A: Vegetable companion plants should work to deter garden pests, enhance soil nutrients and provide shade or sun to each other. Furthermore, these companion plants may assist with watering as well as attract pollinators.
Corn is one of the traditional three sisters (known as “three sisters'”) of crop rotation, while its tall stalks can serve as natural trellises. Peas also add nitrogen to the soil and are beneficial to carrots, turnips, radish and lettuce plants.
Courgette
A: For centuries, people have believed that vegetables should be planted close together for maximum yield and optimal flavor. Indigenous peoples practiced Three Sisters gardens by planting maize (corn), beans and squash together in order to avoid weeds while decreasing fertilizer needs and improving crops.
Courgette (also known as marrow or calabrese) needs pollination in order to produce fruits, so it’s crucial that it’s planted near flowers that attract pollinators such as nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias and sweet alyssum which attract pollinators that help control pests. These flowers also attract beneficial insects that provide additional pest management benefits.
Fennel is an upright herb with feathery leaves that provides texture to a vegetable garden and makes an excellent partner to carrots, beetroot and brassicas. Furthermore, its feathery leaves repel nematodes and other pests from your soil, helping keep pests at bay!
Fennel can easily coexist with other vegetables as it tolerates dry conditions and can be grown almost anywhere. Radishes, corn and beans can all be interplanted together with it to reduce weeds while shading their respective crops – it even works great with tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers!
Peas are legumes that fix nitrogen into the soil, making them suitable for planting with beans, radishes, corn, carrots, lettuce, cabbage and passion fruit. Furthermore, peas also thrive well when combined with asparagus, broccoli potatoes or turnips.
Asparagus can benefit from being planted alongside chives, marjoram, and tarragon for optimal success, while dill is known to protect it against asparagus beetle infestation. Furthermore, it pairs nicely with tomato plants, basil plants and parsley as well as improving strawberry flavour when planted together with borage.
Cauliflower and kale, like other cruciferous vegetables, tend to attract pests such as flea beetles and aphids; therefore it is beneficial to plant them alongside fragrant herbs like dill, chervil or sage for protection.
Herbs make an invaluable addition to a vegetable garden and can be used in numerous recipes. Parsley, thyme and sage all work to repel carrot fly, while dill and coriander work against aphids. Furthermore, herbs help kohlrabi and cabbage grow larger while being an ideal match with strawberries!
Fennel
Fennel is a hardy perennial plant that can also be grown as an annual. Preferring warm, sunny conditions and withstanding frost well, its abundant supply of vitamin C, fiber and potassium makes this an essential dietary addition to many dishes, sausages and breads. Furthermore, its seeds have long been revered for their digestive aid properties – popularly taken to treat various digestive issues.
Fennel thrives in sunny locations with deep, nutrient-rich, slightly chalky and sandy loam soils. Raised beds or vegetable patches make ideal environments, but containers on balconies or terraces with sufficient space may also do. Regular applications of compost and organic mulch in spring can boost fertility of soil while helping prevent waterlogging issues.
Space your fennel plants appropriately to facilitate healthy growth and air circulation between them. Fennel needs at least six hours of direct sunlight every day and thrives best in gardens that receive south-facing exposure. A layer of organic mulch helps retain moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds while regular, deep watering of this perennial will ensure vigorous, healthy growth – just don’t overwater!
Fennel should be planted in an appropriate location as its presence can hinder other vegetables’ growth. It’s wise to choose an isolated plot rather than planting alongside zucchini or potatoes which require heavy feedings of nutrients from soil, as they compete for nutrients with each other in a shared space. Fennel also contains chemicals which inhibit its own growth as well as that of cucumbers and squashes, so choose wisely!
Fennel grows well alongside herbs such as chives, parsley and coriander; it can also be planted alongside tomatoes, radish, carrots and beetroots but doesn’t do well with tatsoi or kohlrabi. Fennel makes an ideal addition to an herb garden since its growing needs mirror that of Mediterranean herbs that need similar environments for their growth.
Garlic
Garlic’s pungent aroma serves to deter many pests from vegetable plants, such as onion flies and the cabbage-damaging worm, while helping prevent fungal overgrowth in peppers. Garlic is easy to cultivate and pairs well with tomatoes, beans and brassicas such as potatoes or fruit trees; planting it among potatoes near fruit trees, next to lettuce and cabbage may all work effectively in keeping pests away.
Oregano is an invaluable herb with its sweet peppery scent, providing protection from thrips, ants, flies and beetles on zucchini plants. Additionally, its flowers attract pollinators that will increase squashes’ yields. Nasturtiums, marigolds and yarrow also serve well in gardens due to their strong scents; marigolds repel flea beetles while yarrow repel flea beetles while nasturtiums attract beneficial insects into gardens while marigolds repel flea beetles while nasturtiums attract beneficial insects who benefit the gardeners’s yields.
Asparagus needs plenty of room to grow, so when planting it away from cabbages and potatoes it will not compete for nutrients that it requires. Growing asparagus alongside alliums such as onions or leeks adds mild flavour to its leaves – raising beds are best but containers or pots may also work just as well!
Tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchinis make ideal partners due to sharing similar soil needs. Tomatoes help pollinate cucumbers while providing shade from the sun while adding flavour. In addition, tomatoes and basil form an symbiotic relationship; basil repels thrips while keeping raccoons and other rodents away from cucumbers.
Companion planting isn’t a one-size-fits-all strategy for growing vegetables, as each veggie requires different care requirements and thrives under specific environmental conditions. By knowing which plants work well together in your garden and maximising production potential.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes thrive when grown alongside many other vegetables, herbs and flowers from different families – often nightshade crops like eggplants and peppers but also root veggies such as carrots, rutabagas and celeriac root vegetables help loosening soil and accessing more nutrients from the earth without exertion reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. This mutualistic relationship reduces chemical fertilizers use.
Basil, thyme, and parsley have long been touted to enhance the flavor of tomatoes. Furthermore, these plants attract insects that aid pollination and pest control efforts while providing some shade from the summer heat by shading tomato crops; some species like dill and borage attract hoverflies that help deter flea beetles while calico catmint repels tomato hornworms.
Other plants that go well with tomatoes include beans, peas and legumes such as soybeans and lima beans. These plants help fix nitrogen into the soil – essential to helping tomatoes flourish – as well as providing space-saving vining habit vines to save space in your garden.
Avoid planting tomatoes alongside brassica plants such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower as these plants tend to attract pests that attack tomato crops as well as depleting essential soil nutrients.
Fennel plants should also not be planted near tomato plants as its presence can release chemicals that inhibit their development and compete for water and nutrients, decreasing both crops’ quality.
Other plants to avoid include kale, which is susceptible to blight and can wreak havoc on nearby tomato crops. Furthermore, nightshade family pests like aphids can wreak havoc by infesting tomatoes as well as potatoes and kohlrabi plants nearby – these types of crops should be planted several feet away from tomatoes for best results.