An infographic by the team at CouponAudit

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Part of the relaunch (yes, part. I have many other things in mind for the future.) of permablogger will be custom graphics I’ll try to create for each post.

Today I started Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop for the first time and fiddled with them for a while. What came out actually surprised me at the end.

I think it looks pretty slick! I decided to create these kinds of badges for all my past (and future) posts.

Anyway, I updated my second companion planting post with it. Head on there if you’re interested how it looks like.

If you like it, please share the post with your friends and anyone that would find it useful.

Or, if you’re on Pinterest, you can just repin this.

Thanks and take care.

What do you think about my first graphic? Do you like it? Say it in the comments!

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Photo by info_grrl

I was contacted by Lynn Fang, who asked me to post a short story about it on my blog. Without further ado, here it is.

Open Source Permaculture is a crowdfunding campaign looking to create a Q&A website and wiki as well as an Urban Permaculture Guide eBook. Want to grow your own permaculture backyard garden? With Open Source Permaculture, you could have all the resources you need to make that a reality.

Open Source Permaculture intends to become the most comprehensive multimedia resource of free, quality materials for Permaculture education. It would empower people all over the world to easily learn permaculture skills on their own, opening the world to a whole new way of learning online. Future projects include a free online video archive of original Permaculture lectures, short DIY videos and entire Permaculture Design Courses.

They’ve only got 7 days left in the campaign, so if you could make a small donation, even just $1, that would be so appreciated.

Sophia Novack is the force behind Open Source Permaculture. She is a self-described permaculture geek and documentary film student who runs the Permaculture Media Blog, the world’s largest online resource of free Permaculture educational materials and global Permaculture course directory.

Personally I think this is a wonderful project! I’m all about free information. I really hope they meet their goal of raising $15,000. If you can help with that, make sure to go to Open Source Permaculture and contribute what you can. It’s for a great cause!

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They’re very different. But they’re inseparable. They love each other’s company. As a matter of fact, they absolutely hate being alone. They go everywhere together. Everywhere… They do everything together. Yes, everything…

OK, before we go too far off course (after all, this is a permaculture blog), let’s get to business.

Companion planting is older than you think

Companion planting is nothing new. In fact, our grandmothers knew a thing or two about companion planting. They got their knowledge from … yes, their mothers and grandmothers. And their grandmothers learned from their mothers. And so on.

It goes back a long way. Evidence was found suggesting that the Romans used companion planting to grow their crops. And that’s what, 2000 years ago?

Here’s another example. Probably the most famous companion planting guild – the three sisters were pioneered by Native Americans. That’s even before Romans.

Because this is arguably the oldest companion planting guild, it’s only fair that I cover it on my blog. Below you’ll find everything you know to make your garden look like those ancient Native American’s gardens.

Who are the three sisters

The three sisters are maize (commonly known as corn), climbing beans and squash.

Why are these three chosen to grown together? Well, as we know from the companion planting post, plants are grown together because they mutually benefit one another. The benefits in this case are:

• Corn provides the support for the climbing beans.
• The beans fix nitrogen from the air to the soil, providing the nutrients for the heavy feeders corn and squash.
• Squash acts as a living mulch. It prevents sunlight to dry out the soil, retains moisture, limits the amount of weed growth and prickly vine hairs even discourage predators from approaching the corn and beans.

So, it’s a win-win-win situation.

Step by step instructions for growing the three sisters

These are just general guidelines. Make sure to adjust them to your situation.

1. Prepare a mound, about 30cm high and about 60cm across.



If your site is dry, it’s better to plant in beds with soil raised around the edges to retain as much water as possible.

2. In late May, sow 5-6 corn seeds around the centre.



3. About 2 weeks later (when the corn plants are 15cm high) sow 6-8 climbing bean seeds on the edge of the flattened top of the mound.
4. At the same time sow 6-8 squash seeds round the base of the mound.



5. In about a week thin out the weaker plants:
• leave the strongest 2 or 3 corn plants,
• leave at the most 2 bean plants per 1 corn plant,
• leave 2 squash plants per mound.



6. As your bed matures, train the beans to wrap around the corn plants and the squash vines to go up on the mound and cover it.

Enjoy your bountiful harvest

Well, there you have it. Simple, right? Just one more thing. Make sure you enjoy what you get from the three sisters at the end of the season.

Not only do the three sisters grow well together, they also complement each other on the plate.

