A recent video on TikTok has gained attention for showing an easy way to protect watermelon plants without needing any special equipment. It's the kind of tip that feels obvious once you see it in action but makes you wonder why you never thought of it before.
The scoop
Farmer Froberg (@farmer.froberg), answered a simple question raised by one of his earlier videos: Why does he plant corn alongside the watermelon plants on his farm?
@farmer.froberg Planting corn with Watermelons! #watermelon #corn #gardentips #gardening #garden ♬ Anxiety - Doechii
Though a seemingly strange technique, Froberg broke down the question in an answer that was unexpected.
"Our goal is to give our watermelon vines something to grab onto and secure themselves," Froberg said. "If our watermelon vines get whipped around in the wind, it can cause them to damage their stems and abort their own flowers."
In this case, corn is planted among the watermelon hills. Their roots loosen the soil, which gives the vines more room to spread, and their leaves help protect young stems from wind.
The technique is known as companion planting, in which different crops are grown alongside each other. Not only are individual plants — like in the case of the watermelon in this video — strengthened, but so is the soil itself.
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That means future crops will be introduced to an already-strong environment when they are planted, making the yield even better.
How it's helping
On the individual scale, companion planting can be used to ensure a better crop yield, giving more incentive and insurance when growing your own food. By growing your own food, you will save yourself trips to the grocery store — saving money and emissions from the transportation needed to get there.
By using natural methods like companion planting, you are able to achieve the same, positive results without the use of chemicals, thereby putting fewer toxic compounds into the soil.
What everyone's saying
"Companion planting!" one emphatic user commented on the video, highlighting the long-tested success of the technique displayed in the video.
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Not enough time ⏳ "Sounds logical and very effective," another commenter wrote.
Sometimes, the simplest ideas — like planting two crops side by side — end up making the biggest difference. Maybe it is true that good things really do grow better together.
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