Companion Planting

In nature, where plants grow without cultivation, there is always a mixture of plant types growing in an area. The selection of the plants living in an area depends on the soil type, local climatic conditions and horticultural history. With a few exceptions, the plants that grow together in the wild are mutually beneficial, in that they allow for maximum utilization of light, moisture and soil.

Plants needing less light live in the shade of those which must have full light, while the roots of some plants live close to the surface, and others send their roots far down into the subsoil. Some plants will hurry into bloom and flower early in the year before their neighbors have yet to produce leaves, which will cut off the light supply later in the year. This is known as companion planting when it is practiced in the garden. Companion planting enables the gardener to maximize use of sun, soil and moisture to grow mixed crops in one area.

Gardening with Companion Plants

In planting a moon phase garden, you should use plants that are mutually compatible and make demands on the environment at different times. Vegetables may be divided into heavy feeders, light feeders, soil-conserving and soil-improving crops. The heavy feeders should be planted in soil that has been newly fertilized. Among the heavy-feeding vegetables are cabbage, cauliflower, all leaf vegetables as chard, head lettuce, endive, spinach, and celery, celeriac, leeks, cucumbers, squash, sweet corn, and tomatoes. The heavy-feeding vegetables should be followed by such light feeders as pole beans, bush beans and other legumes.

Light-feeding vegetables are great lovers of compost. Also, better than other kinds of plants, they seem to use the finely pulverized raw rocks and make phosphorus, potassium and many trace elements available to other plants. Other light feeders are such root crops as carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, and rutabagas. Most herbs are light feeders.

Beneficial Companion Plants

Some plants have a beneficial effect upon the garden by virtue of some peculiar character of their growth, their scent or their root formation and soil demands.

Among these plants are sunflower, hemp, blossoming hyssop, thyme, savory, borage, and other good bee-pasture plants. Odoriferous plants, including those with aromatic oils, play an important part in determining just which insects visit the garden. Hemp, for instance, is said to repel the cabbage butterfly.

However, there is more to companion planting than just arranging the physical needs of plants for optimum use of your garden space. Although the hard scientific evidence is often lacking, there is a whole host of insect repellent properties attributed to different combinations of plants. In addition, there are combinations of plants that seem to be natural enemies.

When planted too close together, the result is often depressed yields of one or both plants. In most cases, plant scientists still do not know all the why's of these relationships. Many theorize that it is root exudates, or leaf secretions. The odor of one plant may be desirable to an insect, but the odor of a neighboring plant may overpower the attractive scent and send the insect packing.

Experiment with Companion Plants

The listing of companion plants and antagonist plants presented here is based on scientific evidence as well as on folklore. What is reported as working in one garden may not work in yours. Then too, you may hit on a beneficial pairing not yet reported. The main thing is not to plant your garden in strict mono-cropped rows. Diversity of plants is the easiest and most effective pesticide and fertilizer the garden has, so use it liberally. There are many combinations of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and weeds that are mutually beneficial to each other, according to reports of organic gardeners and companion planting traditions.

See the Companion Planting Chart @ moonGROW.com

Home Gardener

First published in 1977, this book--from one of America's most famous and prolific agricultural writers--became an almost instant classic among homestead gardeners and small farmers. Now fully updated and available once more, Small-Scale Grain Raising offers an entirely new generation of readers the best introduction to a wide range of both common and lesser-known specialty grains and related field crops, from corn, wheat, and rye to buckwheat, millet, rice, spelt, flax, and even beans and sunflowers.

More and more Americans are seeking out locally grown foods, yet one of the real stumbling blocks to their efforts has been finding local sources for grains, which are grown mainly on large, distant corporate farms. At the same time, commodity prices for grains--and the products made from them--have skyrocketed due to rising energy costs and increased demand. In this book, Gene Logsdon proves that anyone who has access to a large garden or small farm can (and should) think outside the agribusiness box and learn to grow healthy whole grains or beans--the base of our culinary food pyramid--alongside their fruits and vegetables.

Starting from the simple but revolutionary concept of the garden "pancake patch," Logsdon opens up our eyes to a whole world of plants that we wrongly assume only the agricultural "big boys" can grow. He succinctly covers all the basics, from planting and dealing with pests, weeds, and diseases to harvesting, processing, storing, and using whole grains. There are even a few recipes sprinkled throughout, along with more than a little wit and wisdom.

Never has there been a better time, or a more receptive audience, for this book. Localvores, serious home gardeners, CSA farmers, and whole-foods advocates--in fact, all people who value fresh, high-quality foods--will find a field full of information and ideas in this once and future classic.

ReviewThe Ethicurean-

In Small-Scale Grain Raising, Logsdon lays out clearly just how easy it can be to grow grains for your family and your livestock, from his beloved "pancake patch" up to acre-sized plots. Interspersed with good-humored vintage anecdotes and his usual Contrary Farmer commentary, this primer elevates the status of grain-growing on farms of all sizes (from the backyard on up) to a happy essential. As he states repeatedly, there's nothing so delicious -- or so economical -- as home-baked goods made with fresh grains you grew and milled yourself. And when those same home-grown grains can also feed your animals and build soil fertility… well, what's stopping you?

