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Seattle, WA

Anyone ever experimented with this idea in their patch? I grew sunflowers around ours this year but it was more for looks than anything. Would an N-fixing cover crop that didn't shade out the pumpkin provide any benefit? Or increase mycorrhizal spores in the soil, helping speed up infection?

10/27/2014 9:15:54 PM

Springfield, Missouri

I thought long and hard about this same problem last winter. You would think that clover should be a good companion. It is low to the ground, its a legume, and it fill in spaces by using stolons. Unfortunately clover has a shallow root system and is prone to root rots.

I use cow peas as my summer cover crop. As my pumpkin grows I will mow down the peas, and make trenches for the vines. Cow peas are a good choice for me because they are heat tolerant, have a deep root system to "mine" minerals, produce nitrogen via symbionts, and are less prone to root rots.

10/28/2014 12:29:36 AM

BC, Canada

The three sisters, corn, beans and squash are the traditional crops grown together. But that may be a little more traditional/historical than practical reasons.
The only real companions I use for my pumpkins are trap crops. That is a crop that is more attractive to insects than the crop you are trying to harvest. I keep some grass around the planting areas ( hard not to) that attracts the wire worms in this area. Back east where you have the SVB I would think that a sacrificial planting of some squash to attract the SVB at the outer edges of your patch before it hits your AG might not be a bad idea.
Cover crops or green manures are a little different than companion plantings as I understand them. Companions are to create a beneficial symbiotic ecology for your target plant. Such as the old favorite of roses and Alliums or cabbage and tomatoes. Where as cover crops are to increase fertility and to some extent weed suppression.
One of my favorites is marigolds. They are said to repel many different insects, plus their little orange faces and smiles add joy to the garden.
It's late........Two weeks of rain and I am ready for spring.

10/28/2014 2:30:47 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

We tried growing in white dutch clover one year. Epic fail the clover retain moisture which affected the vines.

10/28/2014 5:33:25 AM

Seattle, WA

I like those suggestions, thanks for sharing your experiences! The marigolds is a great idea. I have the African marigolds up front with my strawberry bed already. They do self sow so you might have to keep an eye on them.

10/28/2014 3:53:46 PM

(rocky) Bonney Lake Wa.

I planted marigolds thruought my patch. The odor it puts off is beleived to be an insect deturent and in an article in the GVGO newsletter it mentions that the root system is also a deterent to nematoades.

10/28/2014 4:03:57 PM

Massachusetts

Count me in on the marigolds.
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/Diary/DiaryViewOne.asp?eid=223787

10/28/2014 6:18:58 PM

West Paris Me.

marigolds work good. Though I hate brush up against them, they stink!

10/28/2014 9:25:19 PM