In touch with the world ... at home on the High Plains

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

96.3 FM near St. Francis in northwest Kansas is off air due to technical difficulties. You can always listen to HPPR in the player above or on the HPPR APP.

Planting the Plains

Planting the Plains: Intercropping in the Vegetable Garden

By Anthony Reardon

Published May 23, 2025 at 5:00 AM CDT

Growing your garden can be its own reward, but if you're serious its long-term health, you may want to consider intercropping. Intercropping is a broad term that refers to the practice of growing two or more crops in close proximity. This practice offers numerous benefits, including increased crop diversity, resource efficiency, pest and disease control, and improved soil health!

Tags

Planting the Plains Planting the Plains

Anthony Reardon

Anthony Reardon is the Horticulture – Small Farms Extension Agent for Johnson County, Kansas.

See stories by Anthony Reardon

HPPR Features

Planting the Plains: August Garden Cleanup

Anthony Reardon

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether you should trim back your plants, or otherwise prepare for the colder weather as fall approaches. This week, we’ll talk about which plants can withstand this maintenance, and when to maybe just…hold off.
HPPR Features

Planting the Plains: Troubleshooting Soil Crust

Anthony Reardon

Gardeners on the High Plains know that even after watering their plants, there’s a good chance that the heat will dry up the moisture before too long. But dirt that undergoes the wet/dry cycle repeatedly begins to harden into something we call soil crust. In this week’s episode, we’ll talk about how this process occurs, and what you can do about it in your own garden!
HPPR Features

Planting the Plains: Late Summer Garden Triage

Anthony Reardon

The summer is at the point where you might be considering harvesting some items, in order to make room for one last round of quick-growing vegetables before the cold weather sets in. This week, we’ll talk about a few maintenance issues, and how to assess what’s worth keeping…and what’s worth letting go.
HPPR Features

Planting the Plains: Summertime Composting

Anthony Reardon

Composting is a great way to get nutrients into your garden, especially during the summer. This week, we’ll review the process of composting during the summertime, and how to let the heat help in the process!
HPPR Features

Planting the Plains: Revisiting Produce Safety

Anthony Reardon

With cyclosporiasis in the news lately, and in some states on the High Plains, it pays to keep safety and proper food handling practices in mind…some things that don’t seem problematic, or which may not have caused issues in the past, might still be worth doing differently as part of a multi-layered process to minimize your risk. We’ll talk about steps you can take in this week’s episode!