Companion Planting Guide: Sow Easy
Companion planting is a great way to maximize the efficiency of your garden. For almost every vegetable you grow, there is likely to be a beneficial companion plant that will help increase soil nutrients, chase away pests, and help you get the most out of your garden. Here are the 10 most popular vegetables grown in the United States and their friends (and foes) in the garden.
Companion Planting For These Top 10 Veggies
1. Tomatoes
Friends: Basil and tomatoes were made to go together, not only in sauces but in the garden, too. This herb helps tomatoes produce greater yields and it repels both flies and mosquitoes. Marigolds are another good companion, repelling nematodes and other garden pests. Other friends to tomatoes include asparagus, carrots, celery, the onion family, lettuce, parsley, and spinach.
Foes: Cabbage, beets, peas, fennel, dill, and rosemary. Corn and tomatoes both suffer from the corn earworm, and tomatoes and potatoes are affected by the same blight, so keep these plants separate to prevent the spread of pests or disease.
2. Peppers
Friends: Basil is a good friend to peppers, helping repel aphids, spider mites, mosquitoes, and flies. It’s also thought that basil improves the pepper’s flavor. Other good companions include onions, spinach, and tomatoes.
Foes: Beans so the vines don’t spread among the pepper plants.
3. Green Beans
Friends: Corn and beans grow well together because beans will grow up the cornstalks, which means you won’t have to build them a trellis. Beans also fix nitrogen in the soil, which is good for the corn. Marigolds, nasturtiums, rosemary, and summer savory repel bean beetles, and summer savory improves growth rate and flavor. Other companions include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and other members of the cabbage family along with cucumbers, peas, potatoes, and radishes.
Foes: Beets or anything from the onion family. Onions, in particular, impede the growth of bean plants.
4. Cucumbers
Friends: Plant marigolds and nasturtiums among your cucumbers to repel aphids and beetles,. Beans, celery, corn, lettuce, dill, peas, and radishes are also good companion plants.
Foes: Aromatic herbs such as sage which will stunt the growth of cucumbers.
5. Onions
Friends: Carrots should be planted near onions because onions will repel the carrot fly. Onions will also chase away the aphids, so plant them near aphid-prone (but onion-friendly) veggies. Other good friends of onions include beets, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, parsnips (which also suffer from carrot fly), tomatoes, and spices like marjoram, savory, and rosemary.
Foes: Asparagus, beans, and peas.
Continues at link:
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/companion-planting-guide
Good morning. It finally stopped raining here and I’m going to be getting as much of my garden in this next week as possible.
The forecast is gorgeous, 65-70 each day, mid 40’s at night, and sunny. Now if we could just do something about those blasted black flies, what we’ve called punkies in the past. You know, the ones which leave a hole in your skin when they bite. And the ticks. SPIT!!!!
I’m generally in zone 7 but it changes LOL
Soon we will have our last frost. The lilacs bloom anyway
(I guess you’ll have to click the link. I clearly don’t know how to post a pic LOL)
There are times when our Spirit must be fed as well as
our bellies. Enjoy...
Schreiners Iris Garden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys1dpRgj7kU
CLICK ON THE GARDEN PICTURE TO LINK BACK TO THE APRIL 29 - MAY 5 2023 WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD!
Another gorgeous day here .... haven’t been outside yet, some things needing doing inside, but I’m about to step out the door.
News!! I had to refill the hummer feeder .... that means the little guys are around, even though I’m not seeing them. I have seen 2 on the feeder, but we’ve had to travel Wednesday/Thursday so I couldn’t watch the feeders. Maybe today I can spot them (we’ll be out of town again tomorrow).
Mowing time ... aka “John Deere rear” time LOL. I think I have 3-4 hours worth to do - I did about half the farm in 4 hours yesterday. Ticks are out (mom had one) so keeping the grass cut is a priority.
