2025-01-27 - Companion Planting Herbs With Vegetables

 

Companion Planting Herbs With Vegetables

Companion planting is a technique for designing a balanced and abundant garden where plants support each other. This principle is widely used in permaculture as it helps improve biodiversity and limits the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides.

Here are a few reasons why it’s beneficial to pair companion plants in a vegetable garden: 

Pollination

Attracting pollinators to the garden boosts fruit and vegetable growth.

Layout

Combining tall and low varieties maximizes your growing space.

Improved Soil Quality

Certain plants improve the soil:

·         Legumes, for example, enrich the soil with nitrogen, which is crucial for growing vegetation.

·         Deep-root plants help loosen compacted soil while drawing their nutrients deep in the ground. 

Soil Moisture Maintenance and Weed Management

Some plants with dense and low foliage (like squash and potatoes) create a natural plant mulch that will maintain soil moisture, limiting weed growth and the need to water.

Pest Control

A lot of vegetation, especially fragrant plants like flowers and herbs, acts as natural repellents by deterring insect pests and small animals from coming into the garden.

Limit Disease Spread

Adding companion plants between plants from the same family can limit the spread of diseases by creating a kind of barrier.

Shade and Wind Protection

Tall and wide plants (like tomatoes) provide shade for smaller, more fragile plants (like lettuce and basil) or protect them from the wind.

Similar Needs 

It may be beneficial to group plants that need sunlight into the sunniest part of the garden or put water-hungry plants together to make watering easier. 

Natural Stakes

Plants with tall and sturdy stems (like corn and sunflowers) could be stakes for climbing plants (like beans and cucumbers).

Herb

Good Companion Plants

Bad Companion Plants

Basil

Asparagus, beans, bell pepper, tomato

Chives

Carrot, squash, zucchini, strawberry, parsley, tomato

Beans

Cilantro

Beet, carrot, cabbage, cucumber, potato

Dill

Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, turnip, onion

Carrot

Marjoram

Zucchini, hot pepper, bell pepper

Thyme

Mint

Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, turnip, tomato

Oregano

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, bell pepper

Thyme

Parsley

Asparagus, chives, tomato

Celery, lettuce, onion, leek

Rosemary

Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, turnip, sage

Sage

Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beans, rosemary, tomato

Cucumber

Tarragon

Eggplant, thyme

 

Thyme

Eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, tarragon, strawberry, potato, tomato

Marjoram, oregano

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