Compatible Planting
72
Garden Friends
It took me years to realize, better said to recall all Gramps had told about garden companions. To me as a teenager it really didn't matter that the tomato and the potato didn't want to be neighbors. Neither did it worry me that the carrots would be stunted if the calendula flowers were planted near-by. Grandma needed a certain type of calendula (marygold) flower every year to make her special first aid cream. The garden was Gramps's project the only input Grandma made each year was "...make sure I have enough calendula and chamomile blooms for my salves..."
It all grows outside in nature doesn't it? So whats the hype here?
The garden Gramps grew veggies in was not bigger then about 15'X18' with a couple of planters for some extra tomatoes in the front yard and a few on the deck. Before it became a fashion thing to do he incorporated flowers into the veggie garden. He grew extra leaf lettuce at the base of the the espaliered dwarf apple and pear trees (2each). In a growing zone of 4 he was able to supply the family with berries and veggies and fruit. From the beginning of July till the end of October something was going into jars or freezer regularly. But I'm getting away from my main purpose here.
Perfect pair gardening.
Ignoring most of Gramps's teachings my first attempt at veggie gardening 25 or so years ago was not quite the success that I had thought it was going to be. It looked easy enough when he did it. So since then I've experimented and applied all of his methods (the once I can recall) and added a few of my own. This is the list I have compiled from my yearly gardening journals:
Cucumber family: includes cucumbers, water & muskmelon, summer & winter squash,
- is friends with the bean family, cabbage family, dill,lettuce, eggplant, tomato, onion family, iris, lilies, nasturtium, lemon balm,grape hyacinth
- does not like potato, sage, corn, nicotiana,
Eggplant:
- is friends with bean family, potato, yam, onion family, hot & mild peppers, tomato, dill, fennel, anise, iris, marigold, nasturtium
- likes everybody
Lettuce: leaf, romaine, boston, butter, iceberg
- is friends with everyone
Onion family: includes onion, chives, garlic, leeks, scallion,
- is friends with it's own family members, beet family, cabbage family, carrot family, hot & mild peppers, tomato, strawberries, most in the flower garden, spinach, potato, yam
- does not like asparagus, sage
Pepper family: includes all hot & mild
- is friends with tomato, carrot family, eggplant, potato, onion family, marigold, nasturtium,
- does not like fennel, turnip,yam
Strawberry:
- is friends with the bean gang, lettuce, borage, onion family, spinach, mint, basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, nasturtium, marigold
- does not like cabbage family
Tomato:
- is friends with everybody except
- does not like dill, fennel, potato, corn
Asparagus:
- is friends with tomato, parsley, gladiolus, basil, nasturtium, anemones and phlox
- does not like the onion family--onion & garlic & chives & leeks, dill, fennel, anise
Beans, bush & pole & Peas:
- is friends with beets, carrots, cauliflower, and most others from the cabbage family, corn, peas, potato, yams, sunflower, marigold, rosemary, iris, lemon balm
- does not like fennel, anise, basil, and the poor onion family
Beet family: includes beets, spinach, swiss chard,
- is friends with bush & pole beans. cabbage family, onion family, leaf & romaine & head lettuce, radishes, corn, nasturtium, sunflower, dahlia
- does not like strawberries, calendula or any type of marigold, iris, lilies
Cabbage family: includes cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cress, chinese cabbage, kale, turnip,
- is friends with each of its family members beets, carrots, celery, cucumber, lettuce family, onion family, potato, yam, eggplant, spinach, iris, lilies, nasturtium, marigold, rosemary, oregano,
- does not like strawberries, hyssop, dill, fennel, blue & rasp & black & thimble-berries,
Carrot family: including carrot, celery, chervil, cilantro, dill, fennel, anise, parsley, parsnip
- is friend with just a few of its family members ( how rude) fennel & chervil & cilantro, bean family, cabbage family, rosemary, sage, thyme, tomato, hot and mild peppers, chives and the rest of the onion gang, nasturtium, geranium, english lavender
- does not like and is in a family feud with celery & dill & parsnip & anise, calendula and all other marigolds, iris, basil, oregano,
Corn:
- is friends with bean family, beets, cabbage family, cucumber bunch, onion family, parsley, potato, yam, pumpkin, morning glory, marigold, nasturtium, gladiolus,
- does not like tomato
I also found that if you mix onion and garlic, actually all of the onion family members throughout the veggie and flower garden they will keep a lot of the pesky bugs away. Most bugs don't like the smell I assume. Most plants give off a scent that attract the pests. Disguise them by planting stronger-smelling ones around. Planting garlic cloves amongst the flowers will keep them healthy. The small garlic heads that develop actually add interest in the flowerbed as does a nice big bunch of chives here and there. Their purple little pompom heads seem to fit right in.
Broccoli, actually the whole cabbage family can get an infestation of the green caterpillars that are hatch-ling of the the white moths. Planting a row of celery on each side of the cabbages will keep those moths at bay. Add a few pots of herbs such as mint, thyme, & sage into the cabbage patch and the moths will move to the next county.
