intercropping

there isn't a monocultural bed in the garden...every bed has at least three different varieties of vegetables growing...some are redundant but they are all mixed...intercropping is an efficient use of space as well as a deterrent to pests and disease...a farm field is a gross simplification of plant population as opposed to nature...it exposes the crop to predation and disease that are held off chemically in the industrial application of farming...while we mix crops our garden is a simplification of nature too but we are chemical free...relying on compost and green manures for fertility and plant defenses such as geraniums as a trap crop for japanese beetles....the bed in the top photo has tomatoes, sweet corn, pole beans, and cucumbers...the second photo is of a bed of jerusalem artichokes, potatoes ( six varieties of those in a bed ), black tip wheat, and turnips ( heavy on the root crops please )...the third photo is abed consisting of potatoes ( again! ). garlic, mashua ( see separate post ), garlic, and asparagus...nothing as complex as the mix of annuals and perennials you'd find in a natural setting but an effort to use some of the natural processes you'd find there to our advantage...closely planted the vegetables will shade out competition and the root systems will utilizes the moisture the shade preserves more efficiently...we aren't nature but we strive ot be more natural.