Unprocessed corn is a nearly ideal cornerstone food. I say nearly, because it does lack some nutrients: two essential amino acids (Lysine and Tryptophan), riboflavin and niacin. Guess what, these are provided by beans. The squash fruit takes care of vitamin A (and carbohydrates), while the seeds provide the fat. Together, they make for a balanced diet.

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Bear in mind that the following is not the guarantee for success. Think of it as a basis for experimentation. Experimentation is really the essence of successful gardening. You have to learn what works and what doesn’t on your own.

What works for me, might not work for you. However, it’s the ideas, the principles, that are universal. OK, with that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff.

The three types of neighbours

Every time you plant a vegetable bed, there are going to be crops that grow next to other crops. Neighbours. Some prefer to divide their beds into equal, square spaces and grow one crop in each of them. Here’s lettuce, next to it are tomatoes, then there are carrots, followed by cabbage and so on.

In other words, they transform their patch of land into a parking lot (with wooden or stone paths between parking spaces) with different coloured cars parked there. And they park they cars into the same spaces every time.

Not good, right? Well, it may be good as far as cars are concerned, but if you’re looking to get as much as possible from your garden, it’s certainly not the best you can do.

Plants generally have one of three opinions of their neighbours. They either:

1. really like them,
2. really hate them, or
3. don’t care about them.

The trick with companion planting is to choose the best possible neighbours for your crops. A good neighbour, for example, enhances the growth and quality of nearby crops or provides maximum ground cover or improves the soil. Or any combination of the three.

General guidelines

With some generalization, best companions often include plants with contrasting properties. Some possible combinations are:

• Fast-growing and slow-growing

Example: Cabbage, like all brassicas, is a chunky plant. But it starts small and takes time to grow chunky. It’s common sense to grow some speedy crops, like radish or lettuce or spinach between them. By the time the cabbage grows big, they will be long … well, eaten.

• Tall and short

Example: Corn and squash make for great companions. Corn goes out of squash way by growing upwards, while squash covers the ground, preventing it to dry too quickly. Add in some beans, and you get The three sisters, which brings us to…

• Heavy feeders and soil improvers

Example: Corn and squash are heavy eaters. They need a lot of nutrients. Legumes (such as beans) are known as soil improvers, because they work in conjunction with special nitrogen fixing bacteria, called Rhizobium. The Rhizobia live in nodules in the plant’s roots. They improve the soil not only for the host, but also for the neighbouring plants.

• Heavy feeders and light feeders

Example: Plants don’t like to fight for their food. You can keep them in check by planting heavy feeders (like brassica, corn, tomatoes, squash, …) together with light feeders. Light feeders are the root crops: carrots, radishes, beets, …

• Sun-loving and shade-loving

Example: Lettuce doesn’t mind a little protection from the sun, making it a great companion to taller plants, like beans and corn.

• Aromatic and non-aromatic

Example: Basil and tomato make for a great salad. Well, it turns out they are also great garden companions. Not only does basil add taste to the salad, it improves the taste of tomato if you grow them together.

• Mutual beneficiaries

Example: Onions and carrots are a must-have combination. It’s said that each repels the other’s worst pest. Carrots repel onion fly and onions take care of carrot fly. Pretty good, huh?

• Deep-rooted and shallow-rooted

Other beneficial plants

There are other plants that you can (and should!) use in your garden. Although they don’t produce and crop for harvest, their other properties make up for it.

• Pest repellents

Example: The best example are marigolds. They have a certain smell, distinctive even to our noses. Many don’t like it. But here’s the thing. Marigolds excrete thiophene, which repels nematodes. They have a number of other attributes, while also adding flowers to your garden. Use marigolds in abundance!

• Trap crops

Example: Basil and marigolds planted near garlic prevent Thrips from attacking it. Similarly, Chervil is used to repel slugs from pretty much anything.

• Insect attractors

Example: Any flowers or herbs are desirable in the vegetable garden. Not only they add beauty to it, but their nectar-rich flowers also bring pollinators, other beneficial insects and birds, leaving no room for unwanted insects.

Don’t forget to experiment

OK, in this post I’ve given you a whole bunch of possible combinations. Of course you’re not going to use them all. Just remember the general guidelines and experiment, experiment, experiment. Whenever you forget the general guidelines, you can always come back to this post and refresh your memory.

For your convenience I’m preparing a useful spreadsheet of best gardening companions that you can take with you when planting your vegetable bed. If you don’t want to miss it, click here to subscribe to Permablogger.

Do you think I missed something? Would you like me to expand on something? Say it in the comments!

Photo by Roger Smith

The two are somewhat related to each other, although there are important differences.

