Okra companion plants3/20/2023 ![]() ![]() Essentially, because the okra sprawled out so much, my melons were completely shaded all hours of the day, leading to spindly plants and zero harvest. What happened this year? If you look to the left and to the right of the okra, you see two very tall vertical plantings - my a straw bale garden of very healthy tomato plants on the east side of the melons and corn on the west. Okra goes tall, allowing low-growing crops like melons to spread and wander and find the sun, making this typically a perfect combination. The okra thrived, as you can see below - with the most full plants I’ve ever grown (thanks to an extra layer of compost I realized made a huge difference!). Last year I planted watermelon beneath my okra like I have done multiple times before, but this time I didn’t end up with a watermelon harvest at all. Here are the examples as well as how we could tweak these otherwise good companions and make it work. My first few disasters included a poor use of vertical crops or trellises that inhibited growth of shorter plants due to the shade cast on them. Companion Planting Principle: Shade Matters So please keep your climate in mind as you read my personal experiences in my southern US garden in zone 7b. ![]() I want to start by saying that I’m not going to tell you what not to plant together because I do think in certain climates and gardens, some combinations work better than in other gardens. ![]()
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