Saturday, February 19, 2011

Reader's Question - Companion Planting

 Question:

What plants are best planted next to each other? We are planting our 'spring' garden here in AZ using the square foot gardening method. Thanks! -Alison

Answer
 There are a ton of different options, here are a few that I follow:

Tomatoes/basil to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes
Tomatoes/marigolds, marigolds fight off tomato pests
garlic next to lettuce, beets and cabbage for increased flavor

I think this companion planting chart is very easy to follow:

This is another good resource for companion planting:
click here
What companion plantings have you done or have found successful? 

~marisa

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6 comments:

  1. CourtneyFebruary 19, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    I am a fairly new gardener (second year!) but I'm going to be growing my green beans next to my corn. The beans will be able to climb the corn stalks and will add nitrogen into the soil to feed the hungry corn.

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  2. Astrid in Bristling AcresFebruary 19, 2011 at 3:47 PM

    I end up doing a lot of companion planting. Sometimes, however, the companion plants take over...and that can cause some trouble in my small garden!

    One planting I can think of (other than the tomato and basil you mentioned) is tomato with borage or tomato with bee balm (monarda). Bees LOVE both borage and bee balm.

    I plant lots of marigold varieties throughout my veggie garden and nasturium. They add lovely color and supposedly help with pest control.

    Last year I also tried surrounding my squash with onions (squash bug control...not sure if it actually helped but it made me feel better trying!).

    There are many books on the topic. (Carrots Love Tomatoes comes to mind)

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  3. Astrid in Bristling AcresFebruary 19, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    Has anybody been truly successful at growing a nice stand of corn? I've quit trying and my father-in-law suggested that I need to use a LOT of fertilizer to get the corn to grow. (since it's a heavy feeder)

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  4. daisy gFebruary 19, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    Marigolds are a staple in our veggie garden. I am going to include bee balm this year to encourage pollinators.

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  5. MAYBELLINEFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:40 PM

    Excellent chart. I can recommend "Carrots Love Tomatoes". There are a few diagrams of suggested planting arrangements.

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  6. MissMOEFebruary 19, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    I do know that peas and onions do not like to be next to each other.

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