I haven’t taken a close look at the garden in a couple of days (just checked out at a distance while passing by) so today is the day to see what is going on. I know the mint (in pots) is growing/spreading .... I could see that from the mower. Tomatoes look taller, dahlias are growing. I still see peppers so I guess they’re doing ok. Anyway, I cut the grass around the garden last evening so the “path” from the front porch across the yard to the garden is now short grass (it was half way up to my knees)!
Weather is warming up starting today .... upper 70’s daytime and in the 50’s at night so the plants should be taking off - the last 7-10 days have been downright chilly!
I will get back to the thread later regarding 5 gallon sips that I made which have an air space below the roots but have about 1 1/2 gallon reservoir for dry times.
Expected Temp today is 91F. Need to pull off the covers (protect against squirrels and heavy rain) and get things watered and taken care of early so heading outside!
After over a month, my Granny Cantwell and Carbon tomatoes have finally germinated along with a Lemon Drop pepper. No sign of the basil yet. Meanwhile, the marijuana plants germinated in a week.
We are going to try cucumbers this year. I’m also going to try container gardening with beets and climbing squash. The containers will be walled in by the marijuana plants which the deer avoid due to the smell. Maybe we’ll get to keep the container plants.
Spinach just starting to go to seed, but this isn't bad for Southern Alabama--I've been eaten them since February!
I think I got a few hornworms trying to eat my pepper plants.
I have been using the dish soap, veggies oul, baking soda and water mix to best them back.....been effective.
I spray every 2 or 3 days (unless it rains.)
I learned the hard way to not try and spray until the sprayer jug is nearly empty.
My pick up tube grabbed some of the mix that settled to the bottom then the next day the 3 plants who got a foamy spray looked like they had been burned to a crisp on the BBQ....black and shriveled up crispy leaves.
They are planted with a "Scentsational" rose - that has grown out of control:
These amaryllises are from "Christmases Past" - I inherited them from my mother - wasn't sure if they were going to come up or not.
This feather-leafed purple verbena is taking over my rock garden, the boysenberry on the right at the bottom is a volunteer:
And, the more I hack away at this volunteer nasturtium, the more flowers, leaves and vines it pumps out:
I just bought a new, standing weeder - weeded for about an hour yesterday with my hand tool -and my back didn't like it one bit. Yard looks better, though...
Lied about waiting to fall to plant - found volunteer Banana tree plants that need transplanting. Fun! Fun!
Still holding out on the vegetables until later...
Gorgeous evening. Everything (fields, pastures, yard, entrances) is mowed - looks like a park & smells like fresh mown hay.
Finally made it to the garden:
ALL dahlias are up - yay!
Despite the cool weather, I have a little tomato on one of my Celebrities.
Radishes are up as are my onion sets.
Sugar snap peas were a tangled mess, grabbing on to each other - straightened them out a bit & got the various tendrils headed for different parts of the trellis.
None of the tomatoes or peppers look like they have sunburned at all - yay again!
Spent some time making room for the mower in the garage instead of out in the pole barn - will be easier to take care of & totally protected from the weather. The battery maintainer is also easier to access & connect/disconnect.
All in all, a very productive & satisfying day.
https://waldenlabs.com/the-ultimate-companion-planting-guide-chart/
Their link to the big chart is bad but I have the chart on my cloud; https://permasteader.route66custom.com/cloud/index.php/s/gzdDRYe4Qganzas
Scroll down to Companion_Planting_Chart.pdf - click on it and then look for the down arrow to download.
My 6-8 inch tomato starts look really good but the ones I got from the Amish store are 14-16 inches and have flowers. Sat there looking at both and had an epiphany. Feed sooner and more frequently. Bought some OMRI fish based fertilizer. Good and stinky.
Guess I should start some marigolds. Better late than never.
Just ran across this site for people to buy and sell their seeds and cuttings etc. Do you know anything about it? I have been wanting to try some lotus seeds for a deck planter.
