PB1 · Part shade → sun
Broad beans + savory
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Savory, the bean herb, repels blackfly. A part-shade, transitional spot. The broad beans fix nitrogen for the crops that follow. West side only (outside the greenhouse).
The garden plan
The garden to scale: 10 × 30 m, 33 beds, what grows where and why.
Bioterra · Residence of Action and Meaning
The garden plan
- 10×30mActual garden
- 33Beds
- 124m²Open ground
- 35m²Greenhouse 5×7m
- 174m²Total productive
- 21.7m²/ ambassador
- Part shade
- Sun
- Full sun
- Back / hedge
- Greenhouse
- Fennel — Strictly isolated
Top view rotated 90° — house on the left, north on the right. Select a bed →Top view — house at the top, north at the bottom. Tap a bed →
Beds
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← Click a bed for its details, crop, pairings and area
PB2 · Part shade
Carrots + radish/baby turnip
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A direct textbook pairing. Radishes between the carrots: their quick germination marks the slow rows. Harvested before the carrots need the room, loosening the soil around them.
PB3 · Part shade
Peas + radish/baby turnip
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A direct textbook pairing. Radishes and baby turnips along the sides of the pea rows — harvested before the peas take over. Two crops from one bed.
P01 · Sun
Perennial herbs + strawberries
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Thyme, rosemary, sage and chives, permanently planted. Everbearing strawberries as an edging. Perennials — planted once, benefiting every BRAS cycle.
P02 · Sun
Leeks + carrots
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
The garden's most effective pest-deterring duo. Carrot fly and leek moth repel one another. A foundational BRAS pairing — a permaculture classic.
P03 · Sun
Tomatoes + basil + French marigold
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Full tomato guild. Basil repels aphids and whiteflies. French marigold deters nematodes (effect lasts 3 years). Textbook pairing: basil improves tomato flavour.
P04 · Sun
Tomatoes + basil + onion
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A direct textbook pairing. Basil repels harmful insects, and onions can improve tomato flavour. 3–4 tomato plants, basil interplanted, rows of onions as an edging.
P05 · Sun
Cabbages + lettuce
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A direct textbook pairing. Lettuce transplanted at the same time as the cabbages — harvested before the cabbages need more room. Makes the most of the space all season.
P06 · Sun
Brussels sprout + lettuce
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Lettuce harvested before the Brussels sprouts take over. A textbook pairing. The sprouts harvested after W26 — a gift to the 2028 BRAS cycle.
P07 · Full sun
Potatoes + beans
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
A direct textbook pairing. The beans fix nitrogen in the soil — a boon to the hungry potatoes. Dwarf beans edge the bed. A second potato row staggered three weeks after P11.
P08 · Full sun
Tomatoes + French marigold
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A dense French-marigold edging — the roots secrete compounds that kill soil nematodes (the effect lasts 3 years). Draws pollinators from across the area. 3–4 tomato plants.
P09 · Full sun
Aubergines + beans
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A direct textbook pairing. The beans fix nitrogen in the soil — a boon to the very hungry aubergines. Dwarf beans interplanted between the aubergine plants.
P10 · Full sun
Peppers — warm zone
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
The warmest bed, on the east side. Peppers need all the heat they can get in Belgium. Complements the greenhouse plants. Basil interplanted.
P11 · Full sun
Potatoes, row 1 + beans
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
First potato row planted W3. Textbook pairing: the beans fix nitrogen for the potatoes. Dwarf beans interplanted. Early crop harvested in June.
P12 · Full sun
Garlic + carrots
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
The classic pest-deterring duo. Garlic between the carrots: its scent repels carrot fly, and the carrots loosen the soil around the garlic bulbs.
P13 · Full sun
Courgettes + nasturtium
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Four courgette plants, well spaced. Sacrificial nasturtium draws aphids away from them. French marigold as an edging. Abundant cropping July–September.
P14 · Full sun
Cucumber + radish + dill
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Textbook pairing: radishes and baby turnips fill the gaps and keep weeds down. Dill repels the red spider mites common on cucumber. Trained vertically to save space.
