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Companion Planting
Find out about the benefits of companion planting
Companion Planting
grow your own | vegetables
Companion planting is the system of planting crops in close proximity to one another in order to deter pests and diseases, or to increase flavour and yields organically. It also includes planting sacrificial crops which will be so attractive to pests that they will leave your main crop alone.
Companion Planting of Vegetables
The most common example of companion planting is the traditional three sisters system (pictured above). In this a bed is planted with sweetcorn, beans, and squash plants (e.g. courgettes, or pumpkins). The stems of the tall sweetcorn offer the perfect climbing frame for the beans, the beans set nitrogen in the soil which feeds the sweetcorn and the squash, and the large leaves of the squash plants act as mulch helping the soil retain its moisture, supressing weeds, and keeping the sunshine off the roots of the sweetcorn.
Below is a table with companion plants for a selection of the most commonly grown vegetables.
| CROP | COMPANION PLANTS | INCOMPATIBLE WITH |
| Asparagus | Tomato, Parsley, Basil | |
| Beans | Most Vegetables & Herbs | |
| Beans, Broad | Potato, Cucumber, Maize, Strawberry, Celery, Summer Savory | Onion |
| Beans, Runner | Maize, Summer Savory, Radish | Onion, Beets, Kohlrabi, Sunflower |
| Cabbage Family | Aromatic Herbs, Celery, Beetroot, Onion Family, Chamomile, Spinach, Chard | Dill, Strawberries, Runner Beans, Tomato |
| Carrots | Pea, Lettuce, Rosemary, Onion Family, Sage, Tomato | |
| Celery | Onion & Cabbage Families, Tomato, Broad Beans, Nasturtium | Dill |
| Cucumber | Beans, Maize, Pea, Sunflowers, Radish | Potato, Aromatic Herbs |
| Aubergine (Eggplant) | Broad Beans, Marigold | |
| Lettuce | Carrot, Radish, Strawberry, Cucumber | |
| Maize (Corn) | Potato, Broad Beans, Pea, Pumpkin, Cucumber, Squash | Tomato |
| Melon | Maize, Nasturtium, Radish, | |
| Onion Family | Beetroot, Carrot, Lettuce, Cabbage Family | Beans, Peas |
| Parsley | Tomato, Asparagus | |
| Peas | Carrots, Radish, Turnip, Cucumber, Maize, Beans | Onion Family, Gladiolus, Potato |
| Potato | Beans, Maize, Cabbage Family, Marigolds, Horseradish | Pumpkin, Squash, Tomato, Cucumber, Sunflower |
| Pumpkins | Maize, Marigold | Potato |
| Radish | Pea, Nasturtium, Lettuce, Cucumber | Hyssop |
| Spinach | Strawberry, Cauliflower, Celery | |
| Squash | Nasturtium, Maize, Marigold | Potato |
| Strawberry | Broad Beans, Lettuce, Onion, Spinach | Cabbage |
| Tomato | Basil, Onion Family, Nasturtium, Marigold, Asparagus, Carrot, Parsley, Cucumber, Mint | Potato, Fennel, Cabbage Family |
| Turnip | Pea | Potato |
Herbs as Companion Plants
Herbs are typically very aromatic and so can be excellent at repelling pests. Hyssop for example repels cabbage white butterflies and so should be planted next to cabbages. Similarly, Coriander will repel aphids from all vegetables, and chives will deter carrot fly.
Article Published: 09:27, 12th Jul 2008
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