COMPANION PLANTING IN YOUR GARDEN

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Ive never really gotten into companion planting until last year. Last year I had a huge excess pf basil plants and I decided to plant them among my tomatoes. NOW, since I move my tomatoes around each year, I wound up causing some other plants having to be located next to other plants that were (I later found) "Unfriendly".
My tomatoes were spectacular and were delicious. The basil thrived also and I later found from a "companion planting list" that the repellant propwrties of the basil kept certain funguses and molds from settling in around the tomatoes.
It was a good year for to,matoes.
However, it was a bad year for my peas, because I wound up planting a row opf onions next to my row of peas. The resulting ceop yield of peas was miniscule and the plants were somewaht stunted despite all my attention and souil additives.

HAve you used basic rules of companion strategy for your garden? Id like to hear of your experiences and theories as to why these companion plants (and the "nemesis plants" actually work.

Theres a list of companion plants in wikipedia but, as usual, wiki just plops the information down and the sources may be dubious (IMHO)

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@farmerman,

Yep. I used the companions list to design the layout of my vegetable and herb gardens last year and again this year.

I have my peas, beans, cucumbers, squash and corn near each other. I also have my peppers, tomatoes and strawberries together. In another plot I have my onions, parsnips, carrots and lettuce.

I plant marigolds amongst all the veggies and plant basil amongst the tomatoes. This year I planted rosemary and sage amongst the carrots and parsnips.

I'll post some links to some of my favorite lists that I find to be the most reliable.

This is the most comprehensive one. It has more than the usual and popular herbs and vegetables and also lists the foes as well as the companions. In the case of the herbs and flowers, it tells how the herb or flower aids the companion plants.

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

This one is from ATTRA, one you'll probably consider to be a reliable source:

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/complant.html

At the end it gives a list of sources used to compile the list and properties of the companions/foes.

Here's another ATTRA publication on intercropping and is much more technical:

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/intercrop.html

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@Butrflynet,

Ive seen many lists that contradict each other, like the bean tomato asparagus trio. Remember that certain crops (like tomatoes and peppers) all from the same family, need to be rotated yearly so as not to promote blights and other pstiferous plants and insects. (includes potatoes but hardly anybody grows potatoes cause they take up so much room and need close care to avoid infestations).
I usually ,isolate a tomato or pepper plant from a specific area for at least two years.

The tomato /basil companion planting is one that is tryuly amazing though. The tomatoes seem to develop a fuller flavor and are mostly pest free, and the basil also benefits (Course you may have too much basil but we make lots of pestos of different styles)

The companion ideas also work with mulches that are derived from the plants themselves. Any mulch in which onions were added should noit be used in areas where your going to grow peas , as the onion (sulfur compounds) will stunt the peas.

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I have read about companion planting, but have not had the opportunity to try it very much. I know also that like plants often cannot be planted within a certain range, for one will thrive, the other eventually wither away.

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@Butrflynet,

One of my favorite of the companions was to plant radishes among the cucurbit plants. (We dont ever grow zuchini any more cause its just a waste of space for fruits that have minimal use in our menus). BUT, my variouscucumbers are always protected against borers and other insects by the lowly radish. Ill plant the whit eradishes among the cucumbers and we get two veggies from one plot.

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COMPANION PLANTING IN YOUR GARDEN

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