Companion Planting

In nature, where plants grow without cultivation, there is always a mixture of plant types growing in an area. The selection of the plants living in an area depends on the soil type, local climactic conditions, and horticultural history.

With few exceptions, the plants that grow together in the wild are mutually beneficial in that they allow for maximum utilization of light, moisture and soil. Plants needing less light live in the shade of those which must have full light, while the roots of some plants live close to the surface and others send their roots far down into the ground. This is known as companion planting. Companion planting enables gardeners to make maximum use of sun, soil and moisture to grow mixed crops in one area.

Some plants have a beneficial effect upon the garden because of some peculiar characteristic of their growth, scent, or root formation and soil demands. Odoriferous plants (the smelly ones), including those with aromatic oils, play an important part in determining just which insects visit the garden. Hemp, for instance, is said to repel the cabbage butterfly. But while some plants can repel insects, they can also hinder the growth rate of other plants or otherwise adversely affect them.

Below are combinations of vegetables, herbs, flowers and weeds that are mutually beneficial, according to reports of organic gardeners and companion planting guides.

Plant	Companion(s) and Effects
Asparagus	Tomatoes, parsley, basil
Basil	Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor); said to dislike rue; repels flies & mosquitoes
Bean	Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, summer savory, most other veggies & herbs
Bean (bush)	Sunflowers (beans like partial shade, unless you live up north, sunflowers attract birds & bees for pollination), cucumbers (combination of heavy and light feeders), potatoes, corn, celery, summer savory
Bee Balm	Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor).
Beet	Onions, kohlrabi
Borage	Tomatoes (attracts bees, deters tomato worm, imrpoves growth & flavor), squash, strawberries
Cabbage Family (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi)	Potatoes, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, thyme, mint, pennyroyal, rosemary, lavender, beets, onions; aromatic plants deter cabbage worms
Caraway	Loosens soil; plant here and there
Carrot	Peas, lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes
Catnip	Plant in borders; protects against flea beetles
Celery	Leeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflower, cabbage
Chamomile	Cabbage, onions
Chervil	Radishes (improves growth & flavor).
Chive	Carrots; plant around base of fruit trees to discourage insects from climbing trunk.
Corn	Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash
Cucumber	Beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers
Dead nettle	Potatoes (deters potato bugs)
Dill	Cabbage (improves growth & health), carrots
Eggplant	Beans
Fennel	Most plants are supposed to dislike it.
Flax	Carrots, potatoes.
Garlic	Roses & raspberries (deters Japanese bettle); with herbs to enhance their production of essential oils; plant liberally throught garden to deter pests.
Horseradish	Potatoes (deters potato bettle); around plum trees to discourage curculios.
Hyssop	Cabbage (deters cabbage moths), grapes; keep away from radishes.
Lamb's-quarters	Nutritious edible weeds; allow to grow in modest amounts in the corn.
Leek	Onions, celery, carrots
Lemon Balm	Here and there in the garden
Marigold	The workhorse of pest deterrents; keeps soil free of nematodes; discourages many insects; plant freely throughout the garden.
Marjoram	Here & there in the garden.
Mint	Cabbage family; tomatoes; deters cabbage moth.
Nasturtium	Tomatoes, radish, cabbage, cucumbers; plant under fruit trees; deters aphids & pests of curcurbits.
Onion	Beets, strawberries, tomato, lettuce (protects against slugs), beans (protects against ants), summer savory
Parsley	Tomato, asparagus
Pea	Squash (when squash follows peas up trellis), plus grows well with almost any vegetable; adds nitrogen to the soil.
Petunia	Protects beans; beneficial throughout garden.
Potato	Horseradish, beans, corn, cabbage, marigold, limas, eggplant (as a trap crop for potato beetle).
Pot marigold	Helps tomato, but plant throughout garden as deterent to asparagus beetle, tomato worm & many other garden pests.
Pumpkin	Corn
Radish	Peas, nasturtium, lettuce, cucumbers; a general aid in repelling insects.
Rosemary	Carrots, beans, cabbage, sage; deters cabbage moth, bean beetles & carrot fly.
Rue	Roses & raspberries; deters Japanese beetle; keep away from basil.
Sage	Rosemary, carrots, cabbage, peas, beans; deters some insects.
Soybean	Grows with anything; helps everything.
Spinach	Strawberries
Squash	Nasturtium, corn.
Strawberry	Bush beans, spinach, borage, lettuce (as a border).
Summer Savory	Beans, onions; deters bean beetles.
Sunflower	Cucumbers
Tansy	Plant under fruit trees; deters pests of roses & raspberries; deters flying insects, also Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs; deters ants.
Tarragon	Good throughout garden.
Thyme	Here & there in garden; deters cabbage worm.
Tomato	Chives, onion, parsley, asparagus, marigold, nasturtium, carrot, limas.
Valerian	Good anywhere in garden.
Wormwood	As a border, keeps animals from the garden.
Yarrow	Plant along borders, near paths, near aromatic herbs; enhances essential oil production of herbs.

Resource: The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening - a giant hardcover book of 1145 pages for only $16.28!



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