Tell us what vegetables you want to plant.

Annie

My growing season is short here in Denmark--sometimes I'm lucky and can get a few tomatoes and peppers, but it's hit and miss. Still, I'll plant a few of each of those and cross my fingers.

I will also go with some sure bets like potatoes, onions, garlic, and leeks. I haven't been so lucky with lettuce before, but will try again now that we've put in raised beds. I am also preparing an asparagus bed and a bed for August planting of strawberry plants.

I'd like something to give some height, so maybe peas or beans.

That's as far as I've come with the ideas, but would welcome others. We are still quite chilly at night right now, so I have another week or 2 to get my plans together :)

I have a bed of onions/leeks. It's all alliums and they flower so pretty. Right not I have a raised bed with 4 types of onions in each corner. In the center is a tomato cage for growing some japanese morning glories on.

Why not look into some season extenders for yourself. Row covers so that you could plant tomato, pepper and eggplant out early. You can easily make cheap hoops, and then even clip on plastic or old sheets to keep in the heat. Maybe that would be the best way to get a bigger variety for yourself. Also reasearch "Short Season" types of seeds. Look at some seed companies that specialize in seeds for northern gardens of the US and Canada.

You may be feeling limited, but there are so many people who garden in zone 6 (are you in zone 6?) and have success with some vegetables.

GGG

Frances--Hi there Denmark!!

I'm in zone 5 and we have a good showing for herbs, cone flowers, Black-eyed Susans, horseradish, rhubarb, bee balm, and mums. These are all perennials and spread well. Beans and snow peas are great veggies too.

Good luck and keep us posted as to what works!!

georgeanne

Old habits die hard, I guess. I really want to try combining things, but when I look at the boxes, all I can think of is doing them the same old ways as always (plot of onions, plot of potatoes, etc).

We just got our raised beds finished. I have 4 long ones (about 10'x 3') and 8 small squares (about 3'x 3'). I'm putting 2 rows of potatoes in one long one and yellow onions in one square and red onions in another square. One square is being prepped for strawberries, which will be planted in August.

Other veggies planned: peas on a piece of fencing, corn (just for kicks--sometimes I get something, often not), tomatoes, chili peppers, and some leaf lettuce. Also some herbs (mostly parsley and chives--hoping I can find some cilantro seeds here, but it's doubtful).

Other undecideds: 1-2 cucumber plants (these are also iffy here), a bean of some sort, and garlic. Maybe a squash or 2 and/or eggplant (never tried the latter).

I know I can use lettuce to border some of the veggies and/between the corn. I know marigolds can be used around some of the beds as well, but otherwise I'm kind of lost. Any suggestions?!

I plant blue flax with potatoes (here in Texas they're early spring crops).
I think there was some beneficial reason I did it initially (now forgotten), but really it's worth doing just to be pretty.

Onions and lettuce look nice together.

Have you tried elephant garlic? It's quite ornamental and tastes good.

And of course Chamomile is great planted with onions and garlic and leeks.

(I've heard that cucumbers and potatoes don't do well together, so maybe you shouldn't plant those next to each other.)

Short season crops are your best bet. Here are some you might try:

Cabbage
Broccoli
Kale
Cauliflower
English Peas
Snow peas
Bush beans
Spinache
Lettuces
Asparagus
Carrots
Raddishes
Calendulas (Pot Marigolds)
Basils (if temps are above 50 degrees at night)
Larkspurs
Allysums
Strawflowers
Poppies
Daisies
Sweet Peas

Strawberries do well interplanted with Spinach & Bush beans. Chamomile nearby is beneficial to Strawberries and cabbages.
Dill and with Cabbages.
Calendulas with tomatoes
Marigolds with everything.
Carrots love Tomatoes

~ SweetAnnie4u

I think there are 2 ways to go with this: The hard way and the easy way. The hard way is to sit down over the winter and plan your garden to the Nth degree, right down to the exact count of how many of each type of flower and vegetable you will need. Lay them out, taking into account colors, patterns, height, light requirements, etc. etc. This technique is exemplified in the book "The Art of the Kitchen Garden" by the Gertleys.

The easy way (which is the way I choose, since I'm fundamentally lazy!) is to always have a good variety of seeds and transplants on-hand and always be on the lookout for places to fit them in. I'll give you 2 examples: One day earlier this spring, I set out to plant spinach and scallions. I found a suitable spot in which to sow a 3' x 3' block of spinach, but couldn't make up my mind where to put the scallions (onion sets, that would be harvested early as green onions). Then it hit me - why not plant them together, right in the same row? The spinach seeds were planted very close together, and every 6 inches or so, I pushed in an onion set. We thinned out the spinach in the weeks that followed, using the thinnings as baby spinach, and we are eating the scallions which grow easily right up through the remaining spinach plants. It looks nice too.

Another example: When looking for a place to put some young tah-tsai seedlings, I noticed that there was space in between garlic plants. Tah-tsai grows very quickly, and will be long gone by the time the garlic is ready to harvest. Garlic has much deeper roots, so they shouldn't compete for nutrients. In the meantime, the tah-tsai will shade the soil a bit to prevent it from drying out.

Neither of these two examples feature flowers, which were included in your original question, but the general idea is the same. Look for opportunities for companion planting as they arise. The result may not have the formal look that a thoroughly planned garden does, but it will be beautiful and productive nonetheless.

-Diggity

Diggity how do you know what will work together. I'm just SLIGHTLY anal and was wondering if there is an easy chart to read that says what will grow with what. I have trouble deciding what to grow together in a container - Tomato + basil YES add a cucumber - don't know - what goes with Peppers? I love the idea of a productive garden [must be from my dad] but I really like everything to look pretty too - I don't know how you all manage to do that - Grows well & Looks nice HHMMM

I found a few charts that tell which plants should and shouldn't be planted together, fernsk. You might take a look here http://www.gardenguides.com/TipsandTechniques/vcomp.htm

There is also a chart there for herbs.

