COMPANION PLANTING
One of our Peach trees with a Comfrey planted beneath it. Also nearby, we allow a really healthy plantain to keep them company as well!
Passion Flower (bottom right) growing amongst Jerusalem Artichokes (the other large leafed plants) and our cover crop, clover, growing between them.
Calendula (marigold family) and a squash that have been planted near each other
Companion planting is the practice of purposely having plants near each other to help create a symbiotic relationship. Some companion plants help bring nutrients to the other plant, some help to make the fruits sweeter, some deter pests and some block weeds from growing up. There are many reasons to include companion planting in your garden! I strongly suggest researching the plants you are growing to figure out what companion plant will help you best.
A few examples of companion planting that we have growing at PIE are:
- Potato and Marigold We planted Marigold among the potatoes to help deter Potato Beetles. Since we have over 50 potato plants growing, we planted marigold to stop any threat of these beetles before they even become a problem. - Squash and Marigold Marigolds also help deter squash bugs. Any of us that have ever grown a squash, cucumber, watermelon or cantaloupe and have had to deal with squash bugs KNOW how bad they can get quickly! - Tomato and Basil Basil helps deter aphids, tomato hornworms (JERKS!) and white flies. It is thought that the basil will slightly sweeten the taste of the tomato too. - Tobacco and Tomato Growing tobacco next to tomato plants is a great 'trap crop' for tomato hornworms. The hornworms like the tobacco plants better than the tomatoes and will nibble on it first. (Tomatoes and tobacco are both in the nightshade family... as are peppers, tomatillos, eggplants and potatoes) - Fruit Trees and Comfrey Planting Comfrey underneath fruit trees is an excellent practice! The Comfrey's deep roots pull up potassium, calcium and other nutrients... making them available to the fruit trees! Be warned though, Comfrey will spread and it's deep tap root makes it hard to ever fully remove (if you decided to do so.)
- Fruit Trees and Oregano Planting anything underneath your fruit trees creates a 'micro-climate' (we will discuss this in another article later). We have planted 'spicy' oregano underneath our figs to create a micro-climate. As the fig tree grows taller and the oregano patch spreads out, water is caught by morning fog and dew by the 'oregano forest' underneath, dripping it downward towards the fig tree's roots. - Jerusalem Artichoke and Passion Flower Jerusalem Artichokes (sun chokes) grow very tall and Passion Flower's are a vine that likes to climb upward. As the Sun Chokes grow tall the Passion Flower can grab onto it's sturdy stalk and climb higher. Since the Sun Chokes edible part is the root, the Passion Flower doesn't hurt anything by climbing up the stalk. We also have a clover 'cover crop' filling in the space between the two, adding nitrogen into the soil and stopping most weeds that try to poke through! ('cover crops' is another article we will discuss later as well!)
- Okra and Tomatoes
Planting Okra near tomatoes helps to deter stink bugs (which love to eat the tomatoes!) - Garlic We have planted garlic in many of our garden beds to help deter aphids and other pests. And don't forget the original companion plants: - 'The 3 Sisters' - Corn, Squash and Pole Bean As the story goes, the Native Americans taught some of the first settlers about 'the 3 sisters'. Having grown them together many times myself, I strongly recommend planting the corn FIRST, then the squash (and the '4th sister' = sunflower, if you choose to). After 2 weeks of the corn growing out of the dirt... it is then time to plant the pole beans. If you don't wait, the pole beans will grow too fast and shade out the other plants. As I mentioned before, there are LOTS of other companion plant combinations. Research what you have growing in your garden to find out what fits your growing needs! There is an excellent book called 'Tomatoes Love Carrots' that is a wealth of great info on the subject that I recommend to all gardeners no matter what skill level you are at! Happy planting!!
