How to Grow Vegetables with your Flowers

Flower farmers and veggie gardeners unite! Gone are the days where a garden couldn't do both. Growing your own food saves you money and it's healthy for your family. Having flowers near your food can attract beneficial pollinators to help increase the food crop production. Plants are just plants and grown in the same requirements, food and flowers can thrive together.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Compost
• Organic vegetable food
• Veggie seeds or starts

1. 
   Corn hedge

   Growing tall: You can have some instant privacy for your deck or open windows. That privacy "hedge" will be harvested and cut down by the end of summer allowing back that winter sunshine and a plan for something completely different next year. It's corn! The same plant farmers use to plant mazes can be a seasonal privacy hedge in your garden.
   
   In a sunny spot, prep the bed by removing any grass or weeds and then double digging in a healthy amount of compost and an appropriate dose of organic fertilizer. (At least 3 inches of compost dug 8 inches into the ground). Wait for any danger of frost to pass and plant the seed right into the ground. Keep them watered and they'll grow fast. You want your corn privacy wall to be nice and dense, 3-5 feet wide. That's perfect for corn because it's wind pollinated. You need a lot of corn plants to get good pollination and a good harvest. Keep the corn fertilized and watered over the season.
   
   You can even grow your corn hedge in the "3 sisters" way of adding pumpkins and pole beans (link below).

2. 
   Pumpkin ramblers

   Do you have a garden that has been landscaped to have wide spaces between plants, like a rose collection or conifer garden? This would be a great place to plant the rambling vines of pumpkins or other squash. Pumpkins grow well with roses because they like the same morning water, keeping the water off of the leaves and at the base of the plants. Roses and pumpkins also benefit from having regular applications of organic fungicide to protect them from powdery mildew and black spot.
   
   Prep the soil by digging a 3-inch layer of compost in the space between plants and forming the loose soil into a mound. Once frost has passed, plant the seed or starter plants in the middle of the mound and keep watered and fertilized through summer.

3. 
   Pea vines

   Do you have some vines growing up a trellis, or even an empty decorative trellis in your garden? You can plant peas all season long. The pea tendrils will happily climb up the trellis and existing vines, coexisting peacefully as they grow, flower, and produce. As soon as the peas have given you all they've got, pull up the plants and plant new seeds.
   
   To prep the soil, remove any weeds and sink the pea seeds right into the soil. Don't fertilize or amend the soil, peas like it lean. Best of all, your peas naturally add nitrogen to the soil which your existing vines will love.

4. 
   Colorful strawberries

   Front of the line boarder plants: Those spaces in the perennial garden that you've traditionally reserved for tucking in some annual plants are the perfect spaces for a colorful variety of lettuce or even some strawberries tumbling over walkways.
   
   Soil prep starts with compost and organic veggie food. Hand dig it in if these garden pockets are small. Directly sow the lettuce seeds or plant the strawberry starts. Keep watered and bait for slugs around growing lettuce and strawberries.

5. 
   Tuck in some veggies

   Other pockets or empty spaces in the perennial garden can be filled with tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, onions, garlic, and a variety of other vegetables. Just be sure to clear the planting space of weeds and debris before amending with compost and digging in vegetable food. Vegetable need to be irrigated, so plant them with flowers that get watered.
   
   With the exception of artichokes and rhubarb. These 2 plants can take soil a little dry and they are perennials that will come back year after year. Both plants will add gorgeous foliage and structure to your flowerbeds. This low-water garden would be a good place to tuck in some herbs like rosemary, oregano, and chives.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't have much garden space, try some of these vegetables in your container gardens.
• Always read the seed pack for planting instructions.
• Read the instructions on the box of fertilizer for applications rates.
• Plants that are grown in more crowded conditions tend to be more susceptible to bugs and disease. Check plants often for symptoms and treat organically.

Resources

• How to Plant a
• How to Utilize Companion Planting for a Bountiful Garden

[vallain]

on 6/10/2009 I'm planning to put some marigolds around in my veggie garden.

[GreenMomma]

on 6/7/2009 These are great tips!!!

[4dogday]

on 5/26/2009 Great tips for growing vegetables in with the flowers.

[juliemcmurchie]

on 4/10/2009 Great article about growing vegetables with flowers. I have strawberries growing under my roses, it works well. I never considered growing peas with my vines, but I will be planting some today.

[PawPawFrankie]

on 4/5/2009 Great article on growing vegetables and flowers together. My garden and flower beds have done double duty for many years now. 5* and a recommend