The number one principal of our SHAMY methodology is sustainability. As such, an organic approach to soil supplementation and pest control is essential. Organic fruits and vegetables aren't just good to the environment, they're also much healthier for you AND much tastier. No discussion about organic pest control for our food crops is complete without including companion planting.
When we think about the challenges we face in growing a food crop, these basic ones come to mind:
When we think about the challenges we face in growing a food crop, these basic ones come to mind:
- Water - Without water nothing grows... Period! While different plants need differing amounts of water, it's essential to all. Irrigation methods is used to augment rain, but it's important to maximize the effectiveness of the water we do have. If water simply ran off our crop soil without being fully absorbed, it would be a problem. In the same way, allowing the sun to evaporate our crop water from the soil before the crop can use it, would also be a problem. Some kind of mulching would help retain water from runoff while protecting it from evaporation.
- Sunlight - While nothing will grow or even sprout without water, light is a close second. Seeds will sprout in darkness, but light, preferably sunlight, is required soon after. Without enough light, growth is not sustainable. This is part of the reason why grass doesn't grow well under big trees. The other of course is #1 above (water) due to the tree's extensive root system creating intense water competition.
- Weeds - Any plant that is not edible, does not serve a direct purpose in sustaining life. Weeds most certainly fall under that classification. The problem is that since weeds are not encumbered by the requirement to yield edible produce, their energy and design focus on fast growth and self perpetuation. As such they can often out compete crops for water and nutrients. For this reason they must be controlled. Considering #2 above, a good method of control would be to mulch or shade them out. Even weeds don't survive without sunlight.
- Nutrients - Most notably here is nitrogen. A lot of crops depend on it and depleted soil results in diminished yields. Nutrient deficiencies also lead to weaker plants which encourages our next obstacle.
- Insects - To be fair, insects are essential to pollination and good crop yields, but usually insects attracted by weak plants are not the good insects we seek.
Over thousands of years agricultural knowledge was developed to deal with these obstacles. The most notable being irrigation to solve #1. Companion planting though, helps to address #2-4. The most famous of these is called the Three Sisters method used by Native Americans for thousands of years. After domesticating squash some 8,000 years ago, someone figured out that corn stalks grow well above the squash thus not competing for the same sunlight. In fact, it helps protect squash from harsh sun. At the same time, the squash leaves shade out the ground providing a natural mulch to combat evaporation AND choke out weeds. Then when pole or vining beans were domesticated some 3,000 years ago, someone figured out they could vine up the corn stalks without killing the corn. In fact, quite the opposite. They found that the corn crop grew better with the beans than without.
People living thousands of years ago didn't have the technological understanding of what was happening like we do today. We know that beans actually absorb nitrogen from the air and infuse it into the soil where the corn and squash can consume it, creating a perfect little symbiosis. In this manner, squash handles #3 by shading out #2 from the ground. Beans handle #4 as just described. The three grow together in this symbiotic ecosystem to provide strong healthy plants which then combat #5.
People living thousands of years ago didn't have the technological understanding of what was happening like we do today. We know that beans actually absorb nitrogen from the air and infuse it into the soil where the corn and squash can consume it, creating a perfect little symbiosis. In this manner, squash handles #3 by shading out #2 from the ground. Beans handle #4 as just described. The three grow together in this symbiotic ecosystem to provide strong healthy plants which then combat #5.
While this being the oldest example of companion planting, modern science has allowed us to expand knowledge in this field to take the approach much, much further. It is important to understand that there is a ton of information about companion planting on the internet and in books. The absolute key to not getting overwhelmed is to complete your personal Planting Plan first. Once you have determined your core crops, you only need to investigate companions for those crops.
In our Planting Plan, we identified broccoli, corn, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes as our core crops. We will therefor focus on companion plants to these core crops. There are plenty of internet resources available to direct you, but it is important to remember that what works in my garden, may not work in yours. Every garden is different, from rainfall to ground contour to soil composition etc. Even the garden between myself and my neighbor is different, so please use all information you reference as a GUIDE rather than a rule. Some good companion planting resources I referenced in my planning are:
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
North Dakota State University
Old Farmer's Almanac
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