Wondering how to keep pesky critters at bay in your garden without using pesticides? Enter companion planting! Companion planting is the practice of growing different plants in close proximity to enhance the growth, health, and flavor of one or both plants. By strategically planting certain plants together, you can create a harmonious ecosystem that keeps those unwanted critters at bay, keep soil healthier and plants happier!
Here are some common companion plants and their benefits:
natural pest repellants:
These plant superheroes naturally repel insects, or are so popular with critters that they forget about the other plants in the garden.
- Marigolds: French marigolds, especially, can shoo away nematodes, whiteflies, and pesky soil critters. Watch them work their magic near tomatoes, beans, and cabbage!
- Basil: Often paired with tomatoes, basil is believed to repel aphids, whiteflies, and tomato hornworms.
- Garlic and Onions: Their powerful aroma scares off all kinds of bad insects like aphids, cabbage loopers, carrot rust flies, and even some bigger critters. They make great companions for carrots, beets, lettuce, and strawberries.
- Nasturtiums: These attract aphids and other pests, drawing them away from valuable crops like tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, and Mint: These aromatic herbs can repel various insects with their strong scents.
calling for back-up!:
These plants take things a step further by attracting beneficial insects that help your garden fight off the bad guys!
- Flowers: With flowering plants, such as sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, borage, and dill, your garden becomes a buzzing paradise for bees and butterflies, which is vital for growing juicy fruits and veggies!
- Dill and Fennel: These super-herbs attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and lacewings, which prey on aphids and other pests.
- Yarrow and other umbellifers: These attract predatory wasps that go after insects that hurt your plants.
soil super-stars:
These plants naturally boost soil quality, leaving it better than they found it!
- Legumes (Beans, Peas, Clover): Legumes are known for enriching soil with nitrogen- essentially making free fertilizer for other garden buddies! They are excellent companions for nitrogen-hungry plants like corn and leafy greens. Deep-Rooted Plants (e.g., Carrots, Parsnips):Their roots are like nature's little soil aerators, breaking up compact soil for their shallow-rooted pals and bringing up nutrients from the deep.
classic combos:
These are some popular tried-and-true combinations, but they're not the only ones! In the photo to the right, you can see a snippet of my patio garden with chard, sugar snap peas, petunia, and chives which worked very well!
- The "Three Sisters": Corn, beans, and squash. Corn provides support for beans, beans fix nitrogen for corn and squash, and squash's large leaves provide shade and suppress weeds.
- Tomatoes and Basil: Repel pests and potentially, even enhance flavor!
- Carrots and Onions: Onions deter carrot rust flies, and carrots may even deter onion flies.
Not all plant pairings are beneficial! Some plants can inhibit each other's growth or attract the same pests and diseases. It's always a good idea to research specific plant combinations for your garden.