Logsdon's book covers all of the well-known grains and several of the lesser ones: barley, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, rice, spelt, sorghum, triticale, wheat, and others. He also devotes a chapter to soybeans and dried beans, despite their classification as legumes, because they partner so well with grains both in growing and in eating. For at least the major grains he discusses varieties, yields, nutritional value, and uses (both for human and animal consumption as well as other farm uses). He describes how to prepare the soil, how to plant the grain seeds (including optimal space requirements), what diseases and pests to watch for and how to deal with them, how to harvest and dry the grains, how to store them, and, finally, how to turn those seeds into food for your family.

Drawing on his personal experience growing almost all of the major grains, Logsdon describes "how we do it" even when it contrasts with conventional wisdom. He touts the value of open-pollinated seed, despite advances in hybrids, because of their superior taste and the satisfaction of not being beholden to agribusiness. He also demonstrates that old hand tools and techniques can sometimes be the most efficient when growing on a small scale. For example, though corn may be harvested by machine, he outlines how to bundle corn stalks into shocks for easy, inexpensive drying and storage (and aesthetic value). He claims to keep a basket full of old socks to slip over ripening ears of corn to prevent wild animals from dining on his crops. (I'd like to see that!) And for his money, the best weed control -- the one to which pests never develop resistance -- is the hoe.

"Home bakers rejoice! Gene's book is back just in time to help you grow those flavorful, old, heirloom grain varieties you have always wanted to try. Bon appétit!"--Eliot Coleman, author of The Winter Harvest Handbook and The New Organic Grower

"Small-Scale Grain Raising, 2nd ed., is the definitive book on how to grow, thresh, process, and use grains in the amounts that matter to a family--from enough wheat for a single batch of pancakes up to an acre or two--all the grain needed for a family with a cow, a pig, a few sheep, and a flock of chickens. The first edition has long been a cult classic, decades out of print, decades before its time, eagerly begged, borrowed, and handed around in bootleg copies. The second edition is updated and expanded to include virtually every grain grown in North America. Particularly useful is the state-of-the-art information about threshing and dehulling of various grains for those without access to specialized equipment. Even more useful than the specific information, however, is the portrayal of the overall pattern--the full integration of appropriate grain-growing, appropriate cover-cropping, appropriate livestock keeping, appropriate economics, and appropriate philosophy, all woven together into a powerful model of a coherent framework for gardening, farming, and living. This book is the Small is Beautiful of grain growing, by Gene Logsdon, one of the founding curmudgeons of modern garden farming and sustainable agriculture."--Carol Deppe, author of Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener's and Farmer's Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving

"Gene Logsdon could just say, 'I told you so.' Instead, he has revitalized Small-Scale Grain Raising with bushels of new information, thirty additional years of insight, and the welcome leavening of his wonderful and cranky (with a wink and a nod) voice. He makes sowing sexy, and shifts the food revolution from his back 40 to your back yard."--Michael Perry, author of COOP: A Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting

"Interspersed with good-humored vintage anecdotes and his usual 'Contrary Farmer' commentary, this primer elevates the status of grain-growing on farms of all sizes (from the backyard on up) to a happy essential."--Jennifer McMullen, reviewed in The Ethicurean

About the AuthorGene Logsdon farms in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. He is one of the clearest and most original voices of rural America. He has published more than two dozen books; his Chelsea Green books include Small-Scale Grain Raising (2nd Edition), Living at Nature's Pace, The Contrary Farmer's Invitation to Gardening, Good Spirits, and The Contrary Farmer. He writes a popular blog at OrganicToBe.org, is a regular contributor to Farming magazine and The Draft Horse Journal, and writes an award-winning weekly column in the Carey, Ohio Progressor Times.

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Most helpful customer reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful.
After 32 Years, It's About Time
By Louise Marcus
Thank goodness, we can now put our 32-year-old copy of this book out to pasture; it is falling apart at the seams. We bought a copy from a used bookseller about 5 years ago, and have used it to formulate an approach for small-scale grain raising. Our old book has become considerably more threadbare than it already was.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
not small-sccale enough for me
By brokenoak
I didn't think this book was of much help to me as someone interested in very small grain production. The author talks a lot about big machinery and acres to be something I relate to. He also seems to assume the reader can go to a grain elevator or a feed mill. I have access to neither, being in Florida. ( Of course, I'm accustomed to having to translate everything to Florida's terms.) I am currently reading "Homegrown Whole Grains" by Sara Pitzer, and it seems to be geared more to my scale. Both books give good basic coverage of different grains, how to grow them, and recipes for their use. I did enjoy Mr. Logsdon's style of writing, and I hope to read more of his books. I just hope I will be able to put them into perspective for my own homestead's applications.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful.
For the devoted
By greenSearcher

I was disappointed not in the book, it was an enjoyable read, but that growing grain requires more work and/or equipment than vegetable gardening. The information provided on how to plant, grow, harvest and store grains reveals that a "pancake" patch needs more equipment than the average home gardener would normally own, particularly for harvesting. The author frequently states that the hand tools needed for are either found used at farm actions or are antiques and not available. If you have acreage beyond a normal vegetable garden and a strong healthy back the book honestly presents the information needed to grow ones one supply of grain. I must admit, small plot grain growing is more for personal satisfaction than food production, but the book is a good reference to include in one's garden library.

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