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Companion
Planting
By Abigal Gordon
Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
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Companion planting is the
placement of various crops in close physical proximity to on another
so as to symbiotically compliment the progress of each other.
One traditional practice was planting of corn and pole beans
together. The cornstalk would serve as a trellis for the beans to
climb. The inclusion of squash with these two plants completes the
Three Sisters technique, pioneered by Native American peoples.
Companion planting was widely touted in the 1970s as part of the
organic gardening movement. It was encouraged not for pragmatic
reasons like trellising, but rather with the idea that different
species of plant may thrive more when close together. It is also a
technique frequently used in permaculture, together with mulching,
polyculture, and crop rotation.
The combinations of plants also make for a more varied, attractive
vegetable garden. Many of the modern principles of companion
planting were present many centuries ago in the cottage garden.
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Companion plants can benefit each other in a number of
different ways, including:
- Flavor enhancement — some plants,
especially herbs, seem to subtly change the flavor
of other plants around them. Such as Basil is known
to enhance the flavor of tomatoes.
- Hedged investment — multiple plants in
the same space increase the odds of some yield being
given, even if one category encounters catastrophic
issues
- Level interaction — plants which grow on
different levels in the same space, perhaps
providing ground cover or working as a trellis for
another plant
- Nitrogen fixation — plants which fix
nitrogen in the ground, making it available to other
plants
- Pest suppression — plants which repel
insects, plants, or other pests like nematodes or
fungi, through chemical means
- Positive hosting — attracts or is
inhabited by insects or other organisms which
benefit plants, as with ladybugs or some "good
nematodes"
- Protective shelter — one plant type of
plant may serve as a wind break, or shade from
noonday sun, for another
- Trap Cropping — plants which attract
pests away from others
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Plant |
Good Neighbors |
Bad Neighbors |
Miscellaneous
Notes |
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Asparagus |
Tomatoes, parsley, basil |
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A
substance called
asparagin in asparagus
repels certain tomato pests.
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Alliums Stunt Growth |
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Broad Beans |
Broccoli.
Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage,
Cauliflower, Corn, Lettuce, Lovage
Marjoram, Potatoes,Spinach
Summer
Savory - Plant with beans and onions to
improve growth and flavor. Discourages
cabbage moths.
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Fennel
Garlic
Onions |
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Alliums
Stunt Growth in some varieties |
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Bush Beans
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Sunflowers
(beans like partial shade; sunflowers
attract birds and bees), cucumbers ,
potatoes, corn, celery,
Plant Summer savory with beans and
onions to improve growth and flavor.
Discourages cabbage moths. |
Onions |
Sunflowers attract
birds keep this in mind if you have a
crop such as berries that birds savor.
Sunflowers also attract
Aphids |
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Beets |
Onions, kohlrabi |
Tomatoes |
Beets are good for
adding minerals to the soil. The leaves
are composed of 25% magnesium.
Pole beans
are said to stunt growth of beets |
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Brassicas
(Cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi,
broccoli) |
Potatoes,
celery, dill, chamomile, sage, thyme,
mint, pennyroyal, rosemary, lavender,
beets, onions
Chamomile - Improves
flavor of cabbages and onions. |
Rue, Strawberry |
Aromatic plants deter
cabbage worms
Interplant Thyme w. Brassicas as it
repels
cabbage worm
Clover interplantd with cabbage has been
shown to reduce the native cabbage aphid
and cabbageworm populations by
interfering with the colonization of the
pests and increasing the number of
predator ground beetles
Plant Chamomile with cabbage and onions.
