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What goes good with what?
I'm going to have several raised beds next year and want to be able to stuff them to the gills with plants so I must know more about this!

[url=https://ceeldorado.ucdavis.edu/files/6512.htm]Here[/url] are some things to take into consideration when intercropping.

As you can see, there are several factors that play a role. Oh, [url=https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1082/is_n4_v37/ai_13234013/]here's[/url] another article I found.

Love the second article!

We have quite a large space, 45x100 ( that's a rough measurement)! There is not one plant in my garden that hasn't been paired with another! It is quite easy to do large scale. Even with a large space like mine! We always wanna get more out of our spaces reguardless of size. IMO, it would be a lot harder to maintain organic status without interplanting. That is the reason that I interplanted.

I'm not ready to tell you what goes with what.
I can tell you what I typically grow together, and what I've been trying, or what did't *seem* to work out, if you ask me "what about X?" --- but it's kind of hard to just list them up.

You could also take a look at some of the photos I've posted. You'll see what a mishmash I grow! I'm constantly experimenting.

Garden5 posted good links. I guess I'll add that it's important to group similar water and soil/nutrient requirement plants together. As the article mentioned and Marlingardener said, keeping in mind the planting and harvesting logistics, as well as their young and mature growth habits above and below ground, let you group unexpected things together.

This is gonna be rough for me....TBH, I never had to (therefor didn't) pay attention to what grew when, how fast etc. Where we were living before I had small plots of space around edges of buildings. Nothing went with anything else. Tomatoes in one spot next to the porch, beans behind the garage, herbs in a pot on the window sill, etc.
I'm also growing masses of things I've never grown before on my own (since my young days on the farm with a huge family garden, didn't pay attention then either ).
I guess I'm gonna have to do what the natives do and experiment
I haven't been able to get the second article to load on my phone yet so hopefully that has more information.

I'd go with the second article vs. the first, to tell the truth.

I take issue with the statement in the first article that corn can provide shade to lettuce.

In the world I live on, corn thrives during hot weather, peaking anywhere from June through August, but lettuce thrives during cool weather, long before corn will show its face. Lettuce is long gone in most parts of my world (the northern Hemisphere) by the time corn is tall enough to do it any good. Otherwise, the bolting lettuce can compete with the cornstalk for height and sunlight.

After this show of unawareness re. (in)compatible temps for growing, I didn't read article #1 any further; my time is constrained enough.

Article #2 recommends what most experienced gardeners on this forum recommend:

Plant those vegetables together whose cultural needs are compatible. This means that they thrive in the same temperatures, have the same water and soil drainage needs, and require the same amount of sunlight. If one gives shade to the other, so much the better! If one attracts pollinators the other needs, terrific!

This takes a lot of the guesswork out of mixing up your plantings.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

My lettuces among the squash and tomatoes are the ones that didn't bolt out on me yet and are still producing. Shade is certainly beneficial in a year like this...

I think root systems, and keep in mind the few no-nos like crucifers and maters. Deep roots with shallow roots works great. My rows are mostly tomato/squash/tomato with side done in lettuce; the crucifers went in on the side of a pepper/cuke row...

Find out what works for you. I tried the lambsquarters around the asparagus (against all recommendations about weeds around your asparagus), and everyone is doing great...

Marlin, I don't HAVE to intercrop; it just means I can grow more food in less space with less work and fewer insects or diseases, whille getting benefits like shade on my lettuce that extends the growing season. But I don't HAVE to...

HG

Living in such a small space, I have no choice but to plant several things together. I'm one to read stuff first, but then disregard some of it and experiment away.

This year I think I made a mistake planting about three kinds of squash, two kinds of cucumbers, nasturtiums (to help try to deter pests), radishes,(same reason), bell peppers, a luffa vine, some broccoli, and some herbs all in a patch that is two, maybe two and a half feet wide by about 5 feet long. Just a rough estimate... The result is...interesting.

I have stakes and chicken wire for the vines to climb. The result:

Cucumber vine is huge, probably something to do with the variety and the weather/fertilizer combo. It is sprawling out into the lawn.This can't last or they will be mowed. Smaller variety is not doing well at all,but still alive and producing a cuke.
Squash vines are also pretty big. They are climbing somewhat but mostly sprawling. The cukes and zukes seem to get along okay. Downside - The SVB moths lay eggs heavily on both...

Peas: crowded out, but producing,not as much as the peas that had more space. I planted them for their Nitrogen fixing ability.
Green Beans,about the same as the peas. I have another small plot where they get more room. Rabbits and other animals don't seem to like them as much if they have to go through other stuff to get there.
Luffa: climbing more than the other vines, but not doing well.
Broccoli: holding its own despite being crowded.
Lettuce: died out. Didn't get enough light. An A. Rocket or two may stillbe alive and not have bolted yet. The Lettuce growing in its own patch has long since bolted. I'm trying to dead-head them to preserve.
Bell peppers: shaded and crowded, but producing a small pepper or two.
Okra: Does not like to be crowded out.

Other varieties,more or less are doing okay. So far it seems a lot can grow in a very small space, and grow pretty huge. My biggest problem down the road will likely be keeping down powdery mold and SVB's. That is an issue in our garden every year, but more crowded plants may make it easier for the mold and likely the moth.

FieldofFlowers wrote:Living in such a small space, I have no choice but to plant several things together. I'm one to read stuff first, but then disregard some of it and experiment away.

This year I think I made a mistake planting about three kinds of squash, two kinds of cucumbers, nasturtiums (to help try to deter pests), radishes,(same reason), bell peppers, a luffa vine, some broccoli, and some herbs all in a patch that is two, maybe two and a half feet wide by about 5 feet long. Just a rough estimate... The result is...interesting.

I have stakes and chicken wire for the vines to climb. The result:

Cucumber vine is huge, probably something to do with the variety and the weather/fertilizer combo. It is sprawling out into the lawn.This can't last or they will be mowed. Smaller variety is not doing well at all,but still alive and producing a cuke.
Squash vines are also pretty big. They are climbing somewhat but mostly sprawling. The cukes and zukes seem to get along okay. Downside - The SVB moths lay eggs heavily on both...

Peas: crowded out, but producing,not as much as the peas that had more space. I planted them for their Nitrogen fixing ability.
Green Beans,about the same as the peas. I have another small plot where they get more room. Rabbits and other animals don't seem to like them as much if they have to go through other stuff to get there.
Luffa: climbing more than the other vines, but not doing well.
Broccoli: holding its own despite being crowded.
Lettuce: died out. Didn't get enough light. An A. Rocket or two may stillbe alive and not have bolted yet. The Lettuce growing in its own patch has long since bolted. I'm trying to dead-head them to preserve.
Bell peppers: shaded and crowded, but producing a small pepper or two.
Okra: Does not like to be crowded out.

Other varieties,more or less are doing okay. So far it seems a lot can grow in a very small space, and grow pretty huge. My biggest problem down the road will likely be keeping down powdery mold and SVB's. That is an issue in our garden every year, but more crowded plants may make it easier for the mold and likely the moth.

You bring up an interesting point about the mold/mildew. If you live in a humid area, the lowered air circulation from dense planting can give these things room to thrive. One the best precautions to take in this circumstance is to never water in the evening. Doing this has always seemed to be the cause of early diseases in my garden. Since I've been watering only early in the morning, I've found the problem to much less severe.

However, when your plants are intercropped, the bugs and diseases do have a harder time finding a large density of their favorite host plant, which kind of helps reduce the effects of them.