Garden Companion Plants List
If you are looking for a way to help make caring for your vegetable garden easier, companion gardening may be an ideal option for you. With companion planting, various plants are placed in proximity to one another to help encourage growth, repel insects and provide shelter for beneficial insects that help your garden. Companion planting will not completely eradicate the need for good old-fashioned hard work in the garden, but it can help make some garden tasks a little bit easier. Does this Spark an idea?
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Tomato
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Tomatoes are a popular vegetable plant found in many home gardens. Some gardeners plant other vegetables such as carrots, onions, asparagus and broccoli near tomato plants to help improve flavor and growth. Marigolds planted around tomato plants can help to repel nematodes, an insect that frequently attacks tomato crops. Herbs such as borage and dill are planted near tomatoes to help repel hornworms, another garden pest fond of all parts of the tomato plant.
Pepper
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Growing tall plants such as okra next to peppers can help protect the plants from wind and sun damage. Marigolds planted around pepper plants help to repel both aphids and nematodes, common pepper predators. Some gardeners plant herbs like marjoram, basil and lovage near pepper plants to help stimulate the plant growth.
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Cucumbers
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According to an excerpt from Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening series, cucumbers appear to grow better when they are planted near radishes, cabbage, beans, corn and peas. Onions are also good garden companions for cucumbers, as they help to repel root maggots that damage the roots of the cucumber plants. When cucumbers are planted with corn and broccoli, they are less likely to be attacked by bacterial wilt that is carried by cucumber beetles.
Corn
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One of the best garden companions for corn is legumes, or beans. Legumes and corn work mutually to help improve the others growth and production. Corn helps to keep leafhoppers that attack bean plants and beans help to prevent fall armyworms that plague corn crops. Sunflowers planted in rows alongside corn also help to reduce the risk of fall armyworm infestation.
Broccoli
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Aromatic herb plants such as sage, dill, peppermint and rosemary make ideal companion plants for broccoli by discouraging the presence of harmful garden pests. Since broccoli requires soil rich in calcium to grow properly, plants with low-calcium needs like nasturtiums, sage and beets do well when planted nearby.
Potato
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Marigold and nasturtium can help to reduce the risk of garden pests like nematodes or beetles that attack potato tubers. Some gardeners will plant a few eggplants in close proximity to potato crops to help lure away Colorado potato beetles.
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References
- Organic Gardening: Companion Planting Made Easy
- Burpee: The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener: A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically; Karan Davis Cutler, Barbara W. Ellis; 1997
- Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening; Louise Riotte; 1998
- Take Two Plants: The Gardener's Complete Guide to Companion Planting; Nicola Ferguson; 1999
Resources
- Photo Credit salad and vegetable plants growing in allotment image by scalesy from Fotolia.com
