Whatcha Know About Companion Planting, Huh?
Protecting your vegetables from pests? Surrounding them with these specific flower varieties could deter bugs and slugs.
Hey there, gardeners! You fancy some plant gossip? Let's talk about companion planting – a tactic for mixing up your garden in the style of a French potager or English cottage garden. This gardening trick involves growing specific flowers and veggies together to create a lovely cooked-up plant mix where edibles and ornamentals mingle like flavors in a pot.
This ain't just a fancy picnic, though. It's about using certain plants that attract predators and pollinators, repel pests, provide shelter, and even mask smells. Let's dive in, shall we?
Things to Grab Their Attention
Flowers to Attract Pollinators
Sow hardy annuals like cornflowers, annual scabious, 'Poached Egg Plant,' larkspur, sweet peas, and lavender for a buzzing bee garden. Calendula, often used in salads, also draws beneficial insects, while the petals lure aphids away from broad beans.
Pest Patrol
Lacewings, ladybirds, and hoverflies, oh my! These critters munch on aphids, caterpillars, and other plant pests. They're especially fond of umbellifers like dill, coriander, and fennel, as well as poached egg plants, dwarf morning glory, and pot marigolds. Wormwood, with its strong aroma, deters aphids from beans, and shade-loving veggies like carrot foliage offer shelter for ground beetles.
No-Shows Welcome
Sacrificing plants to the bugs can help, too. Nasturtiums lure black bean aphids and cabbage white butterflies away from their favorite targets, while Chinese cabbage attracts whitefly from other brassicas. Extra rows of spinach or lettuce can serve as a snack for slugs, keeping them away from other crops.
Rules for the Wild Garden Party
Seek Shelter
Hedges and windbreaks modulate the microclimate, reducing wind speed and water loss, but make sure they're far enough from the veggie patch to avoid competition for water and nutrients. Plant lettuces around outdoor cucumbers, strawberries, and radishes, which all enjoy a humid environment. Climbing runner or French beans can provide shade and keep the soil cool, helping lettuce germinate in the summer heat.
Odor Eaters
Many pests are attracted by their host plant's scent, so mask it with something stronger! Try pots of mint or sage among brassicas, including turnips and radish; the scent from the leaves deters flea beetle. Grow carrots with onions, leeks, or lavender; artemisia and tagetes with beans; and borage with strawberries to create a sensory smorgasbord.
Watch Out for Trouble
Some plants, such as garlic, chives, fennel, and onions don't grow well with beans, onions, mint with asparagus, and potatoes with radish, squashes, and tomatoes. Do not plant dill and carrots together, as the carrots become woody and stronger flavored, and the dill, mild with weak stems.
Top Picks for Your Plant-y Party
A few pairings proven to play nice together include marigolds with tomatoes, carrots and onions/leeks, carrots with onions, leeks, or lavender, artemisia, and tagetes with beans, borage with strawberries, and tansy to deter ants, wasps, and flies. Just remember, some plants can release chemicals that hinder others from growing nearby!
Hope this guide provides a helpful tutorial on the art of companion planting and takes your green thumb to a new level!
[1] Why do marigolds repel certain pests?
Marigolds release chemicals, such as methyl-chavicol, which repel certain pests like whiteflies and tomato hornworms. The scent from these chemicals temporarily masks the aroma of susceptible plants, making it harder for pests to locate them.
[2] What's the purpose of growing onions with carrots or parsnips?
Root vegetables like carrots and parsnips have roots that grow at different depths in the soil, so onions, which have shallow roots, don't compete for resources like water and nutrients.
[3] How does abandoning a row of beans in a cabbage bed help prevent cabbage root fly?
The outer row of beans, if abandoned, serves as a sacrificial decoy, luring the cabbage root fly away from the inner rows of cabbages. This can lead to decreased damage and improved plant health.
[4] What are some anecdotal benefits of basil in deterring whitefly from tomatoes?
While evidence for basil's effect on whiteflies is more anecdotal, many gardeners notice that the aromatic compounds in basil mask the scent of tomatoes, making the plants less attractive to pests. This is particularly noticeable in greenhouse settings.
- In a garden, marigolds are often planted with tomatoes due to their chemical properties that repel whiteflies and tomato hornworms.
- To avoid competition for resources like water and nutrients, it's beneficial to grow root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips alongside shallower-rooted plants like onions.
- By intentionally abandoning an outer row of beans, you can create a decoy that lures cabbage root fly away from inner rows of cabbages, potentially reducing damage and improving overall plant health.
- While the evidence for basil's effectiveness in deterring whiteflies from tomatoes is more anecdotal, many gardeners have observed that the strong aromatic compounds in basil mask the scent of tomatoes, making them less appealing to pests.
