DIY Tropical food forest polyculture! Combination:👉 Beans, Corn, Chillies, Sweet Potatoes, Okra, Spinach, Kang Kong, Chai Sin

ChatGPT wrote:

These fit very well together because they balance tall crops, medium crops, ground covers, and nitrogen fixers. Let’s design the plan step by step:

🌾 Roles of Each Crop

• Corn (Tall structure): Provides vertical support and partial shade.

• Beans (Nitrogen fixer): Climbing beans grow up the corn; bush beans fill ground gaps, enriching soil.

• Chillies (Fruit crop): Medium height, benefits from partial shade and nitrogen from beans.

• Okra (Fruit crop): Medium height, continuous harvest, doesn’t shade too much.

• Sweet Potatoes (Ground cover): Prevents weeds, retains soil moisture, provides tubers.

• Spinach, Kang Kong, Chai Sin (Leafy greens): Quick harvest, fills gaps early before tall crops mature.

📅 Seasonal Planting Plan

Stage 1 – Foundation (Week 0–1)

• Plant corn seeds in rows (30–40 cm spacing).

• At the same time, sow climbing beans near corn bases.

• On plot edges, plant sweet potatoes (cuttings) so vines spread outward.

Stage 2 – Fast Greens (Week 2–3)

• Sow spinach, kang kong, chai sin in between corn rows and open spaces.

  • They germinate fast, ready to harvest in 3–5 weeks.

  • By the time corn grows tall, you’ll already be eating greens.

Stage 3 – Medium Crops (Week 3–4)

• Transplant/sow chillies and okra between corn rows, staggered so they don’t crowd each other.

  • Spacing: ~40–50 cm apart.

  • These will take longer to mature, so they occupy the mid-story after greens are harvested.

Stage 4 – Continuous Harvest (Month 2–3 onward)

• Greens (spinach, kang kong, chai sin): Keep re-sowing every 2–3 weeks for continuous supply.

• Beans: Start harvesting in ~6–8 weeks.

• Corn: Harvest around ~3 months.

• Chillies & Okra: Start fruiting around 2 months, continue for many months.

• Sweet Potatoes: Dig up tubers after 4–6 months; leaves can also be harvested earlier as stir-fry greens.

🪴 Planting Layout (2m × 2m Example)

• Center Rows: Corn + climbing beans at base.

• Between Corn Rows: Chillies + Okra (staggered).

• Edges: Sweet potatoes trailing outward.

• In Gaps / Early Stage: Spinach, Kang Kong, Chai Sin (quick greens).

This creates a layered system:

• Tall layer → Corn

• Medium layer → Chillies + Okra

• Groundcover → Sweet potatoes

• Nitrogen fixer → Beans

• Quick harvest → Spinach, Kang Kong, Chai Sin