A good group of us braved the brisk April temps to gather in the garden and listen to Sue Cadwallader tell us a bit about companion planting. Sue had a cool handout on vegetable and herb companions, she shared some seeds, and most of all she shared her cheerful wisdom about gardening. Big thanks to Sue!
I meant to get a picture of the comparison between the two beds of potatoes Clarence planted -- one he hilled and one he planted randomly -- the hilled ones are doing a lot better than the non-hilled ones. I'll get some pics of that next time I'm by the garden.
More notes from Sue:
Companion gardening is about interrelatedness -- it's not a new thing, and in fact there's an Iroquois lengend about three sisters and the relationship that can exist among corn, beans and squash/pumpkins. Take a second to read it! Companion gardening offers ways to discourage pests (for instance, horseradishes in a potato bed to drive away potato beetles) or ways to increase yield because of chemical symbioses (carrots and tomatoes, or roses and garlic). I am not a science-minded person, so don't ask me for more details on that, but there's plenty to be found in the books, I'm betting.
Sue also gave us some tips she's read and/or tried -- for instance, dust cabbages with ashes or cayenne (or both?) to deter rabbits. We talked about some books she brought -- Raising with the Moon was one, the authors of which are to be at the Exchange Place spring garden fair next weekend. Watch here for more info about that, but make space in your weekend to stop by, if you can.
Again, thank you to Sue and all the folks who showed up to share this afternoon. Happy Earth Day; grow well!
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