Marianne's Response

VEGETABLE GARDEN

Hi Marianne, beautiful picture. My question is we have a large space where we have grown potatoes in our vegetable garden for a long time and about 6-8 years and the soil seems to be pooped out so we are going to grow our potatoes in bags for a few years. We do know however NOT to put tomatoes there so our question is once we add some fresh dirt and nutrients, on your recommendation please what can we plant in that area that would not be combatant. we love squash, watermelon, acorn squash, are these acceptable and what are others. Is there a chart I can purchase that is compatible and combatants in the garden.
Thank you so much for your time
Holly
Oconomowoc Wisconsin

Posted by Holly Binn on May 20, 2019

Marianne's Response

Good idea to try growing your potatoes in bags and to give your soil some rest.  I suggest you grow peas or leaf crops such as lettuce and cabbage as the squash you suggested are heavy feeders and will take a lot out of the soil. You can also plant a cover crops such as vetch or field peas and then work this into the soil. One more idea is to add a mulch of compost or wood ships and then place a few large pots on top of the soil and grow you squash in containers. As for a chart, I do know there is a classic (as in old) book by Louise Riotte called "Carrots Love Tomatoes" and publishes by Storey Communications.   Keep growing, Marianne Binetti

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