Mixed Vegetable Gardening This booklet introduces the idea of mixed vegetable gardening, outlining its key benefits and requirements. The original method Abundant garden by Garden Buzz was developed in Nepal and has been What is mixed adapted to UK conditions. We hope Contents that future editions of this booklet vegetable gardening? will include much more information and useful ideas. If you have tried this Mixed vegetable gardening is an example Introduction & overview 2 approach in your own garden and of a polyculture. The word means Table of plants in layers 3 want to share your wisdom / top tips growing lots of different types of plants So how does a poly-culture work? 4 together. The growing mix in a and photos please get in touch. Choosing your plants 4 Contact details are on the inside back polyculture can include vegetables, herbs, Preparing the ground 5 cover. Find out more about this and flowers and even fruit. People have used other related projects on our website: this approach all over the world for Planting 5 hundreds of years, often with great Tending the crops 6 www.permaculture.org.uk success. Examples include the English Harvesting! 9 /mixedveg Cottage Garden, Caribbean kitchen After the harvest 10 gardens or the allotments of Bangladeshi Photo above: Mixed vegetable salad by Nonelvis Further information 11 Right: Allotments in East London by LoopZilla communities in London. 2 soil - greater • Less need for watering and no light is no space • Less weeding - there and diseases pests different - the • Fewer - a lot of food of space use is • Better vegetable cropping: Some healthier. are plants mean that plants between different relationships the beneficial and other for nutrients, competition less in can result combination A well-chosen same space. together the in vegetables grown are of different number a large mixed in cropping contrast, By nutrients. soil of as the not to deplete and diseases of pests and so build-up everyrotated the year to prevent are patches the Usually, plant. of that for pests habitat attractive an and are same nutrients, for the same or similar speciesthe compete beans and peas of and so on. Plants asgrouped such brassicas, together, similar species are Usually patches. each type or rows is planted in garden, vegetable a conventional In How does it other forms of gardening? coverage evaporation. less means germinate. ground, so weedson the can't next. as to the easily one plant from spread confuse and diseases pests, can't leaves of the and scents textures shapes, colours, time. a longer over same space the in be grown typesproduced of vegetables and many can benefits differ of mixed from • Diversity of families – Genetic different from • Plants ground – Early time over • Development – above and below ground layers • Different What does it look like? find their favourite food. favourite their find to they will it harder find plants, or smelling largeno obvious of similar looking patches are there food If their plants. to find smell of sight and sense their use health. Pests vegetables to mixing for plant approach scent nutrient depletion. nutrient and of pests build-up diversity prevents crops.later growing, give to slower way plants cover niches above and below ground. or spaces occupy different plants way, climbers. and even This roots groundcover, understorey, vegetable garden has a canopy, scale,mixed the smaller on a much Similar to a woodland garden but or a forest – this is the traditional ayurvedic traditional is the – this A feast in the making! in the A feast leaf shape Mixed , colour Vegetable , texture Gardening and Table 1: Some plants that can be grown in different layers of the polyculture Layer Brassicas Legumes Allium Spinach Composite Umbellifers Cucurbite Nightshades Others (cabbage (pea (onion (daisy (carrot (squash family) family) family) family) family) family) Canopy Cabbage Broad Leek Amaranth Sunflowers Lovage Tomato Sweetcorn Cauliflower beans Broccoli Runner Kale beans Peas Climber Runner Cucumber Nasturtium beans Small squashes Understorey Pak Choi Dwarf Chives Spinach Lettuce Coriander Claytonia Kohlrabi beans Onions Chard Marigold Fennel (Miner's Chickpeas Garlic Dill lettuce) Ground Rocket fenugreek Amaranth Young Squash Buckwheat cover Mustard lettuce (late crop) (planted Landcress Lambs early) Oriental lettuce greens Root crop Radish Onion Beetroot Carrot Potato Turnip Garlic Parsnip Spring onion Plants shown in italics are good to plant along Other crops may be possible too – these are just a few examples. the edge as well, to protect the patch from pests. Feel free to experiment! Write successes on here - and please let us know. So how does a Or you can design a polyculture around one Is this companion planting? or two crops that you want a lot of, choosing polyculture work? Companion planting has been used by gardeners for other plants that support your main crop or a long while. Plants that are known to get on well at least don't set it back in its growth. The polyculture introduced in this booklet It’s this simple: together are combined in the same bed. There are some tried and tested combinations, such as onions, produces mainly leaf and root crops. You can 1. Choosing your plants carrots and lettuce, or spinach, onions and brassicas. also develop combinations around other crops 2. Preparing the ground Plants that are known not to get on are called such as tomatoes, squashes or potatoes. 