These factors include sun exposure, weather, ecology, pollinators, insect population, soil structure and chemistry, and water supply.West Coast Seeds has conducted significant research into these companion planting guidelines and has defined the best possible results and reasons for each of our recommendations.Minimizing Risk: Companion planting increases odds of higher yields even if one crop fails or is affected by natural hardships like weather, pests, or disease.Trap Cropping: Companion planting is the ultimate organic pest management system.Ammi - This beautiful flower attracts lacewings, ladybird beetles, and parasitic wasps.Basil helps repel aphids, asparagus beetles, mites, flies, mosquitoes, and tomato horn worm.Plant with Brassicas, carrots, celery, chard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, peas, potatoes, radish, and strawberries.Plant with bush beans, Brassicas, corn, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, and mint.Brassicas (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnip) – All benefit from chamomile, dill, mint, rosemary, and sage.Buckwheat – Fixes calcium in the soil, and makes an exceptionally good green manure plant.Calendula – Repels a number of unwanted soil nematodes and asparagus beetles, but may attract slugs.Celery – Good partner for beans, Brassicas, cucumber, garlic, leek, lettuce, onion, and tomatoes.Coreopsis - This plant attracts pollinators, but also hoverflies, soldier bugs, and tachinid flies.Amaranth makes a great mulch between rows by competing with weeds and conserving ground moisture.Cosmos can be direct sown from early March to the end of June in our region so that it blooms continuously throughout the summer.Cucumber – Plant beside asparagus, beans, Brassicas, celery, corn, dill, kohlrabi, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, and tomatoes.Dill attracts ladybird beetles, parasitoid wasps, hoverflies, bees, and garden spiders, making it one of the most useful companion planting candidates.Echinacea - These perennial coneflowers attract hoverflies and parasitoid wasps, so they're useful for pest control in companion plantings.Eggplant – A good companion for amaranth, beans, marigolds, peas, peppers, spinach, and thyme.Fennel attracts hoverflies, ladybird beetles, parasitic wasps, and tachinid flies, so it's a kind of beneficial insect magnet.Gaillardia - This flower blooms over a very long period in summer, providing a rich source of nectar for a host of pollinators.Because of its sulfur compounds, it may also help repel whiteflies, Japanese beetles, root maggots, carrot rust fly, and other pests.Garlic, made into a tea, or spray, will act as a systemic pesticide, drawing up into the cells of the plants.Iberis - This early flowering plant provides nectar for pollinators before many others, and it attracts hoverflies and ground beetles.Lettuce – Good companions for beets, Brassicas, carrot, celery, chervil, cucumbers, dill, garlic, onions, radish, spinach, squash, and strawberries.Melon – Great companions for corn, marigolds, nasturtiums, pumpkin, radish, squash, and sunflowers.Onions also work well alongside beets, Brassicas, carrots, dill, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes.Peas – Superb companions for beans, carrots, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, parsley, peppers.Phacelia — An essential element in any organic gardener's toolkit, this multi-purpose annual flower is fast to mature, and amazingly attractive to a host of pollinators and beneficial insects.Notably, it attracts bees and predatory hoverflies to improve pollination and combat pest insects.Plant Phacelia around any crop showing poor pollination, particularly squash (including zucchini and pumpkin), melons, and cucumbers.Avoid planting potatoes near asparagus, Brassicas, carrots, cucumber, kohlrabi, melons, parsnips, rutabaga, squash, sunflower, and turnips.Rosemary repels cabbage moths, Mexican bean beetles, and carrot rust flies.Spinach – A good companion for Brassicas, eggplants, leeks, lettuce, peas, radish, and strawberries, particularly.Couple them with beans, borage, garlic, lettuce, onions, peas, spinach, and thyme.Sunflowers are attractive to a host of wild and domestic bees, and also ladybird beetles, which prey on aphids.Tithonia - Plant this so-called Mexican Torch to attract parasitoid wasps, parasitic flies, and soldier bugs to your garden.Tomatoes – Another sensitive plant when it comes to companions, tomatoes benefit from asparagus, basil, beans, borage, carrots, celery, chives, collards, cucumber, garlic, lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, and peppers.Yarrow – Its scent repels aphids, but attracts hoverflies, lady beetles, and wasps that prey on garden grubs.The leaves and stems of yarrow contain enzymes that break down rapidly, so it can be added to the compost raw or as a tea to accelerate the heap.Damp, acidic soil can host club root (for example), which can be a real problem for broccoli and Brussels sprouts.Please feel free to contact us for clarification at [email protected] westcoastseeds.com, and we will do our best to bring better depth to our guides so that all of our customers can benefit. .
