Companion Planting

Companion Planting

Companion planting is an excellent, all natural way to help control pests and problems in your garden. When it’s used in vegetable gardens, companion planting can also help enhance the flavors of various vegetables while they’re growing too.

This is a very easy to use organic gardening method too. All you do is plant companion plants near each other, or in the same bed, and you’ll derrive a variety of benefits from their close growing proximity.

In some cases a companion plant will primarily act as a natural bug and pest repellant. Some will also help prevent common diseases and other frequent gardening problems too. Some companion plants however, will actually act as a natural fertilizer for the plants they’re growing close to, because they add things to the soil which the other plants need and use. Last but not least, companion planting is used to help enhance or change the flavors of certain plants.

======================================
Garden Tip...

There are many different species and varieties of Lilies, but none approach those known as Japan Lilies in the beauty and variety of their flowers, and their exquisite fragrance. They are perfectly hardy, and the fall is the proper time to plant them. If good strong bulbs are set out in the ground in October or November, planted about eight inches deep, they will throw up strong shoots the following summer, and bloom freely. The flowers increase in size and beauty with the age of the bulb, and this should be left to grow undisturbed in the same spot for five or six years; afterwards, if desired, the bulbs can be dug up, the offshoots removed, and the old bulbs reset, and they will do better than ever. Any of the young bulbs that have been removed can be planted out in the ground, and in a few years will form good blooming bulbs. The time to perform this work is in the fall.
~ James Sheehan
======================================

Companion planting can be done wrong too of course. If you end up planting certain flowers or vegetables too close together, you could actually end up with many more problems than normal. And you can end up with really bad or wrong tasting produce as well.

======================================
Garden Tip...

The earth in vases of plants that stand out in exposed places, will rapidly dry out; if shells or fine gravel is laid over the surface of the soil, they will prevent it from "baking" after watering, and hold the moisture much longer than without. Try it.
~ James Sheehan
======================================
To improve or change the taste of your tomato plants for instance, you might try planting chives or basil near them. Not only will you notice a taste difference, but you’ll find that the chives help keep aphids off the tomato plants, so you may see a much better harvest from them as well.

If you plant cabbage too close to the tomatoes though, you may find yourself with very weak or non productive tomato plants. They may not grow well at all, or they may provide you with very little produce to harvest in the end.

Planting cabbage, potatoes, dill, and onions all close together however, will help all four of these plants grow well and provide you with a bountiful harvest at the end of the growing season.

Some plants and herbs are general purpose companion plants too. Marigolds for instance, and herbs such as lemon balm are effective at repelling common pests in the yard and garden. Garlic is another wonderful herb to use as a natural pest repellant, but you may not want to plant it as a companion around some of your vegetables. It can for instance, make your tomatoes taste wrong.

Sphere: Related Content