Melons, Pumkins in Sunflowers

[2 Green Thumbs]

I have a 5' X 50' strip I tilled in my unused pasture for sunflowers ( doves). My question is can anyone think of a reason why I cant plant my watermelons, pumkins, and cantelops in the same bed. And if it is ok should I plant a short row of each or can I alternate and do all three plants in one row the length of the bed?

[digitS']

"To successfully plan an interplanted garden you must take into account several factors for each plant . . . possible negative effects on other plants (such as the allelopathic effects of sunflowers and Jerusalem artichokes on nearby plants) . . ."

[url=https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-335/426-335.html#L4]Interplanting, Virginia Cooperative Extension (click)[/url]

Allelopathy: The inhibition of growth in one species of plants by chemicals produced by another species.

Sunflowers do kind of, mess other plants up, 2 Green Thumbs. Just guessing but I would think that pumpkins may be better able to hold their own than the melons. The melons would probably be okay several feet away but I certainly wouldn't alternate much of anything with sunflowers planted in any numbers.

Just a caution . . .

Steve

[jal_ut]

Yes, sunflowers are known to be allelopathic towards some species of plants. I don't know if they will bother squash or melons. Plant if you wish and see how they do and report.

[!potatoes!]

worth a try...I've had good luck growing cukes under j. artichokes, but in general the cukes like a little more shade than melons/squash. not sure if the cucurbit family is too affected by sunflower allelopathy.

[rainbowgardener]

Sometimes I think the allelopathy stuff is over-rated. I have a flower bed with jerusalem artichokes right in the center and a bunch of other flowers all around them. Since it's been there for years, the bed is really crowded and everything is all bunched up and mixed together. None of the flowers there seem to be inhibited by the j.a.s I do pull them out every fall and just let them come back from whatever little pieces of tuber get left behind, otherwise they would take over the bed and crowd other things out, but I'm not sure that is the same thing.

I also have a shade bed and a couple shrubs planted right under my big old black walnut tree which is also supposed to be allelopathic to other plants.

Can't hurt to try.