Tag Archives: gardening

Companion Planting

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The theory of companion planting is by placing beneficial plants together they help each other grow.
Some ways companion plants help each other are:

  • Taller plants can provide shade for sun-sensitive shorter plants.
  • Vining plants cover the ground below taller plants for weed control, or to support vining plants.
  • Companion plants discourage pest, for instance onions repel some pests,
    while other companions, like marigolds, lure pest away from desirable plants.
  • Companion planting can attract beneficial insects to the garden, and improve flavor to some fruits and vegetables.

Below is a beginner’s guide to companion planting.   20141016_171506

Basil
Plant near: most garden crops
Keep away from: rue
Comments: improves the flavor and growth of garden crops, especially tomatoes and lettuce. Repels mosquitoes

Beans, Bush
Plant near: beets, cabbage, carrots, catnip, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, marigolds, potatoes, savory, strawberries.
Keep away from: fennel, garlic, leeks, onions, shallots.
Comments: potatoes and marigolds repel Mexican bean beetles. Catnip repels flea beetles.

Beans, Pole
Plant near: corn, marigolds, potatoes, radishes.
Keep away from: beets, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions, shallots
Comments: same as for bush beans.

Beets
Plant near: broccoli, brussel sprouts, bush beans, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kohlrabi, onions
Keep away from: mustard, pole beans

Borage
Plant near:  squash, strawberries, tomatoes
Keep away from:   Spreads by seed!!
Comments: repels tomato worms. Improves flavor and growth of companions.

Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts
Plant near: beets, buckwheat, calendula, carrots, chamomile, dill, hyssop, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, onions, rosemary, sage, thyme, wormwood.
Keep away from: strawberries
Comments: marigolds repel cabbage moths. Nasturtiums repel aphids.

Cabbage and Cauliflower
Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery, chard, spinach, tomatoes.
Keep away from: strawberries
Comments: tomatoes and celery repel cabbage worms.

Cantaloupe
Plant near: corn
Keep away from:

Carrots
Plant near: cabbage, chives, early potatoes, leeks, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, rosemary, sage, salsify, wormwood.
Keep away from:
Comments: onions, leeks, and wormwood repel carrot flies

Chives
Plant near: apples, berries, carrots, grapes, peas, roses, tomatoes.
Keep away from:
Comments: Deters aphids and Japanese beetles. Improves flavor & growth of companions.

Corn
Plant near: beans, cucumbers, early potatoes, melons, peas, pumpkins, soybeans, squash.
Keep away from:
Comments: soybeans deter chinch bugs.

Cucumbers
Plant near: beans, cabbage, corn, early potatoes, radishes, sunflowers.
Keep away from: late potatoes
Comments: Radishes deter cucumber beetles. Cucumbers encourage blight in late potatoes.

Dill
Plant near: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, onions
Keep away from: carrots
Comments: Improves flavor and growth of cabbage family plants.

Eggplant
Plant near: green beans, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes
Keep away from:
Comments: green beans deter Colorado potato beetles.

Garlic
Plant near: cabbage, cane fruits, fruit trees, roses, tomatoes
Keep away from: peas, beans
Comments: deters Japanese beetles and aphids. A garlic oil spray deters onion flies, aphids, and ermine moths. A garlic tea helps repel late potato blight.

Kale
Plant near: aromatic herbs, buckwheat, cabbage family, marigolds, nasturtiums
Keep away from: pole beans, strawberries

Kohlrabi
Plant near: cabbage/cauliflower companions (except tomatoes)
Keep away from: fennel, pole beans, tomatoes
Comments: kohlrabi stunts tomatoes

Lettuce
Plant near: beets, carrotsparsnips, radishes, strawberries
Keep away from: cabbage family
Comments: lettuce tenderizes summer radishes.

Marigolds
Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from:
Comments: stimulates vegetable growth and deters bean beetles, aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, nematodes, and maggots.

Marjoram
Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from:
Comments: stimulates vegetable growth.

Mustard
Plant near: alfalfa cover crops, fruit trees, grapes, legumes
Keep away from:
Comments: stimulates growth of companion plants.

