Bio-intensive Gardening

Bio-intensive Gardening & Companion Planting in the Organic garden

A fundamental part of organic gardening, is of course growing your herbs and veggies, as well as flowers, without the use chemical pesticides or herbicides. However, switching from these chemicals to organically based methods, is just the beginning. Bio-intensive Gardening & Companion Planting is the organic way of using the natural defenses and supports of other plants to invite beneficial insects and birds, and deter the harmful ones. Incorporating this method of gardening means that you also use the shade, sun, and the many other aspects of the living and working web of life to protect your plants from various diseases, and at the same time you will create a living ecosystem of micro-organisms, right down to the beneficial bacteria and helpful fungi in the soil.

What is Bio-intensive Gardening?

Bio-intensive gardening is a form of gardening that works well in cities, because space is at a minimum, and the desire for fresh vegetables is at a maximum. John Jevons is the main writer on this approach, see his book "How to Grow More Vegetables". The idea is to build the soil up by adding lots of compost and other organic fertilizers. That way, you are able to grow huge amounts of food in small spaces.

What is a companion? What is Companion Planting?

Companion: A friend or acquaintance you associate yourself with. ... in the workplace, amongst your relatives, from your neighbourhood. So, how does this apply to the garden scene? Many plants have natural substances in their roots, flowers, and leaves that can help enhance the growth rate and flavor of other varieties. Other plants can repel harmful insects or attract the beneficial ones depending on your needs. Some Plants keep watch over the whole garden.

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Guardian Plants - Sunflower, Borage, Marigold or Nasturtiums for example - You only need one or two of these companion plants through out your garden. They help discourage harmful pests without losing the beneficial allies. There are many other varieties of herbs and flowers, that can be used for companion plants. Be open to experimenting and find what works for you. Some possibilities would be using certain plants as a border, backdrop or inter-planting in your flower or vegetable beds where you have specific needs. If you use plants that are native to your area, the insects you want to attract already know what to look for!

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What is the connection between Bio-intensive Gardening & Companion Planting?

Just think of being on a crowded bus full of ... teenagers - or old folks - or little children. Depending on who you are, you might find one group makes the trip enjoyable ... or very difficult. So too in the garden, it is fine and well to think you can put all sorts of plants in your garden, however the winning combination will be much more productive. So by researching you will find the highest yield of produce that is naturally protected and supported in your garden.

Other Benefits

Experience shows us that using companion planting through out the garden is an important part of integrated pest management. So companion planting actually helps brings about a balanced eco-system to your garden. It allows nature to do its job. Nature integrates a diversity of plants, insects, animals, and other organisms into every ecosystem so there is no waste. The death of one organism can create food for another, meaning symbiotic relationships all around. Some consider companion planting to be a holistic concept due to the many intricate levels in which it works with the ecology.

Planning and research

Some of us just want to get to the planting .... who wants to spend time in the library on a nice day, or in front of the computer?! However, this is an important step, and the benefits will last all summer. So the goal is to do the research, and find the best combination that will work in your garden.

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• Step one - Planning the primary plants: Think about how much room you have, and what you really want to have in your garden this year. You want to call these the primary plants, they may be heirloom tomatoes, or a rare variety of cabbage, or simple things like peas or carrots.

• Step two - research into the supporting plants: now you want to find out what plants will support your primary plants, what will help them grow well, what will keep the bad bugs away, and make sure that you don't plant any "anti-companion" plant near by.

• Step three - planting them together: Most seed packs, and seedling boxes have planting instructions ... however, they usually follow the "traditional farming/gardening" method of straight rows - like your carrots joined the army! However, bio-intensive gardening & companion planting is more like being a "Hippie". You still need to keep in mind the distance between the main plants, however the supporting plants will be planted between or near the primary ones. As well, for the bio-intensive part of your planting, patches of plants, instead of rows usually work better.

Common combinations

TOMATOES: There are many tomato friendly plants: asparagus, basil, bean, carrots, celery, chive, cucumber, garlic, head lettuce, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, pea, pepper, marigold & pot marigold and sow thistle. Basil repels flies and mosquitoes, improves growth and flavor. Bee balm, chives and mint improve health and flavor. Borage will deter the tomato worm, and improves the growth and flavor. Dill, until mature, improves growth and health, mature dill retards tomato growth.

Enemies: corn and tomato are attacked by the same worm. Kohlrabi stunts tomato growth. Keep potatoes and tomatoes apart as they both can get early and late blight contaminating each other. Keep apricot, dill, fennel, cabbage and cauliflower away from them.

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CABBAGE: Celery, dill, onions and potatoes are good companion plants. Celery improves growth and health. Clover interplanted with cabbage has been shown to reduce the native cabbage aphid and cabbage-worm populations by interfering with the colonization of the pests and increasing the number of predatory ground beetles. Plant Chamomile with cabbage as it Improves growth and flavor.

Enemies: Cabbage does not get along with strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, rue, grapes, lettuce and pole beans.

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PEAS: Peas fix nitrogen in the soil. Plant them next to corn. Companions for peas are bush beans, pole beans, carrots, celery, chicory, cucumber, eggplant, parsley, early potato, radish, spinach, strawberry, sweet pepper, tomatoes and turnips.

Enemies: Do not plant peas with chives, gladiolus, grapes, late potatoes or onions.

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CARROTS: Their friends are leaf lettuce and onions. Flax produces an oil that may protect root vegetables like carrots from some pests. Tomato plants help the carrots have good flavor, however they can end up stunting the growth of the carrots.

Enemies: Don't plant dill or parsnips near your carrots.

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Companion planting can combine beauty and purpose, to provide you with an enjoyable healthy environment. Have fun, use your imagination to paint a beautiful garden. There are many ways you can find to incorporate these useful plants into your little piece of paradise.

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