Marie's Milpa: a planting plan
Mixed cultivation is the cultivation of different plant species that have a positive influence on each other. This is the opposite of monoculture and brings more variety to your vegetable patch. What can be a real mess for many people when planning their beds is nothing more than a child's play exercise with the tools in the Fryd app. As part of our themed weeks on mixed cultivation, we are presenting five example beds that you can use as inspiration for your own mixed cultivation. Today we're talking about one of the oldest mixed cultures of all: milpa.
A very well-known and popular mixed crop with a long tradition is the milpa mixed crop. This historic mixed crop originates from South America and includes corn, beans and pumpkin. The three components, also known as the "three sisters", complement each other in the vegetable patch in an unusual way. The maize plants are planted before the runner beans, giving them a head start in growth and serving as a climbing aid later on. At the same time, the beans improve the soil thanks to their nitrogen-enriching properties, which benefits the two heavy feeders, maize and pumpkin. In contrast to beans, maize has relatively shallow roots so that the two planting partners do not get in each other's way underground.
A circle of beans is placed around each corn plant (e.g.'True Gold'); suitable varieties here include 'Blauhilde' or 'Neckargold'. The colorful pods of the purple and yellow beans (wax beans) are a real eye-catcher and bring more color variety to the vegetable patch. If you don't fancy the classic yellow sweetcorn, you can also choose colorful varieties. A pumpkin is planted in the traditional milpa, offset from the maize plants. This creeps over the bed and shades the ground between the maize and bean plants. As an alternative to pumpkins, you can also plant other pumpkin plants such as zucchinis. Marie has planted a Hokkaido pumpkin 'Red Kuri' and a spaghetti pumpkin 'Vegetable Spaghetti', as well as a zucchini'Gold Rush' in her milpa bed. You can fill the gaps with herbs and flowers. Savory (here: summer savory) goes well next to beans because it keeps the bean aphid away. You can also plant other herbs such as parsley and oregano. So that you can harvest the herbs easily, it is better to plant them at the edge. The remaining gaps can be filled with marigolds and borage.
Fancy a mixed milpa crop? We have already added all the varieties of Marie's Milpabeet to your shopping cart - all 100% organic, of course. You can also edit the selection according to your wishes: Click here to go to the shopping cart!
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Annabell
Annabell is studying agricultural biology at the University of Hohenheim. She also enjoys gardening in her private life, spends a lot of time in nature and loves to be creative.
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Mmmmhhhh – so delicious 😋 Soil casserole from the microwave 🤪 I tried steaming the potting soil in the microwave. To do this, I first sifted through last year's soil (used and leftover from bags). A normal kitchen sieve gave me the result I considered 'right'. Then I added water to the sieved result until it had about the same moisture content as freshly used coffee grounds ('infusion moisture' ^^) and then heated it in portions in a casserole dish in the microwave - 2 x 5 minutes at 900 watts, stirring once in between to distribute the heat evenly (to avoid accidents, I filled the baking dish about 2/3 full). I'm happy with the result: fine crumbly soil with some structure that still develops 'bonding' when moist. I think that if there were any bugs living in it, they are no longer alive... I hope that also applies to fungal spores. I didn't find the smell during steaming very pleasant... it smelled a bit like a compost heap – please ventilate 😅 In any case, I can get started soon 🥰 For the next batch, I want to try steaming with the steam juicer. I could then put it outside (no smell in the house 👍), I could process a larger quantity in one go and I wouldn't have to stir it in between – so it would be less work... At least that's my idea... Has anyone tried this before?
How can I print out the planting plan I have created? Thank you very much for your help! Best regards, Karin Muss
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So, I'm slowly getting started with the new #gardeningseason2026. First, I upgraded and tidied up (built a new shelf for #growing, reordered #seeds, transferred them to zipper bags after delivery, labeled them, and sorted them). And now the first seeds have been planted🌱 At a cozy 25°C, I'm starting with chilies🌶, peppers🫑, eggplants🍆, and physalis for the cold greenhouse. Summer leeks, early cabbage varieties, celery, and kohlrabi will follow soon☺
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