Companion Planting

"Companionship" in the plant world plants means growing plants in a mutually beneficial planting plan to create an overall healthier garden. Knowing which plants get along well and which don't can give you healthier, better tasting herbs and vegetables and keep pests from your garden. It's as much about mixing plants as grouping them. After all, nature doesn't plant in rows and there's a reason for it.

Water, sunlight, and soil requirements

Plants that need a lot of water can be planted together, closer to the water source. However, avoid planting individual plants so close to each other that their roots are competing for water. Likewise, group sun-loving plants together and those that prefer shade together.

Planting for nutrient use

Some plants, such as peas, help bring in nitrogen from the air and their roots improve the soil for surrounding plants. Corn does well with beans; peas and carrots do well with peas, radishes, or sage. Interplanting these can improve their flavor as well as their growth.

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Planting to repel pests

The strong scent or taste of certain plants helps dissuade unwanted bugs. Onions, leaks, and rosemary help repel root maggot flies. Onions and parsley repel carrot rust flies. Parsley also keeps asparagus beetles and other beetles away from roses. Plant your melons with corn and peas to improve growth and flavor. Nasturtiums and radishes repel cucumber beetles, whereas tansy is thought to repel potato bugs, marigolds and potatoes repel. Mexican bean beetles, and summer savory protects bush beans. To ward off hornworms from tomatoes, plant the tomatoes near basil and calendula. Chives around an apple tree can keep off apple scab.

Cabbage and cabbage-family members will do better near aromatic plants such as rosemary, sage, mint, thyme, which repel insects such as cabbage loopers. Interplanting these among clover and lettuce confuses insects.

Attracting bugs

Harmful insects can be distracted from the garden if their favorite plants are available elsewhere in the yard. For example, nasturtiums attract aphids and nightshade attracts potato bugs. Beneficial insects can be draw toward the garden in the same way. The pollen of yarrow, fennel, dill, and goldenrod attracts pest-eating lacewings, wasps, and spiders.

Mutually beneficial plants

Due to the nutrient use and release patterns of individual plants, certain plants grow particularly well near certain others plants. Beans grow well with marigolds, potatoes, rosemary, celery, corn or tomatoes. Celery, corn and tomatoes improve each other's growth. Planting lettuce, beets, carrots, cucumbers, cabbage-family crops, radishes, and strawberries, together supports their growth. Beans, cabbage, corn, horseradish, and marigolds improve potatoes. Radishes, peas, and chives are thought to improve the taste of carrots, and chives also reduces black spot on roses. Pepper and onions also assist each other's growth.

Plants that should avoid each other

Not all plants get along well together. When designing a bed, be sure to keep: beets from pole beans, onions from peas and beans, cabbage from strawberries, potatoes and pole beans, pumpkin from potatoes tomatoes from cabbage and potatoes, and sunflowers from potatoes.

Rotation planting

Just because some plants are always together doesn't mean the always have to occupy the same place in the garden year after year. Changing the location of crops within the garden each year prevents insect infestations and keeps harmful soil bacteria from multiplying.