Nasturtiums
Plant near: apples, beans, cabbage family, greenhouse crops, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, squash
Keep away from:
Comments: repels aphids, potato bugs, squash bugs, striped pumpkin beetles, and Mexican bean beetles and destroys white flies in greenhouses.

Onions
Plant near: beets, cabbage family, carrots, chamomile, lettuce, parsnips
Keep away from: beans, peas
Comments: deters most pests, especially maggots.

Oregano
Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from:
Comments: deters many insect pests.

Parsley
Plant near: corn, roses, tomatoes
Keep away from:

Parsnips
Plant near: onions, radishes, wormwood
Keep away from:
Comments: onions and wormwood help keep root maggots from parsnips.

Peas
Plant near: beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, early potatoes, radishes, turnips
Keep away from: garlic leeks, onions, shallots

Peppers
Plant near: basil, carrots, eggplant, onions, parsley, tomatoes
Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi

Potatoes
Plant near: basil, beans, cabbage family, corn, eggplant, flax, hemp, marigolds, peas, squash
Keep away from: apples, birch, cherries, cucumbers, pumpkins, raspberries, sunflowers, tomatoes, walnuts
Comments: Basil deters potato beetles. Marigolds (dug into crop soil) deter nematodes,hemp deters phytophthora infestans

Radishes
Plant near: chervil, cucumbers, lettuce, melons, peas, nasturtiums, root crops
Keep away from: hyssop
Comments: radishes deter cucumber beetles. Chervil makes radishes hot. Lettuce helps make radishes tender. Nasturtiums improve radishes’ flavor.

Rosemary
Plant near: beans, cabbage, carrots
Keep away from:
Comments: repels bean beetles, cabbage moths, and carrot flies.

Sage
Plant near: cabbage family, carrots, tomatoes
Keep away from: cucumbers
Comments: deters cabbage moths and carrot flies. Invigorates tomato plants.

Soybeans
Plant near: corn, potatoes
Keep away from:
Comments: chokes weeds and enriches soil.

Spinach
Plant near: celery, cauliflower, eggplant, strawberries
Keep away from:

Strawberries
Plant near: borage, bush beans, lettuce, pyrethrum, spinach
Keep away from: cabbage family

Sunflowers
Plant near: cucumbers
Keep away from: potatoes
Comments: can provide a trellis and shelter for shade-loving cucumbers.

Swiss Chard
Plant near: bush beans, kohlrabi, onions
Keep away from: pole beans

Tarragon
Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from:
Comments: improves vegetables’ flavor and growth.

Thyme
Plant near: all garden crops
Keep away from:
Comments: deters cabbage moths.

Tomatoes
Plant near: asparagus, basil, cabbage family, carrots, gooseberries, mustard, parsley, onions, rosemary, sage, stinging nettles
Keep away from: fennel, kohlrabi, potatoes, walnuts

Turnips and Rutabagas
Plant near: peas
Keep away from: knotweed, mustard
Comments: mustard and knotweed inhibit the growth of turnips and rutabagas!

Powdery Mildew-Resistant Pumpkin & Squash

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This list is reprinted from the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000617_Rep639.pdf

Powdery Mildew-resistant Pumpkin & Squash Varieties

Pumpkins – Large

18 Karat Gold R
Aladdin H
Gladiator H
Golden Condor M
Hercules H
King Midas S
Magician H
Magic Lantern H (BWS)
Merlin H (BWS)
SuperHerc H
Spartan SW

Winter Squash – Acorn
Autumn Delight R
Royal Ace H
Sweet Reba HM
Table Star R
Table Treat R
Taybelle PM R
Tip Top PMR J

Summer Squash – Yellow
Fancycrook HPS (crookneck)
Patriot II R (straightneck, TG)
Prelude II R (crookneck, TG)
Sunglo R (crookneck)
Sunray R,J, H (straightneck)
Success HM (straightneck)

