In permaculture, plants are grown in a colorful mix on a bed. But behind what looks like random chaos to the untrained eye is in fact a lot of planning and a sophisticated system. When growing, it is particularly important to pay attention to which plants get along well with each other. Learn how to create a healthy mixed culture in your permaculture garden below.

Tomatoes keep cabbage whites away from the cabbage

What is a mixed culture?

Nowadays, monoculture is practiced in industrial agriculture, which means that only one type of fruit or vegetable is grown on large areas. This has the great disadvantage that this culture is extremely susceptible to diseases and pests. If even one plant is affected by something, all the others are also affected, since there are thousands of plants of the same species. Therefore, chemical (and mostly harmful) agents are used in industrial agriculture to protect the monocultures from diseases and pests.
With a mixed culture, the risk of infestation is significantly lower. On the one hand, the entire cultivation is not endangered if, for example, a potato beetle gets lost in the garden, only the potatoes. On the other hand, the Colorado potato beetle likes potatoes very much, but abhors flax. So if potatoes are planted together with flax, they are of course protected against Colorado potato beetles. And that is exactly the idea of mixed culture: combining plants in such a way that they protect each other.

General information on mixed culture

  • Strongly scented plants often keep pests away. For example, it is advisable to plant onions or dill between cucumbers, lettuce and carrots.
  • Heavy feeders should be planted in a different spot each year and never in a spot where a heavy feeder was standing the previous year. You can find out more about crop rotation here.
  • Larger plants should be planted in the middle, smaller ones at the edge.
  • Beans enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cabbages and raspberries, for example, need.

Useful combinations for the permaculture garden

protective plant planting together with
valerian Beans, peas, potatoes, cabbages
basil Cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbages
beans Cabbages, raspberries, blackberries
savory beans
dill Cucumbers, carrots, cabbages
peas berries, tomatoes
Lamb's lettuce beans, leeks
Nasturtium fruit trees
chervil salad
garlic Strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes
cabbages celery, tomatoes
leek carrot, strawberries
radish leek
marigold Potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes
sage cabbages
celery cabbages
tagetes Strawberries, cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes
tomato cabbages
vermouth Black currant, leek
vetch sunflower, berries
onions strawberries, carrots

Category:

Garden design