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gixxerific
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upright crops planted in companion with sprawling crops.

What do you think, I have seen some writing lately about this working well. For instance I was thinking about planting pumpkins which will sprawl and take up a lot of room and than I was also thinking about planting something like caged tomatoes in the sprawl zone but far enough away from the root zone to still be productive.

Any thoughts on this.

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applestar
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OK, I can spot one or two possible problems (I'm good at that :roll: :wink:)

One is that you're going to need constant access to your tomato plants -- for tending, harvesting, etc. throughout the season and into frost. Pumpkins, if planted early, will actually fruit and mature, and be ready to be picked before then.

The other is that pumpkins are supposed to be good for planting around corn because the prickly vines and stems will keep away the sensitive-pawed raccoons. You might not find it so comfortable tip-toeing among the vines either.

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Lupinus
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There's a native american style of planting called "the three sisters"

In short you plant together pumpkin/hard winter squash, corn, and beans all together.

The idea is that the beans act as a nitrogen fixer and grow up the corn stalks, which act as a trellis for the beans. The pumpkins large leaves and vines act as a mulch for the other two.

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gixxerific
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I know about the three sisters and there meaning.


I was just using pumpkin and tomatoes as examples of upright and sprawlers.

Back to the basic idea, does anyone do this. With any variety, I'm just asking because with some plants you know they take up room on the ground but not actual root space. Just because there vines may ramble into the next county I'm thinking you could still plant more upright varieties within the ramble. My thoughts also include the shading properties of the rambler helping mr. upright with water retention due to a natural green living mulch.

you following me?

I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to put everything in my smaller garden, so consolidation is the key. And as long as the sprawl is still getting light I don't see a problem with something growing amongst it, that is basically what you all do with permaculture. Everything growing together in a harmonious environment.

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applestar
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Oh! I thought you meant toms and pumpkins specifically. I agree the idea of growing tall and sprawling/short together as a concept is a good one: Best use of available space, living mulch and all that. Also keep in mind depth and width of root mass and growth rate and harvest time. The trick is in working out a good combo.

With pumpkins, one scenario is to plant things that would be done and gone as the pumpkin vines grow: e.g. peas/radishes/lettuce/spinach closest, bush beans next closest, etc.

I'm in the same boat re: gardening space. Keep posting ideas -- I could use a few. :D

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soil
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I like to underplant upright crops with lettuce in the cool season. for example this year I did lettuce and broccoli. worked beautiful.

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The big problem is with shading of the sprawling plant. The most detailed/direct evidence we have of intensive farming of corn, beans and squash by Native Americans (Mandan Tribe) has the corn and beans planted together while the squash were planted off by themselves in their own sections of the fields, This would be similar to lining the north side of a garden with tall plants and putting the sprawling plants in front of them (to the South).


I grow garlic in my strawberry beds, but the garlic is not leafy/shading and gets harvested early.

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gixxerific
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I was really thinking about beans in the midst of the pumpkin sprawl. But I'm thinking about anything don't know why I said tomatoes earlier.



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