 Pumpkins – Medium

Charisma H
Hobbit H
Oktoberfest S
Scarecrow M
Pumpkins – Pie
Cannonball H
Harvest Princess M
Iron Man H (phyt)
Mystic Plus H
Prankster S
Pure Gold M
RockaFellow S
Touch of Autumn R, S, CW, CS

Winter Squash – Butternut
Betternut 401 S
Bugle R
Indian Brave NES
JWS 6823 PMR J
Metro PMR J
RB3106 r

Summer Squash – Zucchini
Ambassador HPS
Hurakan H (gray zucchini)
Judgment III (TG) SW
Justice II R (TG)
Lynx St
Payroll R, S, SW
Sebring (yellow zucchini) SW
Wildcat St

 Pumpkins – Specialty

Bumpkin M (mini)
Gold Dust R (mini)
Hooligan (tricolor mini) CS
Gooligan (bicolor mini) CS
OneTooMany R (white/red
veins)
Sweet Lightning R (bicolor
mini)
 

Winter Squash – Specialty
Bush Delicata J, HPS
Celebration R (y/or acorn hybrid)
Harlequin R (gr/wht acorn hybrid)
MardiGras NES (gr/whtacorn hybrid)

All pumpkins and squash will develop powdery mildew symptoms if weather conditions favor the fungus. Resistant or tolerant varieties develop symptoms more slowly and maintain leaf coverage later in the season. For more information about controlling powdery mildew, see the New England Vegetable Management Guide, found online at http://www.nevegetable.org/.

 All varieties should be trialed on a small scale to determine whether they are suitable for your growing conditions, and markets.

 Legend of seed sources: R Rupp Seeds, M Meyer Seed International, H Harris Moran Seed Co, J Johnny’s Selected Seeds, HM High Mowing Seeds, HPS Horticultural Products & Services, N New England Seeds, SW Seedway, St Stokes, S Siegers, CS Carolina Seeds.

This information is presented as a guide only. No endorsement is implied, and sources listed are not necessarily sole sources.

Comments: Phyt – also tolerant to Phytophthora. BWS – Highly susceptible to bacterial wilt.

TG – transgenic virus resistance, not compatible with USDA Organic Certification.

Garden of the Month: September 2014

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Garden of the Month: 913 Mary Jane
by Kaaren Anderson

Richard Lee moved into the house at 913 Mary Jane and began the first steps to grow plants and landscape the yard, beginning with the foundation plants of nandina, green spirel euonymus, and Oregon grape.
Paige joined him in 2005 and together the couple created the garden you see today. In that year, the front landscape changed dramatically when the house was remodeled. This process created a mound of excess soil which they creatively decided to leave, adding plants that began with dwarf nandina and mugo pines.

Richard installed a 1400 square foot greenhouse in the backyard where he began raising plants from seed, including perennial geraniums which are planted inside the yard as well as on the street side of the photenia hedge. For color they have annual geraniums, hibiscus, dahlias and zinnias, with the zinnias currently reaching a height of 64”. On the street side, also grown from seed, are echinacea and coreopsis. On the mound was added a cercis tree and a bakers Cyprus which is a native tree to the Siskiyou mountains. In front of the picture window is a coral bark maple.  Access to TID water for part of the summer helped keep the plants happy and healthy.

In the springtime you will also see columbine, lilies, gladiolus, daisies, crocosmia and camilias, which I know would make the garden even more spectacular than it is now. But though Paige worried that her garden wasn’t at its best, I assured her that even at this time of year, and in one of the the hottest summers on record, it stood out as a jewel.

Thank you Paige and Richard for sharing your garden with us!

Garden of the Month: August 2014

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Tim and Kathy Simonsen established their garden in 2006.  The front of the house was uninteresting so they added a wide craftsman style 1133 Beswick Waycovered porch. This just invites you to sit down in the comfortable rockers and enjoy the view. Two hanging baskets of red geraniums adorn the porch and two large pots with sweet potato vine and some other greenery bracket the stairs.