Potato beetles don't like beans so its a smart choice to plant bush beans amongst or around the potato patch perimeter.
All the marigolds especially the calendula are useful against aphids, whiteflies and potato beetles, tomato hornworm, cucumber beetles. Planting them throughout the veggie and flower garden can only help. ONLY thing to remember keep marigold away from the Carrots as they will get stunted...so Gramps said...
Watch for the next hub on "Making a Garden Plan" using this pal system .
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Comments
YAY! I am planning right now and this is great!
Hi Steph! I'm more then happy to share. We have options other then chemicals. Glad you came to take a look.
regards Zsuzsy
Marye! How big is your garden? These tips work well for large gardening endeavors too. Are you perusing the seed catalogues like me? Here in our neck of the woods May 24 is a long weekend and that as a general rule of thumb is planting day.
Thanks for coming and taking a look regards Zsuzsy
Companion planting is the first step towards developing functioning plant communities; one basic example of a simple plant community is the three sisters, corn, beans and squash. Great hub.
Wow! I didn't know there was a buddy system for planting. My green thumb is with my houseplants. My yard is mostly cement, I live in the city. Only have small beds around the sides by the fence and some planters. Great hub, very educational.
Thanks BOB! Glad you came to take a look
regards Zsuzsy
Chatterbox! Thanks for your comment
regards Zsuzsy
I was certainly impressed by your very imformative hub. Thank you for sharing, as I was not aware of a lot of the information before. Best to you.
Hi JerseyGirl! Thanks I'm always glad to share information. The best to you too regards Zsuzsy
I am ready to put in my early spring garden..spinach, kale, peas, beets, lettuce...all the cool weather crops...here in Dallas it has been in the 60s all week. Our last frost date is March 17 but nearly never is that late.
I m checkingout more heirloom seeds this year. You?
Well! I just clicked on the weather station and we're in for another major snowstorm. Our area will get freezing rain and pellets....So I can only sit here and envy you being out in the garden already. Oh well what can you do. I'll just rework my garden plan. etc. This year I've ordered only heirloom seed. Last year I did half and half. Wondering how the heirloom ones would do with my soil etc. and they did great so this is the year for total change over. Organic also. I'll be keeping good notes for next falls hub. regards Zsuzsy
Wonderful tips Zsuzy, it is like learning a lifetime of gardening in one day. Thanks to you and Grandfather for sharing this. It is really novel to have different plants together to ward of pests without using chemicals. Well done. Cheers.
Thanks CGull! I really wish I would have been a more attentive student when Gramps was going on and on about his plant, tree, and bush "babies".
thanks for your comments
regards Zsuzsy
Wow, I had no idea that stuff mattered! Great Hub Zuz!
Great info, I will be referring back to this as I plan my garden for the year.
It matter when you don't want to use chemicals but still hope for good yields. Thanks for coming for a visit Isabella. regards Zsuzsy
Jennifer! I'm not what I would call an overly organized person, except when it comes to my garden plan.
Thanks for taking a look
regards Zsuzsy
Very informative hub!
Thanks for taking a look.
regards Zsuzsy
zsu, another useful hub. I have a real love for gardening and a brown thumb.
Absolutely incredible hub! - Vegetable partners,plans, and garden notes. You should have your own garden show in TV.
Iðunn! Do you have a garden plot? I will talk you through getting it all set
just say the word and I'll prove to you that things will grow
regards Zsuzsy
Patty! Thanks but honestly there are too many of those shows out there already. I am rotten with indoor plants but the veggies seem to like me..Go figure
Thanks for coming by and your comments
regards Zsuzsy
Well, have a hanging tomotoes basket inside. They're a smaller vine that be planted in a hanging basket. :)
So, we'll get rid of any of the bad garden shows on TV and make room...or wait for your TV station to open up on your island. :)
I don't at the moment. I have given up. Mostly I grew flowers, although I have taken a stab at tomatoes and I once grew a heckuva batch of chinese pepper pods by accident.
It's a good story, I think you'll love it. I had lived in a rental house with two wonderful pre-made plots in the front, each side of the front door in front of the porch, ready for planting.
I wanted flowers so I went to the store and looked at seeds. I saw a package of mixed seeds that looked wonderful and reading the back of the package as from 4-6" in height - perfect.
Then, you know they say that to keep cats out of it, you put down hot pepper powder. I figure, of course, that if cayenne is good, fresh hot peppers are even better. I put down the seeds from those hot red chinese peppers which at that time I had oodles of - I was in a chinese wok phase in my cooking.
So, for the first time ever, my garden works. These flowers grow. Ahem. I read the package wrong. It wasn't 4-6 inches, it was 4-6 ft. some kind of wildflower mix. :O
It was fast, tall and scary. Even worse, the seeds from the peppers grew. I thought they were weeds and pulled them and set them (in my lazy way) to the side of the house, uprooted.
I bet you didn't know that chinese pepper plants are so stout that they grow even when they are pulled up. I know I didn't. I went to bag them for the trash several weeks later and they all had all these perfect pepper pods on them. :|
Nothing else has ever grown for me. I even sent off for the kind in a layer of fuzz, that you just lay down and covered with dirt and watered. It didn't grow. I put it in upside down. I didn't know you could.
