Spring Garden & Homestead Blog Series: Mini Post #1
COMPANION PLANTS: Harmful and Helpful Tools For Your Home Garden!
A quick look into companion plants that you can use alongside your crops to help with quality, growth, and pest control!
Every person who plants a garden wants their crops to flourish! No one wants to spend time, money, and effort on a garden and watch it wither and wilt within the first few weeks. Companion plants can be a HUGE help to your garden crops. Not only can companion plants aid in your crop growth and quality, they can also deter pests while welcoming helpful insects! Companion plants allow you to maximize your gardens’ potential and crop yield.
In this post, we will look at common, easy beginner crops and companion plants that are beneficial, as well as plants to avoid!
Below, you will find a helpful table that outlines ideal companion plants and “enemy” plants- this will be very helpful when planning the layout of your garden! You want to be sure that you are not planting enemy plants together as it will affect the growth and quality of your crops.
Since this is only a brief look at some common garden crops, you will not find a list of every possible plant combination. If you are planting something that is not on the table below, you can easily find recommended companion plants online. Also, note that some companion plants are herbs! Herbs are fantastic plants to grow since most do not require a lot of maintenance, they grow quickly and abundantly, and you can use them to spice up many recipes! Thinking of growing some tomatoes and making tomato sauce? Grow some basil! It makes an excellent addition to homemade tomato sauce 🙂 Want to make some refreshing mojitos this summer? Grow some mint and enjoy the crisp, tasty goodness that accompanies fresh ground mint leaves! There are SO MANY possibilities to make your garden work for YOU!
| Crop | Companion Plant(s) | Other Allies | Enemies |
| Lettuce | Beets, broccoli, bush beans, pole beans, carrots, cucumbers, onion, radish, strawberries, dill | Chives, garlic- deter aphids | Cabbage- inhibits growth and quality |
| Spinach | Peas, beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, onion, strawberries, squash | ||
| Tomatoes | Asparagus, carrot- sometimes tomatoes can stunt carrot growth, celery, cucumber, onion, parsley, pepper | Basil- repels flies & mosquitoes while improving growth and quality; bee balm, chives, & mint- improve quality; borage- deters tomato worm; marigold- deters nematodes | Corn; mature dill & kohlrabi- inhibits growth; potatoes; apricot, dill, fennel, cabbage, cauliflower |
| Squash | Corn, melon, pumpkin, beans, cucumbers, onions, mint | Borage- deters worms while improving growth & quality; Marigold- deters beetles; Nasturtium- deters squash bugs; oregano & dill- general pest protection | Potatoes |
| Cucumbers | Bean, cabbage, corn, pea, radish, tomato, beets, carrots | Marigold- deters beetles; Nasturtium- deters aphids, beetles, & bugs while improving growth & quality; oregano, tansy | Sage, potatoes, rue |
| Carrots | Bean, lettuce, onion, pea, pepper, radish, tomato- may stunt growth of carrots, leeks, parsley | Chives- improve growth & quality; rosemary & sage- deter carrot fly | Dill- inhibits growth; fennel, kohlrabi, parsnips |
| Peppers | Carrot eggplant, tomato, onion, parsley, basil, geraniums, marjoram, okra | Fennel, kohlrabi, apricot | |
| Radishes | Bean, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, melon, pea, beet, parsnip, spinach, squash, corn | Chevril & nasturtium- improve growth & quality | Hyssop |
| Beans | Beets (bush beans ONLY), cabbage, carrot, celery, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, peas, potatoes, radish, strawberry | Marigold, nasturtium & rosemary – deters bean beetles; summer savory- deters bean beetles, improves quality and growth | Garlic, onion, & shallot- stunts growth |
| Basil | Tomatoes, peppers, oregano, asparagus, petunias | Rue, sage | |
| Onions | Beets, cabbage, carrot, chard, lettuce, pepper, strawberry, tomato, leeks, kohlrabi, dill | Chamomile & summer savory- improve growth and quality; pigweed- raises nutrients from soil to onion; sow thistle- improves quality | Beans, peas, asparagus |
If you want to check out more options, consult the following resources:
Homesteading- A Backyard Guide 2nd Edition
Edited by Abigail R. Gehring
ISBN: 978-1-62914-366-8
Burpee: Companion Planting Guide
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/companion-planting-guide-article10888.html
Golden Harvest Organics
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