The differences between companion planting and permaculture guilds

I’ve said a thing or two about this in the permaculture guilds post, but it won’t hurt if I elaborate a bit more.

Groups of plants that are often seen growing together in nature are called guilds. Following nature’s example – which is essentially what permaculture is all about – permaculture guilds are groups of plants that are purposely grown together by a (permaculture) gardener. They are chosen wisely, so as to benefit her as much as possible.

This technique is primarily used in permaculture, hence it’s name – permaculture guilds. On the other hand, companion planting is not used exclusively in permaculture. Actually it’s often used in traditional gardening.

The plants that are usually used in companion planting are not seen in nature because … well they don’t grow there. They are mostly annual vegetables, the ones that your grandma used to grow. In her time there weren’t any supermarkets so if they wanted to eat vegetables, they had to plant them. The idea is that certain plants can benefit others when they are grown together.

The benefit can be many things: improved flavour, pest control, higher yield etc.

Why companion planting is better than monoculture

Just for kicks, let’s draw some comparisons between modern industrial agriculture and companion planting. I’ll let you decide which you like best.

Number of crops

Industrial agriculture: One

Thousands and thousands of acres of corn. You’ve seen it, I’ve seen it, everybody’s seen it. If it’s not corn, it’s wheat. If it’s not wheat it’s … whatever. As long as it’s the biggest, baddest monoculture field, it’s OK.

Companion planting: As many as necessary

There’s no fixed number here. It’s definitely more than one. Most common is 2-5.

Weed control

Industrial agriculture: Herbicides

Sure, nobody wants to have grasses in their wheat. When you have thousands of acres of it, it’s probably the easiest to drive around in your big-ass tractor and spray herbicides.

Companion planting: Mulch

Whether it’s living mulch or ordinary mulch (straw, bark, …), it’s the way to go.

Pest control

Industrial agriculture: Insecticides and fungicides

Same as above. Because you have such vast areas of a single crop, it’s very susceptible to pests and diseases. The solution: synthetic pesticides.

Companion planting: Trap crops

Some crops are planted to attract pests and distract them from the main crop. A well-know example of this is Tagetes.

Fertilization

Industrial agriculture: Synthetic fertilizers

Some old-school farmers may use good old manure for this. But if you want the real deal, you’ll definitely go for the synthetic mineral fertilizers. They’re so much easier to apply.

Companion planting: Nitrogen fixation

There are plants, mainly from the Legume family, that take the nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it in the soil. This process is known as nitrogen fixation. It makes sense to plant them next to the “hungry” plants, like corn.

Irrigation

Industrial agriculture: High

If you’re going for the highest possible yield, you’re going to have to water heavily. Water usage is even higher when growing certain crops in unsuitable regions (e.g. rice on arid land).

Companion planting: Low to none

Since we’re using mulch, the evaporation is much lower. The soil stays damp a lot longer, resulting possibly in no watering. Of course if there’s extreme drought, there’s no way around it.

Security

Industrial agriculture: Low

If a disease or weather conditions reduce or destroy a crop’s yield that’s it. There’s no safety net. It’s the only crop you have.

Companion planting: High

Even if one of the crops for some reason or the other performs poorly, there are others that pick up the slack.

Biodiversity

Industrial agriculture: None

Remember, the monoculture fields are a dead land. There’s no life in them. The crops grow only because of synthetic fertilizers. There’s no worms in the ground, even birds don’t come to feast on the freshly ploughed fields. That’s because after a few years there isn’t anything to feast on.

Companion planting: High

If you took a closer look at a mixed bed, you’d find all sorts of critters, worms, beetles, ladybirds and what-have-you. It’s these symbiotic relationships that can greatly contribute to higher yields and healthier plants.

What about you

Okay as this post is already getting kind of long, I’m going to call it a night here. Oh, there’s one more thing.

If you’ve managed to read all the way to here and if you liked it, why not share this post with others using the buttons below. It only takes a second!

Do you have anything to add? Share your tips in the comments!

But that’s not the end of companion planting. In the next post about companion planting I take an empty bed and plant it with companion planting technique called three sisters. Stay tuned! Click here to subscribe to Permablogger and get all the future updates delivered to you.

If it makes it any better, I at least have a good reason. The reason is I had to prepare my BSc thesis and study for my final diploma exam (I studied applied mathematics).

Anyway, that’s taken care of and I’m ready to go back to blogging. Better that ever! I have some exciting things planned so stay tuned!

