Polyculture Annuals

I'm wondering if you have had any success with certain inter cropping schemes. By this I mean different species sharing the same row instead of blocks of the same species. If polycultures have worked for you then how do you rotate the crops if at all needed? I'm most interested in annuals since those don't seem to be talked about as much but any specific examples of successful polycultures would be great.

Thanks!

Hi,

Good question.  

I focus on organizing my Crop Guilds into Triads (groupings of three beds) and selecting the best species to occupy each bed and each path or rows within beds.  It is key that you first select crops that manage well together (Our term is Umbrella Management) for instance crops that require similar management such as 1) hilling, 2) mulch or 2)fine seed germination conditions.  Then design the guild for companionship, such as space and resource partitioning: salad with squash-- where the salad is harvested early and then the squash matures.  Our book outlines our complete Guild Crop Rotation.

🌿Zach

@kulapermaculturefarm on Instagram for more photos