So originally I wanted to volunteer with the
Philadelphia Orchard Project, but unfortunately I'm not sure when their next planting will be. I've heard that the epitome of selfless sacrifice for future generations (or something like that) is planting a fruit tree, since it will be most enjoyed by those who have yet to be born. I may yet still get a chance to volunteer with them, but alas, not this week.
Yesterday though, my family realized that we had about a dozen potatoes that had started sprouting. With this week's theme being food security I thought, "why not plant a family garden?" Of course, I couldn't just make it that simple. For a while I've been wanting to experiment with polyculture, which is planting multiple crops in the same plot. Usually, the crops complement each other in some way,such as structurally (tall plants provide a place for vines to climb) or nutritionally (beans fix nitrogen while corn needs it in spades).
Starting with the potatoes, I looked up common pairings for it. It turns out legumes (big nitrogen-fixers, of which beans and peas are examples) and daikon radish came up, the first because potatoes need the nitrogen and the second because the radishes help scavenge nitrogen in the soil and act as a cover plant, helping to deter weed growth. On top of it all, the combination of plants is supposed to help deter pests and diseases, since they can't just pump right from one plant to another of the same kind.
I decided to go with daikons and sweet peas to help the potatoes out. It's the first time we've had a garden in the backyard at my parents' place, mostly because we used to have dogs that made it impossible to do any gardening. I tried to pick the spot with the most sun, planted the potatoes first, the peas second, and the radishes last. I'll make sure to update the post once things start sprouting!
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