Improves growth and flavor |
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Carrots |
Peas, lettuce, chives, onions,
leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes, Bush beans, Brussels sprouts,
cabbage, onions, peppers, red radishes. |
Pole beans,
strawberries, Dill |
* Dill
stunts growth
Sage can be planted with cabbage, carrots,
strawberries and tomatoes
to enhance their growth. |
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Celery |
Leeks,Tomatoes, bush beans,
cauliflower, cabbage |
Parsnip,
Potatoes, Wheat |
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Corn |
Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers,
pumpkin, squash, Planting sunflowers
with corn is said by some to increase
the yield |
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Sweet corn in a heavy
feeder that takes nitrogen and other
nutrients from the soil. Plant some
climbing beans at the base of each corn
stalk. The stalk will support the beans,
while the climbing beans' roots will fix
nitrogen from the air into the soil
where its needed most. |
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Cucumbers |
Sunflowers,
Beans, Corn, English Pea, Sunflowers,
Radish ,Bush
Beans, Pole Beans, Corn, Lettuce,
Onions, Peas, Radish, Marigold,
Nasturtium, Savory |
Potato,
Any Aromatic Herbs |
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Eggplant |
Bush Beans, Pole Beans, Spinach |
Fennel |
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Gooseberry |
Tansy,
Tomatoes |
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Horseradish |
Potatoes (deters potato beetles);
around plum trees to discourage
curculios |
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Plant in
potato patch to keep away potato bugs. |
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Leek |
Onions, celery, carrots |
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Lettuce |
Carrots and radishes (lettuce,
carrots, and radishes make a good salad
also) , strawberries, cucumbers |
Parsley |
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Onion |
Beets,
Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Cucumber,
Lettuce, Pepper, Squash, Strawberries,
Tomato
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Bush Beans,
Pole Beans, Peas. |
Do not plant onions or
other members of the
Amaryllidaceae
family in the same soil for more than
one season.. Rotate the crops to various
sections of your garden space from
season to season.
Plant Chamomile with cabbage and
onions. Improves growth and flavor |
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Peas |
Squash
(when squash follows peas up trellis) |
Garlic,
Gladiolis, Onions, Shallots |
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Alliums
Stunt Growth |
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Potato |
*Horseradish, beans, corn, cabbage,
marigold, limas, |
Apple,
Celery, Cherry, Cucumber, Pumpkin,
Raspberry
Rosemary, Sunflower, Tomato |
*Horseradish deters
potato bugs |
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Pepper
[Hot] |
Lovage,
Marjoram, Parsnip,
cucumbers, eggplant,
escarole, tomato, okra, Swiss chard and
squash. Herbs to plant near them
include: basils, oregano, parsley and
rosemary |
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Chili peppers have root
exudates that prevent root rot and other
Fusarium diseases. Plant anywhere you
have these problems. Teas made from hot
peppers can be useful as insect sprays.
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Pepper
[Sweet] |
tomatoes, parsley, onions,basil, and
carrots. |
fennel ,kohlrabi., apricot and related
fruit trees |
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Pumpkin |
Corn |
Potato |
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Radish |
Peas, nasturtium, lettuce,
cucumbers; a general aid in repelling
insects |
Hyssop |
Planting an early row of
radishes may lure flea beetles away from
susceptible plants |
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Raspberry |
Marigold,
Rue, Tansy |
Potatoes |
Should
not follow: eggplant,
tomatoes, potatoes, or peppers and other raspberry
varieties in the crop rotation. These crops are susceptible to verticillium wilt, to which most raspberries are susceptible |
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Shallots |
Lovage,
Marjoram |
Beans, peas |
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Soybeans |
Grows with anything, helps
everything |
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Spinach |
Strawberries |
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Squash |
Nasturtium, corn |
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Strawberries |
Bush beans,
spinach, borage, lettuce |
Broccoli,
Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage
Cauliflower, Gladiolis |
Do not plant
strawberries where tomatoes, potatoes,
peppers or eggplant have been grown in
the past four years, because these crops
carry the root rot fungus Verticillium
which also attacks
strawberries
Sage can be planted with cabbage, carrots,
strawberries and tomatoes
to enhance their growth. |
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Tomato |
Chives, onion, parsley, asparagus,
marigold, nasturtium, carrot, limas |
Plant
tomatoes away from corn, potatoes,
peppers, eggplant, fennell and kohlrabi
as they have too many pests in common. |
Don't plant tomatoes
near nut trees the roots of many of
these trees secrete a
phytotoxin that is
toxic to
tomatoes
..Walnuts for instance,
will kill almost anything within reach
of their roots.
Sage can be planted with cabbage, carrots,
strawberries and tomatoes
to enhance their growth. |
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Turnip |
Peas |
Mustard |
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Herbs/Spice
Plants/Misc.