3. Planting seeds antagonists and planted in different beds. Alliums (onion and garlic) and legumes (beans and peas) are Materials needed: and seedlings a well-known example. 4. Tending the crops More examples of companions and antagonists Seeds 5. Harvesting! can be found on Seedlings - grown indoors www.the-gardeners-calendar.co.uk/ in advance of planting out Starting a mixed Companion_Planting/ Compost vegetable garden companiontables.asp Fine mulch - well rotted leaf mould is In literature the “three sisters” are often cited as a If you have your own good method ideal; keeps moisture and adds fertility Planting the seedlings classic combination used in the Americas, but there of growing vegetables, don't stop it Wood ash, seaweed, rock dust - provide all at once to try mixed vegetable are differing reports about their success in the UK 3) Planting and Europe, and even differing opinions on what vital plant minerals gardening. Try it out in a small The best time to plant your polyculture in the area first and see how well it does. plants actually constitute the three sisters. Maybe Liquid manures - another way to provide this could be another experiment for the future! open is after the frost has passed, around mid- If it works well, you can increase nutrients throughout the season May for most of Britain. Greenhouse The kind of polyculture presented in this booklet is the area next year, or you can Tools for digging, planting and polycultures can be started earlier, and some different in that some antagonists can be grown in spend further time adjusting your hardy plants like onions or broad beans could the same bed, as long as there are some other plants harvesting methods and plant mixture. be pre-sown in the same patch. in between. Of course it makes sense to choose the spots of antagonists so they don't clash with each 2) Preparing the ground Starting off seedlings 1) Choosing and other unnecessarily! Start off seedlings in the house, greenhouse or Prepare the soil as you would for a normal a cold frame, from March onwards. combining your plants vegetable patch. The more fertile the soil is, There are different approaches you can take You can also design your own plant the less preparation is needed. Dig the area Some vegetables such as garlic and onion sets when developing a polyculture. You can start combination by going through the following over, unless you are working with no-dig beds can be planted in late autumn or early spring. off with a tried and tested mix of plants like questions: of course! Add compost (ideally in late All other seedlings are best planted after the the one in this booklet. Most likely you will autumn), then till the soil with a rake in frost has passed. In most of Britian this will still find that you can improve on it as your • What do you like eating? spring. On a very acidic soil you can add some be in early to mid-May. Make sure you harden understanding of the method deepens. • Are there any obvious incompatibilities? lime as well. It's beneficial to the soil to avoid them off for a few days before finally planting Alternatively, you can start a mixed vegetable • Do you have a good mixture of layers and treading on it. If the width of the beds is less them out. patch simply by planting everything you families? (See table 1 on page 3) than 1.5m the centre can be reached without If you are planting in a greenhouse or like, observe what does well together and treading on the soil. polytunnel, you can extend the growing • Do you have a good spread of early, mid- what doesn't, then refine your mixes and season further by starting earlier and season and late crops? (Table 2 on page 9) methods over time. harvesting later. 4 Mixed Vegetable Gardening www.permaculture.org.uk/mixedveg 5 Planting seedlings 4) Tending the crops Looking after the mixed In fertile and fine soil, plant strong, healthy Covering the soil vegetable garden seedlings of cabbages, beans etc. at their One week after sowing, mustard, radish, Once everything is planted, sprinkle ash, rock normal spacing. Onion sets and garlic bulbs fenugreek and onion bulbs have started to dust or sea weed powder on top as fertiliser.