Series: Planning Your Garden | Mini Post 1

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


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