P15 · Full sun
Climbing beans, row 1 + savory
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Climbing beans on 2 m supports. Savory, the bean herb, repels blackfly. First row sown W6. Harvest July–August.
P16 · Full sun
Climbing beans, row 2
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A second row sown three weeks after P15 to spread the August–September harvest. Same savory pairing. Doubles the bean crop for eight people.
P17 · Full sun
Sunflower supports + beans
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Sunflowers as living supports for the climbing beans. Draws pollinators to the whole garden. Seeds roasted in W22 for the cooking workshops.
P18 · Full sun
Green manure — rotation
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Phacelia, crimson clover and mustard in rotation. Never bare soil. A buffer between the crops and the far end of the garden.
P19 · Full sun max
Corn + climbing beans
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
The Three Sisters duo — corn as a natural support for the beans, the beans fixing the nitrogen the corn devours. Sow in a block for wind pollination.
P20 · Full sun max
Squash + corn
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Three Sisters, version 2 — the ground-covering squash smothers weeds and holds moisture. Corn as the support. 2 butternut/red-kuri plants plus a row of corn. Cellar-stored for 6 months.
P21 · Full sun max
Winter squash, row 2
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A second batch of winter squash — Hokkaido, red kuri. Maximum full sun at the far end. Cellar-stored until February. A food gift to the 2028 BRAS cycle.
P22 · Strictly isolated
FENNEL — strictly isolated zone
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
⚠️ An absolute BRAS rule. Fennel releases allelopathic compounds that inhibit nearly every crop. A physical barrier is required on all four sides (a board sunk 20 cm into the soil). No direct neighbours. Beds P18 and P24 (green manure) act as a buffer.
P23 · Full sun max
Sweet potato + thyme
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
The warmest, sunniest spot. An experimental crop for Belgium — risky, but instructive. Thyme as a companion. Harvest before the first frost.
P24 · Full sun max
Green manure — buffer zone
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Phacelia + crimson clover. A buffer between P22 (the isolated fennel) and the rest. A double role: living soil, and a biological barrier against the fennel's allelopathic effects.
P25 · Full sun max
Edible hedge, west
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
Redcurrant + blackcurrant. Full sun all day. Planted W24 — cropping from 2028. A gift to the next cycle. A 1000 L rainwater tank alongside.
P26 · Full sun max
Nettle & dandelion — wild zone
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A deliberately wild zone. Nettle for natural liquid feed, plus the first W1 harvests. Dandelion for spring salads. A foundational BRAS lesson: the abundance is already there.
P27 · Full sun max
Giant sunflowers — nectar barrier
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
A visual and nectar barrier at the north end of the garden. Draws bees to pollinate the whole plot. Seeds harvested in W25 for snacks and plating.
P28 · Full sun max
Sunflower supports + climbing beans
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Sunflowers as living supports for the climbing beans. The flowers draw pollinators and ladybirds. A beneficial pairing: sunflower and bean.
P29 · Full sun max
Broad beans + savory
1.5×3m · 4.5m²
Savory, the bean herb, repels the characteristic blackfly. Pinch out the tips at flowering. The broad beans fix nitrogen for the crops that follow. Harvest May–June.
P30 · Full sun max
Edible hedge, east
0.75×3m · 2.25m²
White currant + blackcurrant + elder. Mirrors P25. A 1000 L rainwater tank alongside. Cropping from the 2028 BRAS cycle.
TERRASSE
Terrace
5×3m · 15m²
Raised boxes. Rocket, radishes, culinary herbs.
SERRE
Greenhouse
5×7m · 35m²
Ogival arch, polycarbonate. Sowing and warm-season crops.
COMPOST
Compost area
4 composters · service path
Four rotating composters feed every bed and keep organic matter within the garden cycle.
HAIE
North edible hedge
10×2.5m · 25m²
Currants, elder and hazel form a productive windbreak at the north end of the garden.
💡 19 pairings from the reference table are built directly into the beds. Beds marked ✓ match the table; beds marked ★ are the garden's strongest guilds.
⚠️ P22 fennel: physical barrier required. Beds P18 + P24 (green manure) act as the buffer. Mint: terrace pot only.