I started studying permaculture intensively about a month and a half ago. I've digested a huge amount of material and I'm itching to try my hand at something real. My friend has a new job at a nursery and I was extremely fortunate to come into maybe 200 packets of seeds. I set aside the ornamentals and the sunflowers and grouped them into guilds based on my best understanding of companion planting. The potatoes and lentils were storebought, as were the bell peppers that supplied the seeds. I plan to plant them on hugels, except for maybe the runner bean guild which will require boatloads of trellis I imagine.

Potato Guild

potatoes/sweet potatoes + lentils + some lettuce and cilantro

Squash Guild

squash + a few pumpkins + lentils + spinach + a bit of radish

Tomato Guild

tomato (roma and beefsteak) + bell pepper + basil + strawberry + asparagus (maybe) + onion (evergreen bunching) + garlic

Lettuce Guild (I have a ton of lettuce seeds)

lettuce + beans (more lentils?) + dill + lupin + strawberries? + onions + a few beets

Runner Guild

runner beans + climbing spinach + cilantro + lettuce

I also have some nasturtium that I want to plant around the beds.

Do these groupings make sense? Are there any obvious mistakes or improvements that I'm missing? What's the best way to cultivate these runner beans?

Thank you for your assistance!

- D.

Beans & potatoes makes a good combination:

The beans help repel Colorado Potato Beetle,
Potatoes helps repel Mexican Bean Beetle.

Good to know, thank you Mr. Polk

Howdy D, welcome to permies. It looks like you have a good start there, let us know how it turns out.

Sunflowers are an excellent lattice for climbing spinach (i'm growing malabar for the heat of the summer) and any pole beas. I am going to try cucumbers and pole beans on alternating russian mamoth sunflowers. I'm trying corn again, this time in a chicken wire cage, maybe it'll keep the squirrels and raccoons out, but i'm going to support the beans on bamboo poles. sunflowers do well here, though, but to do any more than feed the birds and squirrels i need to figure out some kind of flower cage and seed catcher.

I am actually trying to find information on how sweet potatoes and potatoes might differ in companion planting or guild terms. Any thoughts?

-CK