(Music: I'VE JUST SEEN A FACE, Lennon-McCartney) (info./disclaimers [0]) (glossary [0]) (index [0]) (gardening guide [0])

I've just seen a place
I can't forget, I think there's space
To stick another little seedling there
I didn't realize that there were quite
So many
Mmm, mmm, mmm -- mmm

Had it been another bed
I think I'd probably have said
We can't squeeze any more starts in
But as it is these plants are all
Companions
La da da, da n da

Companions
Yes, companions
Carrots and onions
Corn and beans

I'd never known complexity
But gardening has let me see
How elements all intertwine
In ecosystems
Symbiotically
Dee dee dee, dee dee dee

Companions
Yes, companions
Cabbage and peppermint
Garlic and beets

Companions
Yes, companions
Spinach and strawberries
Turnips and peas

Companions complement each other
In nutrient and water requirements
Growth habits and demands for light
Attract good bugs and give bad ones
A fright
La da da, da da da

Companions
Yes, companions
Spuds and marigolds
Kale and chamomile

Companions
Yes, companions
Lettuce and cucumbers
Asparagus and parsley

*Companions discourage diseases
Promote soil life and keep down weeds
But life's not known by disection
Our understanding's only just
Begun
Mmm, mmm, mmm, da n da

One final note: antagonists
Don't help, but hinder one another
But that's another story I
Don't want to sing, it's not nearly so much
Fun
Nigh-nigh-nigh, la n da

Antagonists
Oh, antagonists
Peas and onions
Carrots and dill

Antagonists
Oh, antagonists
Cabbage and strawberries
Tomatoes and fennel

But I've just seen a place
I feel there's space to put a seedling there
If it adds to the harmony
If so, I'll want the world to see
This bed
Mmm, mmm, mmm, la da da

Companions
Yes, companions
Nasturtiums and radishes
Tomatoes and mints

Oh, companions
Yes, companions
Long-time lovers
Best friends

Comments: *All verses from "Companions discourage diseases" to the end are "extras," added on by the Beetless to the Beatles' original tune.
Forever incurable romantics, the Beetless can't resist drawing a comparison between plant compatibility and romantic love in the closing lines of this song. In other ways, both spirit and content undoubtedly owe a large debt to biointensive gardening guru John Jeavons, founder of Ecology Action and author of How to Grow More Vegetables … than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine, one of their dog-eared mainstays.

 
Excerpted from The Beetless' Gardening Book: An Organic Gardening Songbook/Guidebook, copyright 1997 by Chris Roth (info./disclaimers [0]) (glossary [0]) (index [0]) (gardening guide [0])