Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Underwood Gardens ™
Home of Grandma's Garden® Catalog

Greetings Elizabeth Johnson,

If you're growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs, which is getting more and more popular with all segments of society, you might want to know about which plants like each other and which don't.

Yes, just like people, plants have developed relationships over the years. Some get along better or prefer each others company, some do better apart. Putting plants near each other that thrive better when grown in close proximity can significantly impact your garden and harvest. "Companion planting" can result in healthier, tastier foods and also help fool pests determined to munch your fruits and vegetables.

My family always grew basil plants interspersed with tomato plants. I never knew this was "companion planting." It was just what the old gardeners did that the next generation continued.

Part of basil's magic is its strong smell. Plants with strong odors tend to confuse, deter, repel and often stop certain pests and hide the odor of another plant that you want to keep from being found.

Herbs in general have strong odors. Plant them for that characteristic and also for the small flowers that attract and provide habitats for the good insects, like lacewings, lady beetles, parasitic flies, and wasps.

Savory, chamomile and thyme attract more beneficial insects than any bright, pretty flower does. The herb Rue is so strong tasting and smelling that it discourages even the most persistent pests.

Marigolds: Gardeners have long known that marigolds are good companion plants. Brocade marigolds (in picture) have a strong enough odor to confuse pests looking for their favorite plants and their roots give off a substance which repels nematodes. Plant them around the edges of gardens and in between plants for general help and effectiveness, however don't plant marigolds near beans. Mexican marigolds eliminate destructive eelworms, wireworms, millipedes and various root-eating pests from their vicinity.

Tomatoes like to grow in compost made from their own plant parts - and also like to be grown in the same area for a 5 year period. Aside: This is a fine practice as long as there is no disease in the soil (early or late blights, verticillium wilt, Septoria Leaf Spot, Grey Leaf Spot, Southern blight, Anthracnose, Bacterial Speck), which you can investigate if your tomato plants are not doing well. If there is a soil disease, move the next crop of tomato plants to a totally different area, then solarize the soil where the problem was.

Solarizing is done by spreading clear plastic over the problem area. At first there is a flush of growth where the weeds get big and fat under the plastic. Then they set seeds and die. Leave the plastic in place until all the weeds and their seeds are brown and dead. The time will vary depending on where you live and how strong and hot the sun is. Solarizing is a good way to clear any area, diseased or not).

What to plant near each other:

Green beans and strawberries thrive better when grown together than when grown separately. And, by the way, NOW is the time in even the northernmost sections of the country to plant beans. You can do successive plantings every few weeks until midsummer. Yum!

For great tasting Bibb lettuce, plant one spinach plant for every 4 Bibb lettuce plants. Both lettuce and spinach are cool weather crops, so you can plant them again at the end of August for a fall crop.

Plants to keep away from each other:

Black walnut trees gives off a toxin called juglone which can do some serious damage to other plants. This chemical reaction is known as allelopathy. Sunflowers also have allelopathic properties. Give sunflowers their own spot a distance from the rest of your garden.

Alliums - onions, garlic, chives and shallots - seriously inhibit the growth of peas and beans.

Pole beans and beets do not do well together...although strangely enough bush beans and beets are neutral - neither helping nor harming the other.

Keep sage away from cucumber plants. Another tip for growing cucumbers....make sure you pick every single cucumber before any fruit gets bloated and yellowish. When even one cucumber gets to that stage, it signals the plant to stop production!

Don't plant lettuce near chrysanthemums.

Don't plant peppers with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, or where peppers were planted previously. (Only tomatoes like to be planted where tomatoes have been planted in the past few years...)

Keep tomatoes away from fennel or potatoes.

In general, don't put plants together that are closely related. (Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and eggplants are all part of the same family....the Solanum family). Related plants attract the same pests.

Companion planting is not an exact science. Its still an experimental field which needs more research. There is a great deal more to companion planting, including planting for restoring to the soil what one plant removes (crop rotation).

To learn more, there are several books on the subject (How to Grow More Vegetables than you ever thought possible on less land than you can imagine by John Jeavons) and some common sense information available here.

Our recommendation? Experiment with companion planting, be prepared to observe the results - and make sure your sense of humor is in place.

Downloadable wallet pesticide chart - http://www.underwoodgardens.com/docs/Pesticides_in_veggie.pdf

Oh....don't forget to download the PDF file with a small chart (to print and put in your wallet) with the amount of pesticides in commonly available produce. It can guide you on what you want to buy...and what you decide to grow for yourself.

Green blessings,
Pat, Betty, Megan, Angela and Mayo - in spirit

Underwood Gardens
Heirloom Seed Specialists
http://www.underwoodgardens.com