Probably the best known permaculture guild: The Forest Garden

OK, so far we’ve learned different permaculture design principles (SADIMET, OBREDIMET, CEAP) and specific tools that are often utilized when designing a garden (SWOC, PASTE). As an example, we explored all the nuts and bolts of designing a mandala garden. Finally we found out how to actually transform your site into a no-dig garden.

Now it’s time to learn how to plant your no-dig garden, the permaculture way.

What is a permaculture guild?

A permaculture guild is a carefully assembled selection of plants (and animals), typically gathered around a central plant.

If you don’t like to be restricted, you can choose a central selection of plants, say, fruit trees in a mandala garden.

The supportive plants are selected to enhance the self-sufficiency of the central plant by reducing the work needed to manage it and/or improving its yield.

Why choose to grow plants in guilds?

Each plant needs at least 4 things: Nutrients (mainly Nitrogen), Mulch, Pollination, Protection (from pests and competition). It’s only natural that each plant we choose should not only serve as food, but also provide a surplus of at least one service to the guild. Some, like comfrey, provide many.

The main benefits of permaculture guilds

Here are some of the roles that different plants and animals take in a permaculture guilds.

1. Easy picking

Plants that love to grow together often complement in taste, too. Dill, grown under apple trees provides a habitat for predatory wasps and also tastes great with apples.

Marigolds, grown with cucumbers deter nematodes. They also make for a nice salad together.

2. Source of nutrients

Nitrogen fixing plants (clover, lucerne, lupinus and other legumes) transform nitrogen from the atmosphere into ammonia, the source of nitrogen that is readily available for other plants to use. Nitrogen is the main nutrient that plants use.

Animals help to fertilize the soil as well. A chicken tractor is one example.

3. Act as mulch

Many plants that grow low to the ground can be used as a living mulch. They retain moisture in the soil, prevent soil erosion, deter weeds and generally have all kinds of benefits. Excellent examples are clover (which also fixes nitrogen and thus can be used as a green manure), spinach, strawberries, …

Additionally, every plant that sheds its’ leaves in the autumn also contributes to the mulch.

4. Provide shelter from extreme weather conditions

Nitrogen fixing trees, such as tagasaste or acacia, interplanted with fruit trees, not only provide the nutrients and mulch, but also reduce frost dangers and provide shade for sensitive trees (like citrus)

Strong trees, like poplar, also provide shelter from damaging winds.

5. Control pests

Introducing and encouraging helpful animals greatly reduces our work and provides many benefits in the long run.

Ducks are ferocious snail and slug eaters. As the great Bill Mollison put it: “You don’t have a slug excess, you have a duck deficiency.”

Beneficial insects can be encouraged by planting a few insect hosting plants: buddleia, salvia, … This will also increase the numbers of insect eating birds. Remember, some insects are voracious predators in their larvae stage.

As already mentioned, marigolds deter nematodes that often damage tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants.

Other plants can be used for trap cropping. Geraniums are used in rose gardens, because they are toxic for Japanese Beetles, a costly pest that feeds on nearly 300 plant species.

6. Enhance flavor

Some plants (e.g. herbs) actually improve the taste of those that grow around them.

7. Serve as a safety net

By growing many different plants in the same space, we guarantee ourselves at least some yield, even if some of them don’t live up to their potential.

Are guilds the same as companion planting?

No. Guilds can also be observed in nature. An example is the White Oak guild. Companion planting, as the name suggests, is a type of planting (actually a form of polyculture), used in gardening and agriculture. Guilds can be thought of as an extension of companion planting.

Probably the best known companion planting technique is The Three Sisters. It consists of corn, which provides the support for climbing beans, which fix the nitrogen for the squash, which in turn serves as a mulch. This type of companion planting was pioneered by Native Americans.

Your experiences

Have you ever used companion planting techniques? Are you familiar with permaculture guilds? Tell us in the comments below.

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Photo by Wikipedia

Stop sitting. Start standing. I did a while back.

Some estimate that half of the food we produce goes to waste. It comes to no surprise that “we throw away, on average, twice as much water per year in the form of uneaten food as we use for washing and drinking.”

What if every book was digital? How would this transform our environment?

Do you recycle?

Fun fact: “Young adults age 20 to 32 who were on the high end of religious involvement were 50% more likely to be obese by the time they hit middle age compared with those in the “none” category.”

Check out these enormous spider webs.

