tubers do not get along with pumpkins, tomatoes and celery.
Here you will finda few ideas for the arrangement in the raised bed.
