Use “joint Planting” to Grow a More Fruitful Garden
If you’re going to be growing vegetables this year, or just want the strongest flowers you can get, you might want to try a companion plant. Companion planting uses the natural properties of different plants to complement and support each other. Companion planting can help you grow better, tastier vegetables, as well as save time and money by reducing some of the usual care and increasing yields.
What are companion landings?
The main idea behind co-planting is to select plants with characteristics that benefit each other. While the conventional wisdom is that some plants are adversaries and others are symbiotics, it is now believed that most plants are in fact cooperative and there are only a few species that will have a negative effect on each other if they are take proper care. . Some of the characteristics that matter when choosing companion plants are pest repellency, soil mineral requirements, and growth pattern. There are also some companion plants that attract pollinators and some that help control weeds.
Choosing companion plants can be as simple as choosing one plant that has a pest problem and another that will help repel pests, although more complex formulas are possible. Knowing how to help your garden plants work together will help your vegetables and flowers thrive and will cut down on the amount of weeding, pest control and maintenance you need to do, not to mention less watering, which will save you money.
A typical example of a companion landing
The most common example of a companion plant is the three sisters: corn, curly beans, and squash. These plants grow well together because the beans naturally add nitrogen to the soil that the corn needs to grow, while the corn provides the structure for the beans to rise. Pumpkin spreads low, helping to retain moisture in the soil as well as shading weeds. Some pumpkin varieties are also resistant to pests due to their spike-like fur on the vines and leaves.
Even More Great Companions to Consider
There are too many companion plant configurations to list all the possibilities here, but here are a few examples to get you started. Asparagus will pair well with tomatoes, marigold, or petunia because these plants can repel asparagus bugs. Zucchini will pair well with buckwheat and oregano because buckwheat attracts friendly insect pests, while oregano has some natural insecticidal properties and produces flowers that attract pollinators.
Carrots grow well with green onions, rosemary, and sage—green onions can help repel mites, aphids, and flies, and are thought to actually improve the flavor of carrots. Rosemary and sage repel carrot flies.
Use the app to study and plan
If you’re new to companion planting but want to give it a try, or if you’d like to expand your experience beyond planting tomatoes and basil, the Farmer’s Almanac app helps you identify different varieties of companion plants with a large database. It costs $30 a year but will help you learn from the experts without all the trial and error.