Sprouts, Onions, and Carrots! Oh, my!

I put in my ”Falstaff” brussel sprouts and cherished “Copra” onions.  I planted them with my well-worn copy of “Carrots Love Tomatoes; Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening” by Louise Riotte at hand.  It goes everywhere with me, from planning my yearly gardens to harvest.  It is full of helpful information about plant companions and garden systems.

For instance, I planted onions and brussel sprouts together because all members of the cabbage family do well with aromatics, like onions.  I also interspersed alyssum with my onion starts and sowed California poppy seeds with the brussel sprouts because cabbages also benefit from plants with lots of flowers.  It looks like something got into them though (robin, rabbit, most hated squirrel???).  Hopefully, they will recover and be beautiful.

I next plan to plant carrots.  Carrots will go up with the peas, as carrots are beneficial to peas.  Carrots and onions will be planted along my rows of tomatoes.  The onions will repel carrot flies and both are compatible with tomatoes.  No onions will be planted with the peas though.  Once I harvest the peas, I plan to plant beans, and onions and beans don’t do well together.

It sounds complicated, but my plants have flourished using this system.  Ms. Riotte’s book also contains information on poisonous plants that is invaluable to the mixed gardener.  I am happy to let most perennial flowers from my former flower beds pop up in my garden, but I have taken drastic steps to eliminate all the Lily of the Valley from my salad bed.  All parts of Lily of the Valley are poisonous!  That information alone was well worth the purchase of the book.  Besides, it was such good winter reading, with so much fabulous information.  I especially found it useful when I put in my dad’s garden.  Once I figured out where the major players were going, I then looked at what could be planted along the paths in his garden.  I then filled in those blank spaces with the vegetables and herbs that would repel pests, attract beneficial bugs, and add nutrients to the soil to help his garden thrive.

Remember, gardening is a lifelong learning process.  No need to feel overwhelmed by information.  Don’t feel compelled to till the whole lot under and place an order for Astroturf because you planted onions next to the beans this year.

If you’ve already planted, don’t worry.  You can always pick up this book for some winter reading.  If you are still in the planning stages, consider getting a copy of Ms. Riotte’s book and trying a few of her combination suggestions.  I was happy that I did.