I think there has been a lot written about companion planting. Some have doubts about its efficiency, while others are amazed. I am somewhere in between. I do not think this is a gardening miracle but I do thing that it is a good planting system to use in the vegetable garden.
What is Companion Planting?
Companion planting is a planting system in which one plant is planted in a close vicinity of the another plant from which it benefits. The benefit can be in pest control, soil improvement or support. Care is taken not to plant together the plants that have negative effect on each other.
As we all know, monoculture is usually hard to take care of. Because there is a big batch of one plant in one area, the pests easily find it and the diseases easily spread. So we should mix it up to get good results. Companion planting maxes mixing up of plants work even better. Here are the plants I will plant in my garden and their companions.
Beans border companions
In the first year this is regarded as border 1. And here I will plant:
Broad beans, pole beans (Blauhilde), sweet peas
Companion plants: Borage, nasturtiums, radishes
Roots Border
This we are calling “border 2”. Here we have root veggies, and most of them are companions to each other. The only other plant I seeded here was marigold. One thing to be cautious about is – do not plant beets next to the garlic – they are not good companions. This is why I will not plant beets in this border. So, the plants in this border are:
Onions, carrots, garlic, spring onions
Companions: marigolds
Fruits Border
Border 3 for this year is fruit border. In this border I will be growing tomatoes and squashes. Maybe one or two eggplants find their home here as well:
Tomatoes, squashes, eggplant(s)
Companions: basil, marigolds, borage
Leaves Border
Border 4 will house leafy plants like kale and lettuce and I will refer to it as a test border. I also plan to have brussel sprouts in this border. This may cause some problems with pests, so it may take a while before I find the BEST companions for them. I will try to plant dill since it is quite aromatic. It may deter some of the bugs.
Kale, Brussel Sprouts, lettuce
Companions: dill, celery, borage, beets