I didn't know I'd be able to have a garden during the winter and it didn't become a reality until after Easter. The weather has slowed down the process a lot--either frozen ground or tons of rain, but now I have my boxes in and all are planted. The chart helps a lot, but I don't know enough about the plants to make smart decisions. For example, I would have to know which plants grow fast and are done before others really start to grow. I also have a problem with the spacing guidelines for seeds/plants. It seems like I'll have a ton of empty space right now, but that's because I really don't have a sense of how much each will grow. I've already cut corners lots in this area because I bought way too much and couldn't bear to throw things away!

For now, I have focused mostly on veggies. Maybe with some experience I'll become more creative. I've planted potatoes, red & yellow onions, strawberries, corn, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, radishes, squash & zuchini, some herbs, artichokes, cucs, asparages, tomatoes and some peppers. The only flowers I have are nasturtiums. I have seeds for marigolds but think that I might be pushing it if I try wedging them in between the plants.

I imagine next year I'll try to do a bit more planning, but by then will also know more about what to expect.

I know what you're getting at, fernsk, and it's not always easy. In fact, it's never easy! Charts can help, but I think it really just comes down to knowing the growth characteristics of each plant and looking for creative opportunities. Another example - mature broccoli plants create a "canopy" of leaves under which you can plant lettuce (which might otherwise get bitter and bolt early in the harsh summer sun) or other veggies or flowers which could benefit from a little shade.

-Diggity

Spacing requirements are based upon how tall the plant will grow in optimum conditions and its girth. They are also based upon the width and depth of the root system below ground. Companion plants will not compete for the available nutrients & water, nor will they compete for light requirements.
Companion plants may also have different needs for food. An example is Tomatoes and basil. Tomatoes are heavy feeders and grow deep roots. Basil has a shallow root system so it will not compete for the available nutrients or water. Tomatoes are tall and bushy. Basil is small and enjoys a bit of shade. Both benefit from one another. Tomatoes benefit from aromatic herbs that deter insects and rodents.
Seed packets gives average spacing requirements for mature plants, i.e., tomatoes & corn need at least 3 ft. between rows; carrots, lettuce, radishes, beets, etc., thin by eating young plants; Beans - 3-4 inches between plants; strawberry plants - 12 inches apart.

The spacing requirements are generally given on the seed packages or plant label.

Here are a few good companions:

# Lettuce and carrots love to grow by tomatoes, and I ALWAYS make room for marigolds.
# Cucumbers enjoy a little shade on the feet. They do well growing with pole beans, and cukes LOVE sunflowers.
# Asparagus and tomatoes do well together and both benefit from a little bit of Chamomile.
# Strawberries and bush beans and spinach grow very well together.
# Tomatoes and Basil are naturals together.
# Dill and Cabbages.
# Petunias with cabbage or other cole crops.
# Oregano or Rosemary are good near most plants.
# Summer Savory with beans.

Summertime and the mosquitos are bitin' Â(sing to melody of Summertime.)

I'm wandering through forums harvesting ideas for my own garden and procrastinating on getting out there to do some early morning weeding and watering. I'm not sure whether what I do is potager or not, but I've always blended flowers, herbs, and edibles. It's a product of the garden I grew up with in Australia, where a very small lot included surprises around every corner. A camilia beside a cumquat, a small sinewy eucalyptus with the peeling strips of bark revealing the colors of sunrise and beside it a shrub citrus with two fruits grafted and glowing, a shady, narrow path along the side of the house crowded with fuschia, lavender beside rhubarb, a rosemary bush as tall as I was and behind it on the fence a passion fruit vine Â

Now I live in zone 5, so the plants have changed, but not the dream  beauty and usefulness side by side.

Anyway, thought I might as well add some ideas. If not for this season, then for next.

Consider tulips as a center piece or accent. Some naturalize (Darwins, Emperors), many don't, but they are gorgeous and reliable performers in the cool garden. Mine come up through strawberries  Haven't tried it yet but I bet lettuce and other leaf vegies would do well around them and would hide the dying foliage.

Another companion I've liked is good old white geraniums (annual pelargoniums). Supposed to be beneficial for beans, which is how I companion them at present.

Another fun addition might be some of the scented geraniums (again, pelargoniums) Â great way to add the scent of roses where roses may not do.

Also, I've discovered that I have a "thing" for pansies. Fragrance, rich color, and don't mind dustings of snow and a dip below freezing. They are also one of the edible flowers.

Wellspring

I would cram lots of pansies inbetween all of your vegetable plantings. Let them fill up the spaces and peek out from under the bigger plants. They don't mind the cold so much and in you part of the world should flower all summer long.

They come in so many colors and you could either mix all of the colors up or plant sections of colors to create patterns or help divide areas of the garden.

Glad I discovered this forum, and this thread is especially thought provoking. As someone who is new to vegetable gardening, I'm having a struggle knowing where to begin. I do know, however, that I share Wellspring's dream - a garden that combines beauty and usefullness. Coming at this from the perspective of one who has grown lots of woody plants and perennials, my first inclination is to approach this much as I would any other new garden - establish the bones of the garden first (trees & shrubs) then gradually work in various combinations of smaller plants.

I wonder if anyone can recommend fruiting trees, shrubs, and perennial edibles (aside from those already mentioned) which are especially ornamental?
One annual plant that I'd love to use in a combination is a leaf lettuce like the one I purchased at a local fruitstand - beautiful red and green tones. Perhaps in combination with some type of allium, as recommended above.
I'd love to see some pictures of combinations that people feel really work together aesthetically - perhaps some plants that have contrasting textures, for example.