If you’re panicking about nuclear power (like the rest of the world), watch this video:

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Photo by John Knox

Variations

No-dig gardening has many different names. There’s sheet composting, layer gardening, sheet mulching, even lasagna gardening. No matter how it’s called, the fundamentals are the same. Rather than tilling the soil and growing our food in the ground, we do it on it. It may sound funny at first, but read to the end of this post and you’ll see why it’s better to do it this way.

The model and inspiration for no dig gardening is the amazing, rich and fruitful forest floor.

The steps

1. Analyze the site

First and foremost you have to get a thorough understanding of the site of your new garden. Is it sunny or shady? Is it windy? What is the soil texture (clay, sand, …)? There are many things you should consider. Head on to my SADIMET post for a more complete info.

2. Create a base organic layer (optional)

Remember, we’re building a garden on top of grass. Well, most commonly it’s on top of grass. But actually it doesn’t matter what’s growing there. What’s great about this method is that the ground can be covered with weeds and grass and you don’t have to do any weeding at all.

You can even try to do it on top of dry clay for example. In this case you should cover the area with about 10-15cm of organic material. If you have access to it, horse manure works best for this. Otherwise, you can use homemade compost, leaves, any unfinished compost, fresh kitchen scraps, … Pretty much anything organic.

If you’re building your garden on top of grass, this layer is not utterly necessary. But you can still create it, as it will speed things up.

3. Cover the area with a weed barrier

The best weed barrier in our case is cardboard. Just cover the area with pieces of cardboard and make sure they overlap. Don’t leave any empty spaces in-between to prevent the grass and weeds from surfacing.

The idea here is to cut out the light to weeds. They will start to decay, providing additional organic matter for our crops. The cardboard will also slowly decompose. If you created an organic layer underneath, the manure will help the cardboard and weeds to decompose faster.

Tip: Start laying out the cardboard in the centre.

Alternatively, you can use newspaper instead of cardboard. Use 5 to 20 sheets of it, so that it’s thick enough. Don’t be shy.

Generally, the weed barrier should be about 0,5cm thick.

Soak the cardboard with water or leave the rain to do it for you.

4. Define the borders (optional)

Place some rocks and stones on the edges of the patch. They will serve as a border. Cut into the lawn outside of the border with a sharp spade to sever any runners.

5. Add a ‘green’ layer

Like in step two, add about 5cm of manure or any other nitrogen rich material. Grass clippings are fine, as well as food scraps, unfinished compost, … For best results, you should also add some soil to the mix.

6. Add a ‘brown’ layer

A green layer is always followed by a brown layer. This prevents the system from becoming anaerobic (i.e. smelly) and too rich in nitrogen. Some great sources are straw, leaves, bark, wood chips, even shredded paper (or cardboard) might work. If you can, by all means go for straw or leaves.

Make the brown layer about 10cm thick.

7. Alternate green and brown layers

Keep adding green and brown layers until you reach the desired height. I recommend at least 30-40cm.

Note: In the first 6 months your no-dig garden will settle down to about half it’s initial height. Take that into consideration when building it. If you want a 25cm high bed, you should build it to at least 40cm and preferably to about 50cm.

8. Water everything

Water everything thoroughly to start the decomposing process. A better idea is to wait for the rain.

9. Add a mulch to the top

Remember what the forest floor is like? It’s covered with all sorts of leaves, branches, bark, decaying wood. That’s what we’re going for.

Mulch can be any of the brown materials: straw, leaves, bark, … Make it a good 15cm thick.

As the top layer decomposes, you have to keep adding to it. Just like the leaves cover the forest floor in the autumn, you should cover your garden with mulch of your choice.

If you like, you can use living mulch instead.

Use your imagination

Honestly, you can use whatever suitable materials you have at hand for the layers. Just don’t forget for the weed barrier at the bottom and mulch on the top. Between them alternate the green (nitrogen rich) and brown (carbon rich) materials. Finish with the brown layer, which will serve as a mulch.

Nature doesn’t use a tape measure. You shouldn’t either. Use what you have at hand.

When is the best time to make a no-dig garden?

The best time to make a no-dig garden is in the autumn. Over the winter, the bed matures and is ready for planting in the spring.

You can, however, create a no-dig garden anytime. If you’re eager to start planting immediately, just put some soil/compost mix around your seedlings when you plant them. This will give them a head start and allow the surroundings to decompose enough until the roots reach them. You can see an example of planting the seedlings in a no-dig garden on the picture on the left.

Your thoughts

What do you think about no-dig gardening? Do you like it? Are you going to try it? Speak your mind in the comments below.

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Photos by arpentnourricier, yugen