It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a book review. I’ve got a few of them sitting here. I decided on Carrots Love Tomatoes for the first of these, since, you know, it’s almost time to be thinking about the garden.
Louise Riotte wrote the first edition of this book nearly 50 years ago, and it was one of those copies that I inherited from Grandma Bessie. I read it, thought about it, but didn’t really put anything into practice. I had young children, lived a city life on a small city lot, and was a beginning gardener in a desert. I felt that much of the information didn’t quite apply to my situation, and sadly, I donated that copy to the thrift store.
Thirty years later, and after getting involved in edible landscaping, I decided it was time to look at companion planting again. With increasing problems in the supply chain, difficulties obtaining fertilizer and pesticides, and feeling the need to increase the harvest despite all the challenges, it seemed a good time to take a much closer look at companion planting.
Carrots Love Tomatoes is strictly a reference; the concept that a plant can exert a beneficial (or detrimental) effect on another planted nearby is discussed only in the short introduction. The rest of the book lists plants alphabetically and then presents a paragraph or two on what to plant with in to boost production, disease and pest resistance, and simple gardening tips to produce the best-tasting vegetables, fruits, and herbs.
The chapters in the first half of the book are devoted to companion planting of not only vegetables, but also herbs, wild plants (in other words, weeds!), grasses and grains, fruits, nuts, and ornamental trees and shrubs. (The author wrote another volume dedicated to the companion planting of flowers.)
The second half of the book addresses how to use the companion planting to improve the soil and control pests. (This year I’m going to implement the suggestion to hang onion slices in fruit trees when the fruits are just about ready to harvest. Apparently the onions will repel birds.) There are garden plans that illustrate how to incorporate the author’s suggestions and adapt them to your own yard. There is even a chapter on poisonous plants, many of which are commonly found in our gardens. Many cause nothing more than minor dermatitis, but some can be fatal consumed in sufficient quantities. And in a future where people will be taking chances to fill their hungry bellies, it’s good to be reminded of plants and plant parts that need to be avoided.
Carrots Love Tomatoes reflects the author’s (and her mother’s) lifetime accumulation of garden wisdom and the suggestions provided can’t possibly be implemented all at once. However, I did learn a few things this past year:
- Marigolds repel hornworms—we didn’t have a single one among 40 tomato plants—and we had a long growing season this year.
- Bush beans and strawberries really do love each other. Well, strawberries especially love bush beans. They went crazy and I transplanted a lot to other areas of the yard.
- Nasturtiums repel cabbage moths. While we had more cabbage moths flitting about the garden, I found only two cabbage worms among all the cabbage and broccoli we grew this year, and one of those was actually on a head of lettuce. The nasturtiums looked great, they have medicinal uses, and the flowers are edible.
- I somehow missed the info that bush beans do not like onions and I gather that’s why one planting of my beans did poorly.
As we strive to grow more of our own food in these challenging times, we need every advantage we can get. Not only do we have to produce more food in the space we have, but we also have to deal with increasing problems in sourcing fertilizer and in repelling pests. The information in Carrots Love Tomatoes will help us reach all these goals.
Been a long time since I read that book. Need to get a new copy.
ReplyDeleteBe safe and God bless.
it's not only bush beans that hate onions - the climbing variety has equal distain >>> and the turf war has quite a reach - put as much distance apart as you can manage ....
ReplyDelete