Mixed beds: examples + photos

Content

1 Benefits of technology
2 Principles of formation of mixed beds
3 Useful properties of plants
4 Vegetable combinations
5 Useful herbs
6 Combinations for a greenhouse

Make your own beautiful vegetable garden and at the same time, every piece of land can be used as efficiently as possible with the help of mixed beds. The technology involves planting several types of plants on one ridge. The proximity of vegetables in the beds can help protect plants from harmful viruses and insects. Also, combinations of some plants accelerate each other's growth. At the same time, there are incompatible crops that cannot be placed in close proximity. Given such contradictory facts, the creation of mixed beds should be approached competently, so as not to harm the plants, but to improve their growing conditions.

Benefits of technology

Mixed planting vegetables in the garden have a number of advantages compared to isolated cultivation of crops:

the area of the land plot is used as efficiently as possible;
plants feeding on excellent microelements evenly deplete the soil without competing with each other;
neighbors in the garden can improve each other's taste;
the aromas emitted by certain plants can attract or repel insects;
proper placement of plants can provide wind protection and create a favorable microclimate for growing specific crops;
mixed cultivation of vegetables allows you to abandon the use of chemical fertilizers, using only the natural forces of the earth to obtain a good harvest.

Mixed beds are therefore an easy way to improve crop yields. With the help of this technology, it is possible to wisely use the earth's resources and, without the use of additional means, attract beneficial pollinating insects, repel pests and create the necessary microclimatic conditions.

Principles of formation of mixed beds

When forming mixed beds, the following principles should be strictly observed:

in the central part of the mixed bed it is recommended to grow crops with a long ripening period;
the edges of the ridge should be used for growing low-growing, quickly ripening crops, for example, lettuce, spinach;
When combining plants, it is necessary to take into account the development of their roots. Thus, crops with strongly and underdeveloped root systems can be planted in close proximity;
When mixed growing, incompatible crops must be planted as far apart as possible.

Having decided to create mixed beds in your garden, you should follow the given principles of cultivation and carefully familiarize yourself with the properties of various crops. It is worth remembering that the technology allows you to plant flowers and vegetables at the same time in the same bed. Thus, flower plants can not only have a beneficial effect on vegetable crops, but also make the garden even more beautiful.

Useful properties of plants

It is recommended to plant crops that attract pollinators in close proximity to plants that require pollination. These include various varieties of mint, marjoram, chamomile, thyme, and lemon balm.These plants are not vegetables, but can be used for medicinal purposes or as garden decorations. Their scent attracts wasps and predatory flies, which pollinate flowering plants.

Heavy soils require constant loosening. In this case, earthworms can come to the aid of the farmer. To attract them, you can plant onions, chicory, and valerian.

Garlic helps fight aphids. Its smell repels these harmful insects. Garlic also contributes to the accumulation of sulfur in the soil.

Important! The above plants, with the exception of garlic, are compatible with absolutely all crops.

Vegetable combinations

When creating mixed beds of vegetables, you should carefully select “neighbors” who will not harm each other, but will provide mutual assistance. The properties of most crops are individual, so when creating complex plantings, each plant should be considered separately:

Tomatoes

It is recommended to grow garlic, bush beans, cabbage, carrots, beets, spinach, and parsley in close proximity to tomatoes. Herbs with a particularly pronounced aroma (thyme, lemon balm, basil) repel pests, improve the taste of tomatoes and extend their shelf life.

It is not recommended to grow cucumbers, dill, fennel and potatoes next to tomatoes.

cucumbers

Cucumbers go well in garden beds with a variety of types of beans, beans, lettuce, onions, cabbage, dill, beets, celery. Tomatoes are perhaps the only crop that should not be planted next to cucumbers.

Wonderful neighbor for cucumbers is a radish. It repels spider mites and leaf beetles. At the same time, radish improves the taste of the crop.It is also worth noting that the proximity of cucumbers to onions is mutually beneficial.

Cabbage

Cabbage is often subject to all sorts of attacks from harmful insects. So, white clover can help in the fight against caterpillars. It is sown directly under the cabbage root. White clover also repels cabbage aphids and root flies. Celery helps fight flea beetle when growing cabbage. Herbs with strong, vibrant aromas repel cabbage butterflies. Leeks will prevent cabbage cutworm caterpillars from damaging the crop. Dill has a double beneficial effect on cabbage: it repels aphids and improves the taste of the vegetable.

