Sweet corn, runner beans and Hokkaido squash are ideal growing companions. Together they form one among the most famous mixed crop growing system. Sweet corn plants naturally provide runner beans with supportive poles for ‘climbing’. Bean plants in turn release nitrogen into the soil, fertilizing the nutrient demanding sweet corn plants. The large leaves of the Hokkaido squash shed a lot of shade, helping to keep moisture and CO2 in the ground, which in combination again create natural fertilizer.
This principle of growing hand-selected species together to benefit each other in a mixed cultivation is very old, possibly deriving from the knowledge of the Mayas. This particular traditional combination has been nicknamed ‘the three sisters’. In its original form, the plants were positioned on a flat-topped mound, which is also referred to as ‘milpa’.
This seed kit includes the three famous vegetable varieties, which complement each other perfectly and are ideal for companion planting:
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'Golden Bantam' maize/ sweet corn organic (Zea mays)
‘Golden bantam’ is an old, yellow heirloom sweet corn variety of exquisite flavour.
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Hokkaido Squash 'Red Kuri' organic (Cucurbita maxima)
’Red Kuri’ is one of the most suitable pumpkin/ squash varieties to prepare a delicious pumpkin soup. Despite their firm skin, these pumpkins do not need peeling and have a lovely nut flavour aroma.
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Pole Bean/ Runner Bean 'Borlotto Lingua Di Fuoco‘ organic (Phaseolus vulgaris)
The 'Borlotto Lingua Di Fuoco‘ is an exceedingly decorative string bean variety.
The seeds of each variety are packaged in a separate sachet.
Intercropping or companion planting is the implementation of a crop balance in your vegetable patch (adopted from nature itself). Although competition between plants is usually intense, as every plant strives to get the most light, water and nutrients, there are always so-called companion plants. These are plant species that can live well side-by-side because they do not interfere with each other, but very often actually support and strengthen each other instead. Those companions create a good and balanced neighbourhood in your vegetable patch.
We have developed a series of intercropping and companion planting seed kits. Each kit contains 3 to 6 plant varieties, which are very well suited for cultivation as companion species. In most cases, these are vegetables and herbs. It is possible to alternate the companion plants in rows, within a row or also in mixed variety as it happens with square-foot gardening.
The immediate neighbouring plants should complement each other and not disturb each other’s growth. Ideally you pair neighbours such as carrots and salad (deep roots and shallow roots) or cabbage and peas (high and low nutrient-demanding plants) or sweet corn and pumpkin (sun- and shade-loving plants).
You will receive seeds that have been lovingly produced at certified European organic farms. Of course, MagicGardenSeeds GmbH is also certified and regularly inspected by the controlling body: DE-ÖKO-037.