Ken Cobb designed and installed the compact flowing garden.  First he removed junipers, ivy and St. John’s Wort. Then he designed a wide curving walkway out of tan colored stamped concrete with a few steps. This separates the upper garden from the lower area. Next the Simonsen’s wanted a large water feature; and after looking for just the right boulder Ken built the waterfall to the left of the stairs. The birds love to stop by for a drink and sit to enjoy the melodious sounds.The pond is kept full with a couple of “drippers” with the irrigation system.

The upper terrace has Pieris Japonica, Gold Mound Spirea, a Japanese Maple, Heavenly Bamboo, a Mugo pine, a Japanese Maple and Scotch Moss.

Below the path is Blue Star Creeper with a small swath of green lawn at the owners request. Mugo pines, Yellow Twig dogwood, Red Twig dogwood, a Strawberry Tree and three more Japanese maples with Phlox, Wooly Thyme and Kinnikinnick fill in the lower terrace. The mature garden is now a very natural and interesting place. The low maintenance garden does require pruning, weeding and shaping two or three times a year to keep it looking it’s best.

Tim and Kathy have a lovely hillside garden to enjoy and share with the many walkers who stop to admire and chat.

Submitted by: Karen O’Rourke

Garden of the Month: June 2014

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IMG_0151Pam Lucas works nearly every day in her beautiful garden at 420 Taylor Street and it shows! Her husband Sherm does some of the heavy work, but mostly this is Pam’s labor of love. They purchased the house in June of 2005, but Pam was still working then and didn’t have much time to devote to the yard. She did design and have constructed an interesting complex of decks, walkways, and arbors that look so good now with the garden she has established to replace the lawn, since retiring in 2008. Pam also designed the unusual deer fence. Interesting sculptures dot the property,IMG_1407 many of them metal art by Les and Diane Rasmussen of Steel My Art. Some are collaborations between the homeowner who found metal pieces and asked Diane to work with them, including a wonderful angel made from a bomb and other parts! There are actual headstones, purchased at a yard sale. Large boulders were brought in to add texture and background. The trees are tended by an arborist who visits every other year. Recently, they had the irrigation system improved by a professional.

In back, large Douglas firs create a backdrop and privacy with pin oak, English laurel and bamboo. In front, Japanese maples, thunder cloud plum, flowering cherry trees, and mountain ash provide a canopy. Pam has combined many ground covers to create a colorful and textured surface surrounding a river rock walkway to a deck. Gorgeous collections of artfully placed potted color adorn the decks.

IMG_0182Among the plants in pots are calibrachoa, bee balm, lobelia, mums, begonia, fuchsia and a rare oregano. A well-established wisteria climbs the arbor and provides shade for the largest deck. Trumpet vine and honeysuckle adorn the lattice that lines the driveway, with a little pyracantha to discourage deer nibbling. An incense cedar and yarrow thrive to the right of the driveway, but deer have feasted on most other things that Pam has tried there.

To the right of the front door is a specimenIMG_0189 yew. The front includes yucca, lavender, smoke tree, barberry, rosemary, daphne, sedum, mahonia, zebra and other grasses, gaura, manzanita, iris, lithodora, several kids of euphorbia, columbine, lupine, heuchera, crocosmia, agastache, eryngium (sea holly), spiderwort, Russian and other sages (including a wonderful blue flame sage), and many more ground covers

IMG_0186

Blue Flame Sage

It’s hard to believe that a retired accountant, not an artist, created this garden.

Submitted by:
Ruth Sloan

The Gardeners Pen

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The Gardeners Pen, Oregon Master Gardener Association newsletter is available: http://www.oregonmastergardeners.org/docs/GardenersPen/2014April.pdf

“I would particularly like to draw your attention to the information in the Gardeners Pen, about the annual OMGA Gardeners MiniCollege which will be held on July 12th-13th at the LaSell’s Stewart Center on the Oregon State University Campus. Details about the MiniCollege are at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/minicollege.”

Bob Reynolds, Master Gardener Coordinator
Oregon State University Extension Service Jackson County
541-776-7371
robert.reynolds@oregonstate.edu
extension.oregonstate.edu/sorec/mg