Companion Planting

No need for sprays when you understand companion planting.

Companion planting means grouping a variety of different, mutually beneficial plants  together in the garden. For example, plant corn in the middle of the bed with snake beans climbing up. Peanuts can be planted as a ground cover to stop the weeds.

Steps to consider:

  • Plant what you like to eat
  • Start with what is easy to grow, e.g.  silver beet, broccoli, bok choy, salad greens, beans, radishes
  • Plan to plant perennials first, e.g. perennial leeks, South American spinach, rhubarb, fruit trees
  • Plant multi-purpose plants, e.g., sugar cane, lemon grass, elder, comfrey
  • Plant a variety of flowers plants to attract the bees and other beneficial insects, e.g. borage, pineapple sage, nasturtiums, honey suckle, lemon verbena, Alyssum,
  • Add plants that return  nitrogen  to the soil. e.g. peanuts, beans, lupins
  • Plant salad green on the edge of the bed for easy harvesting and interplant with herbs

Popular companion planting guide

PLANT HELPS AVOID
Alliums Fruit trees, Peppers, Carrots, Cabbage, broccoli, Kohlrabi Beans , parsley
Asparagus Tomatoes Garlic, onion
Beans Corn, cucumber, eggplant, radish, rosemary, spinach, mint, summer   savory, marigolds Alliums, tomatoes, chili peppers, fennel
Beets Bush beans, lettuce Runner beans
Brassicas Potatoes, rosemary, geranium, borage, thyme, wormwood, sage,   peppermint Mustard , strawberries
Carrots Tomatoes, alliums Dill, parsnips, radish
Celery Bush beans, leeks, cosmos Corn
Lettuce Radish
Peppers Marjoram, tomatoes, geraniums Beans , kale
Strawberries Caraway, borage, lupins, Brassicas, eggplant, mint, roses
Basil Tomatoes
Salad greens Borage
 Chives Carrots Beans, peas
Coriander Spinach Dill
Garlic Apple and pear trees, cucumbers Beans, borage and peas
Parsley Tomatoes Lettuce
Fruit trees Southernwood
 Salad greens Thyme, chives, geranium, lemon verbena, marjoram, sage
Chamomile Basil, onion, cabbage
Fennel Dill Everything

Alliums: onions, chives, garlic chives, leeks, shallots.

Brassicas: broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, radish, kohlrabi.

Other pages of interest

For more information purchase one of my helpful gardening ebooks:

“Simply inter-planting crops from different families
will help deter pests. 
Adding fragrant plants
will up the anti.” 

“Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening”, by FM Bradley, BW Ellis and E Phillips

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