Potatoes, beans, lettuce, and beets can grow next to cabbage without causing harm. You should not plant tomatoes, grapes, or garlic in a mixed bed with cabbage.

Potato

Potatoes are often planted as an independent crop, however, suitable useful neighbors can also be found for them. Thus, horseradish can protect potatoes from bugs, and legumes add nitrogen to the soil, which has a beneficial effect on potato yields. Legumes also protect potatoes from the Colorado potato beetle.

Harmless neighbors for cabbage in a mixed bed are lettuces, radishes, corn, and coriander. It is not recommended to grow beets, sunflowers and tomatoes near potatoes.

Onion

The combination of carrots and onions is classic for our gardens. These two plants in the same bed repel pests; their root crops do not compete. In addition to carrots, beets, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, and lettuce are good companions for onions. It is not recommended to plant beans, broad beans, and peas in the same bed with onions.

Other vegetable crops can also be used to create mixed beds.So, for example, garlic feels good in a strawberry patch. And although garlic does not have a particular effect on the berry crop, this combination of plants allows for rational use of land area.

Mint, radishes and legumes can speed up the process of growth and ripening of zucchini. It is recommended to plant eggplants in mixed beds in combination with beans, basil or peas. The empty space between the rows of beets can be filled with green salad, which will be an excellent neighbor. Information on the compatibility of other vegetable crops can be found in the table below.

It is, of course, difficult for novice gardeners to navigate the whole variety of vegetable crops and select patterns for creating mixed beds. That is why experienced farmers offer certain schemes for planting plants on mixed ridges. Here are some of them:

Lettuce should be planted on the first, outer row of the ridge. You can plant radishes or carrots in the second row; a combination of these root crops in one row is also welcome. Onions should be planted on the third row of such a mixed bed. The fourth and fifth rows of the bed should repeat the second and first rows, respectively.
Cucumbers should be planted in the middle of the garden bed. One edge of such a mixed bed is allocated for growing beans, the other for cabbage.
It is rational to alternate carrots with onions or marjoram so that there is a distance of 30-35 cm between the rows of carrots.

You can get acquainted with some other schemes for planting vegetable plants in mixed beds by watching the video:

Useful herbs

It is generally accepted that only useful plants that are food products should be grown in the garden.However, few people know that some herbs, flowers and even weeds can be beneficial in the garden:

thyme next to onions can significantly increase its yield;
geranium, petunia and marjoram can not only decorate a bed with growing sweet peppers, but also improve crop yields;
you can plant rosemary and sage next to carrots and legumes;
different types of lettuce can improve the taste of tomatoes growing in the neighborhood;
The root system of dandelions goes deep into the soil, raising calcium to the surface of the earth. Dandelion flowers also attract pollinating insects;
marigold are able to decorate beds with any vegetable plants, protecting them from aphids.

As can be seen from the proposed list, flowers, herbs and vegetables in the same bed can complement each other, decorating the garden. And even such a weed as dandelion can be useful.

Combinations for a greenhouse

Greenhouses and greenhouses, as a rule, have small, limited areas, as a result of which farmers try to use them as efficiently as possible. However, when combining plants in closed conditions, it is worth remembering that only crops with similar microclimate requirements can be grown together. So, planting tomatoes and cucumbers in the same greenhouse is a mistake: cucumbers require high humidity, when tomatoes cannot tolerate it.

It is recommended to plant white cabbage in the same greenhouse with tomatoes. Directly at the foot of the borage plant, celery, peas, beans, and beans will feel good. In the same greenhouse with cucumbers, you can also grow eggplants and peppers, since these crops are similar in their air humidity requirements.

The vegetable garden is a platform for the embodiment of absolutely any ideas of the farmer.But as a rule, there is never enough land to grow all the desired crops. That is why many land owners resort to creating mixed beds. At the same time, proximity in the beds can be useful and even help increase productivity. Thus, the article above offers examples and photos of mixed beds, and also describes possible placement schemes for various crops. This information will certainly help beginners and experienced farmers to make their gardens even better.