Raised beds are suitable for planting herbs, flowers and vegetables. However, so that the harvest of the vegetable mixed culture is also productive, the crop rotation and the neighborhood of the vegetables must also be observed in the raised bed.
Table of Contents
mixed culture
In mixed cultures, in contrast to monocultures, different plant species are planted in one garden bed. In general, between:
- ornamental flowering plants,
- herbs
- fruit and
- vegetables
distinguished. Of course, these mixed cultures do not have to be “pure”, such as just herbs, but the different forms can also be mixed. However, not everything that pleases is allowed, because different plants do not get along with each other and therefore must not be planted in the immediate vicinity of each other.
floor
With vegetables, a distinction is made between heavy, medium and weak consumers. This means that some vegetables draw more nutrients from the soil than others to grow. Therefore, different types of vegetables have to change location from year to year so that the soil always has the necessary nutrients and you don’t have to completely replace the soil in the raised bed every year.
neighborhoods
Irrespective of the crop rotation, there are types of vegetables that do not get along with others. In this case, the gardener speaks of “bad neighbors”. The result of this wrong planting is poor development of the plants, resulting in a meager harvest, if any. With “good neighbors”, on the other hand, the plants strengthen each other. In addition, with good neighbors you can reduce the risk of pest infestation.
Construction plan
Since the goal of a vegetable mixed culture in the raised bed is not purely decorative, but a high-yield harvest, you should proceed according to plan when planting the bed. In this way you avoid crop failures and can fully utilize the usable area of the raised bed. The most important building blocks, which are intertwined, for the cultivation plan are:
- Choice of vegetables
- time of planting
- time of planting
The times given for planting the raised bed are for orientation. In rough or high locations as well as in bad weather (“March winter”), the times can be postponed. In addition, unless otherwise stated, the times below indicate the earliest time for outdoor sowing.
March April May
March
Iceberg lettuce Lamb ‘s
lettuce
Fennel
Potatoes (heavy eaters)
Kohlrabi (heavy eaters) Lettuce Swiss chard Carrots (summer culture, heavy eaters) Radish Radish (heavy eaters) Rocket (heavy eaters) Lettuce Spinach (spring culture, heavy eaters) Onions
April
Artichoke (heavy eater)
Turnips (heavy eater)
Chard (heavy eater) Beetroot (heavy eater
)
May
Aubergines (heavy eaters)
Cauliflower (heavy eaters)
Broccoli (heavy eaters)
French beans
Cucumbers (heavy eaters)
Pumpkin (heavy eaters)
Paprika/chili (heavy eaters, young plants)
Tomatoes (heavy eaters, young plants)
Celery (heavy eaters ) Celery (
young plants)
White cabbage (heavy eaters, young plants)
Savoy cabbage (heavy feeders, young plants)
Zucchini (heavy feeders)
Juni, Juli, August & September
June
Chinese cabbage (heavy eater)
Endive
Fennel (autumn culture)
Carrots (winter culture, heavy eater)
Leek (heavy eater)
July
Lamb’s lettuce
Kale (heavy eater)
Romaine lettuce
August September
Turnips (autumn culture)
Spinach (winter culture, heavy feeders)
Choice of vegetables
For the first year of planting in raised beds, heavy feeders are recommended so that medium and weak feeders are not overwhelmed by the abundance of nutrients. However, you can also combine the heavy feeders with medium feeders in the mixed vegetable culture. However, the main part of the area should be reserved for the heavy feeders. Some heavy feeders also get along with others. In terms of good or bad neighborliness, you should not plant the following vegetables next to each other:
- artichokes
- bad neighbors: garlic, celery, onions
- eggplants
- bad neighbors: peas, potatoes, peppers, beetroot
- Cauliflower/Broccoli
- bad neighbors: savoy cabbage, onions
- Chinakohl
- bad neighbors: radish, radish, savoy cabbage
- Kale
- bad neighbors: potatoes, leeks, savoy cabbage
- cucumbers
- bad neighbors: turnips, radishes, radishes, tomatoes, zucchini
- potatoes
- bad neighbors: eggplant, peas, kale, peppers, lettuce, beetroot, celery. Tomatoes, savoy cabbage, onions
- Kohlrabi
- bad neighbors: fennel, savoy cabbage
- Lauch
- bad neighbors: beans, peas, kale, beets, onions
- turnips
- bad neighbors: cucumbers, zucchini
- Mangold
- bad neighbors: beetroot, salsify, spinach
- carrots
- bad neighbors: none
- Paprika
- bad neighbors: eggplant, peas, cucumbers. Potatoes, beets
- radish
- bad neighbors: Chinese cabbage, cucumbers, savoy cabbage
- Rote Bete
- bad neighbors: eggplant, potatoes, leeks, chard, peppers, spinach
- Rocket
- bad neighbors: Savoy
- Saddlery
- bad neighbors: artichoke, potatoes, lettuce
- Spinach
- bad neighbors: Swiss chard, beetroot
- tomatoes
- bad neighbors: fennel, cucumbers, potatoes
- white cabbage
- bad neighbors: garlic, onions
- savoy
- bad neighbors: cauliflower. Broccoli, Chinese cabbage, kale, potatoes, garlic, kohlrabi, radishes, arugula
- Zucchini
- bad neighbors: cucumbers, turnips
In addition to the question of the neighborhood, there are also a few tricks for planting the raised bed. These are primarily aimed at the limited space. In order to use the area of the raised bed optimally, you should plant the raised bed as densely as possible. This means that the vegetables complement each other well above and below ground. For example, it is advisable to plant carrots (narrow, deep-rooted plants) next to bush beans (above ground).
Sample planting mixed vegetable culture
A rectangular raised bed that is significantly longer than it is wider should be used for the example planting. The description is from left to right.
Starting from the left edge, the following vegetables are placed in this order:
- beans
- carrots
- radish
If you only lay out three quarters of the individual rows for these vegetables, you can plant zucchini on the remaining area of all three rows (i.e. in the left corner).
After the radish comes a continuous row of kohlrabi. This serves as a kind of partition.
To the left of the kohlrabi, continue with the following vegetables in the following order:
- Lauch
- Saddlery
- Broccoli
- onions
- Beetroot
- Knoblauch
- carrots
- beans
As with the first three vegetables (beans, carrots and radishes), you can only plant three quarters of the row for these vegetables. This creates a free space for more vegetables. This is planted with tomatoes and cucumbers. Plenty of parsley and/or basil is used as a partition between cucumbers and tomatoes. Since cucumbers and zucchini do not get along and both are very sprawling vegetables, they should be as far apart as possible. For the example planting in the mixed vegetable culture, this means that the cucumbers occupy the right corner and the courgettes the left corner, with the courgettes and cucumbers facing diagonally.