See also
Herbal Control of Insects |
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Anise |
Coriander |
Wormwood |
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Basil |
Tomatoes
,Apricot, Asparagus, Cucumber, Fennel
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Rue |
Basil is said to
repel
tomato worm
, flies and
mosquitoes and to enhance the flavor of
tomatoes as well as other plants. |
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Borage |
Tomatoes
,squash, strawberries |
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Borage
attracts bees, deters
tomato worm
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Catnip |
Plant in borders; protects against
flea beetles |
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Celeriac
(Celery root) |
Beans, Pole
Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts,
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lovage
Marjoram, Pea, Tomato |
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Chamomile |
Cabbage, onions |
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Chervil |
Radishes (improves growth and
flavor) |
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Chives |
Carrots;
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Improves growth and
flavor of
carrots and
tomatoes
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Plant chives around base of
fruit trees to discourage insects from
climbing trunk |
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Dill |
Cabbage (improves growth and
health), carrots |
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Fennel |
Most plants are supposed to dislike
it. |
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Flax |
Carrots, potatoes |
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Garlic |
Roses
,Raspberries
(deters Japanese beetle) |
Plant
garlic around everything but
beans.
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Accumulates sulfur: a
naturally occurring fungicide which will
help in the garden with disease
prevention.
Garlic discourages
Aphids,
Flea beetle,
Japanese beetle, and
spider mites as well as vampires and
members of the opposite sex. |
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Hyssop |
Cabbage,
Grape Vine, Roses
Tomato |
Cucumber,
radish |
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Lovage |
Plant here and there in garden. |
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Marjoram |
Plant here and there in garden. |
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Mint |
Cabbage
family, tomatoes |
Chamomile |
Deters
cabbage
moth |
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Mole plant |
Deters moles and mice if planted
here and there throughout garden |
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Nasturtium |
Tomatoes,
radishes, cabbage, cucumbers; plant
under fruit trees; deters aphids and
pests of
Cucumbers |
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Parsley |
Tomato,
Asparagus |
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Peppermint |
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Repels white cabbage
moths, aphids and flea beetles. It is
the menthol content in mints that acts
as an insect repellant |
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Pigweed |
Brings nutrients to topsoil;
beneficial growing with potatoes,
onions, and corn; keep well thinned |
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Rosemary |
Carrots, beans, cabbage, sage;
deters cabbage moth, bean beetles, and
carrot fly |
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Sage |
Rosemary, carrots, cabbage, peas,
beans; deters some insects |
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Southernwood |
Cabbage; plant here and there in
garden |
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Summer savory |
Beans, onions; deters bean beetles |
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Tansy |
Plant under fruit trees; deters
pests of roses and raspberries; deters
flying insects, also Japanese beetles,
striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs,
ants |
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* Tansy is TOXIC
to pets & Livestock |
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Tarragon |
Good throughout garden |
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Thyme |
Cabbage |
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deters
cabbage worm |
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Valerian |
Good anywhere in garden |
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Wormwood |
As a border, keeps animals from
garden |
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Yarrow |
Plant along borders, near paths,
near aromatic herbs; enhances essential
oil production of herbs |
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Host plant
for ladybugs, predatory wasps |
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Flowers/ Ornamentals |
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Foxglove |
Apple,
Potatoes,Tomato |
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Marigolds |
Marigolds
are ideal companions through
out the garden, as they're reputed to
attract hoverflies, which prey on
aphids, as well as reduce the number of
nematodes in the soil |
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Marigolds reduce the
number of nematodes in soil ,If you are
using beneficial nematodes they will be
affected as well. |
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Petunia |
Protects beans; beneficial
throughout garden |
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Rue |
Roses and raspberries; deters
Japanese beetle; keep it away from basil |
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Roses |
Marigolds
Hyssop, Lavender, Lemon Balm,
Nasturtiums, Parsley, Rue, Sage, Tansy,
Thyme
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Sunflower |
Cucumbers |
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* Sunflower
attracts aphids and other harmful
insects, so although it may be a good
companion in some instances, it is best
kept at a distance from most vegetables,
or used as a trap crop. |
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Wallflower |
Apple |
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