:(
Patty! Oh did you find me an island? Great ! Tailor, Chef in the restaurant, gardener with a TV show...when do I get to HUB? Zs
Iðunn! That is funny! I think there is a hub in there somewhere.
regards Zsuzsy
If I made a hub for every stupid thing I did, I could get to 400 in no time. :D
hehe
tell you what though, I will check back with you if I decide to try to grow here. I have plenty of room and good dirt, but the mood hasn't struck me yet to even try. I assure you if I do, you will hear from me for your good advice. :)
Iðunn! I'll be waiting. It can be fun to dig around in dirt...
Zs
Fabulous article! So true! So true!
Thanks for taking a look Sally
regards Zsuzsy
Can you please courier the "spring 1982 garden journal notes" to me please :) ?ZB I would love to have it.GREAT HUB!I love gardening.I could share some of those secrets.
Abhinaya! You are welcome to my notes...I'm not so sure that they will do you much good in your neck of the woods. What type of gardening do you do? Flowers, veggies, fruit . How about a HUB I'd be interested to find out... then we could compare notes.
regards Zsuzsy
I love how you mix yourself into the tips, and your wonderful Grandpa. Good that you decided not to ignore the teachings of that wise man.
GREAT HUB like all the Bee's other hubs!
Thanks for your kind comments Kenny! Glad you came by for a visit.
regards Zsuzsy
Should have come earlier and dropped off the first comment. Sigh.
NEXT TIME!
Hi Zsuzsy,
I love this hub. I am familiar with companion gardening to a degree. I have been growing flowers and vegtables in the same beds. I can't wait for spring. Un fortunately I didn't have a mentor when I started gardening. It was nice to hear about your granpa.
Thanks for all the info,
Sundance
Sundance! I think a garden patch thats mixed with flowers and veggies looks just so great. Glad to see you come for a visit.
regards Zsuzsy
Do not forget at planting time! Fruit above ground plant in the light (Full) of the moon and Fruit below the ground in the dark of the moon, and check the Almanac for lots of neet and useful tips.
Sure! thanks for your input!
regards Zsuzsy
Great tips! I did'nt know that you could make salve with Marigolds. And now I know that the reason my corn did'nt do well last year is because I had it practically on top of the tomatoes. This spring I'm planting more flowers, and probably plant some late season vege's after I get a handle on the yard.
Dorsi! It really pays to follow the tips in my hub. The salve of the calendula is still giving me trouble because I didn't listen very well to my Grandma was making it. I'm almost there but it still need a bit of fine tuning maybe this year then I'll share it here in a hub.
Thanks for visiting regards Zsuzsy
It's April 7 and even though it snowed today my thoughts are on this hub and gardening. I like how you described the carrot as rude to its own family. Well I am going follow your advice and plant compatible plants together. Keep on hubbing Zsuzsy!
Thanks for taking a look Raven. I'm working on a new veggie garden . I'm almost ready to start digging. If it keeps drying up as it has in the past couple of days. A couple of feet every day and I'll be ready for planting the peas by the first week in May....regards Zsuzsy
Im printing and saving this! great info about how one plant helps another super super....=)
Marisue! Thanks for coming by. Glad you find the information useful.
regards Zsuzsy
I've always tried to plan my gardens with the companion planting in mid, but if I get carried away it starts to be a logistical nightmare if I think about it too much, but that's the engineer in me. But I still think it's good to keep in mind when laying out the garden.
John! Thanks for visiting and for your comment. It took a few years for me to set a good garden plan up. I have 4 plans that I rotate yearly.
regards Zsuzsy
"Lettuce is friends with everyone" would be a great emo band name.
This is a great hub, very informative. I will retry my herbs with these friendships in mind. Thanks!
Thanks for reading and commenting Veronica. I just finished planting my first batch of butter-crunch lettuce this morning. (May 6th is pretty early here in Canada, but I just took a chance)
regards Zsuzsy
Great information thank you for sharing.
Thank you for that good information
Donna! Glad you came by and thanks for commenting.
regards Zsuzsy
How safe is it to plant a vegetable garden near a cemetary? I live about 50 feet from a cemetary. Please let me know mary3207@att.net.
Thanks
Mary glad you stopped by. Honestly I do not see anything wrong with having a garden near a cemetary. It's not as if the inhabitants are going to come and munch at your carrots (haha). The success of your garden really depends on how good you possition your garden plot for sun, the soil composition and if what you're planting is compatible etc.
good luck with your garden if you have questions I'll try to answer them for you.
regards Zsuzsy
Thanks for the gardening tips. I find it interesting although I only have a few pot plants.
Smireles, thank you for coming for a visit and for commenting on the hub. Compatible planting does work out really well especially when gardening organically.
regards Zsuzsy
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stephhicks68 says:
2 years ago
Awesome tips! I am going to share with my sister whose thumb is much greener than mine. Cool idea to have the plants act as natural pest control themselves. Who knew? Not me!