 Intercropping and Catch CroppingMany gardeners create beds or areas in the plot for certain types of vegetables, which is a very organised method. However, there are huge benefits to intercropping and catch cropping. The difference between the two is that with "intercropping", two different types of plant are grown together at the same time. With "catch cropping" they are grown at different times to take advantage of the empty areas of soil when certain crops have been harvested.
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Intercropping: Certain crops take a long time to mature and can take up a lot of valuable space, that could be used for other crops in the meantime. That is why it is very useful to apply the method of 'intercropping'. By planting quickly maturing plants in between those slower varieties, we can be eating the early vegetables before the larger ones need the space. Also, plants of different sizes or growing patterns can often be grown together to use a sort of 3D approach to the size of plot.
Catch cropping: Different crops take different times to mature. By planning your garden, you can often take advantage of empty areas for different crops to grow when space becomes available at different times of the year. |
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| It is debated whether to follow the usual rotational method of sowing intercropped plants with others of the same family in the rotation. The advantages of keeping similar vegetables together include the ability to keep a rotation going, preventing the build up of selective pests in the soil, treating all similar vegetables together with the same pest control, keeping together those with the same nutritional requirements, so making it easier to prepare the soil and apply fertilisers etc ... However, many organic producers prefer to mix rotational groups. This has the benefits of allowing one crop to thrive if the other is plagued by selective pests, rather than passing the plague onto both, and allowing both crops to benefit from different nutrients in the soil. |
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