Strawberry companion plants: crops to grow with strawberries
Claire Ransom from Lazy Flora (opens in new tab) says: 'Companion planting can enhance growing conditions, attract pollinators, control pests, and make good use of available space.'.The benefits of companion planting strawberries can include improving their flavor, or increasing their resistance to pests such as slugs.In return, strawberries plants serve as a mulch, keep weeds at bay and keep the soil cool and moist,' adds Claire Ransom.Asparagus and strawberries are compatible neighbors as their roots spread in different ways, so they don't compete for space or nutrients.The humble marigold (tagetes) is valued by gardeners just as much for its pest repellant properties as for its cheery blooms.You'll often find marigolds used as companion plants alongside cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, lettuce and many other common vegetables.Indeed, Sarah Raven reports in her blog (opens in new tab) on the success she's had in her own garden with Tagetes minuta, the Mexican marigold, which she says 'is effective against perennial weeds such as bindweed, couch grass and ground elder as it gives out a chemical from its roots that is toxic to them.AVOID planting any of the following alongside strawberries: cauliflower, cabbages, broccoli, fennel, tomatoes, potatoes, melons, peppers and mint.While tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant (aubergine) may spread fungal disease to strawberry plants. .
11 Cucumber Companion Plants & 3 To Never Plant With Cucumbers
Chances are good that you found this article because you are thinking about planting cucumbers in your garden – and wish nothing but the best for their, and your, success.Whatever the case may be, know that companion planting rarely ever lets you down, and most times the rewards will be visible.Never let companion planting be a sole substitute for taking proper care of your garden (watering, weeding, fertilizing, mulching, etc.Also, keep in mind that companion planting doesn’t account much for the unpredictable weather.If it rains for weeks on end, it is not the fault of the plants, or their ability to thrive.Even if some veggies are misshapen and knobby, and even if it means that you get to eat some weeds in the meantime.When you invest your time and energy in planting a garden, it often comes to light that you are on a quest for wholesome, nutritious and delicious food.You need to think about seeds and the layout of your garden, how much sun and how much shade it receives daily.Most cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) are ready to harvest in about 50-70 days, making them a popular choice to grow in the garden.Legumes such as peas and beans will help to fix essential nitrogen in the soil.By all means, go ahead and eat those highly nutritious beet greens!!However, it is one of those more neutral pairings that makes it easier to space out the many kinds of vegetables in your garden.Both the young, fresh green leaves, as well as the dill seeds, and dried flowers are perfect for pickling.Dill also attracts loads of fly-by and crawl-by beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps and other pollinators.If you are seeking a vegetable that is incredibly easy to grow, lettuce is your answer.Lettuce, as a companion plant is good next to strawberries, radishes, carrots, and you guessed it, cucumbers.These useful flowers help to repel all sorts of beetles and insects in the garden.When literally translated, “büdös” means “smelly”, and you will find them in just about every garden in the countryside.Perhaps without even knowing why, most villagers plant them, they are abundantly and quietly doing their job of helping to protect the entire garden with their “fragrance”.Not only are they edible, straight from the garden, they can be used in herbal infused vinegars, or as a natural antibiotic tincture.This by itself is not a high requirement for cucumbers, though it never hurts, since the N-P-K levels are slowly adjusting over time.It is useful to grow cucumbers to find out that they have one larger taproot, and several shallow roots that do not extend very far from the base.Remembering that most cucumbers have a tendency to climb, sunflowers, just like corn, make for a functional and natural trellis.A word of advice: choose pickling cucumbers for trellising on sunflowers that are lighter weight.With ideas in mind what to plant alongside your cucumbers, it is just as useful to know what they don’t like.Peppermint, and mints in general, can be tricky herbs to grow in the garden.While mint can be grown in a pot, in an effort to tame it, it does still prefer the comfort of space in the soil.Since your mint is a sprawling perennial, you will have to find a place further down the row for your cucumbers.It takes lots of fertilizers and pesticides to keep the insects and other diseases at bay.Melons can, however, be planted next to Brussels sprouts, broccoli, lettuce, okra, carrots, cauliflower and kale.As opposed to an actual 2,000-piece puzzle, the larger your garden, the easier it is to plant.You may also find that the no-dig method of gardening comes to your advantage in combination with companion planting.If you have cucumbers growing nearby, you may notice a difference in the quality and size of the harvestable fruit.With smaller gardens, creating distance between plants may be hard, if not impossibly difficult.Just be aware of potential problems and always keep an eye out for signs of disease, so that you can react as quickly as possible, should something go awry.The ever popular topic of companion plants for tomatoes, includes beans, squash, as well as cucumbers.But be sure to stay away from planting tomatoes with Brassicas, such as cabbage, broccoli and kohlrabi.Even if they taste wonderful together in a meal, they do not make the greatest of friends in the garden. .
Fit strawberries into a tight space by interplanting them
Strawberries grow happily with beans, borage, chives, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes and spinach.Interplanting vegetables with strawberries helps to hide the berries from hungry birds and other pests, who will have to work a bit harder to steal your crop.A variety of crops can also produce a mix of fragrances that can mask the scent of strawberries or confuse would-be thieves.Purchase and plant your strawberry starts as soon as local nurseries offer them for sale in the spring.Then sow seeds for borage, chives, lettuce, onions, radishes or spinach in the open spaces around the strawberries.The best pest control you can practice is to keep the bed scrupulously clean of debris and rotate your strawberries every fourth year.Marigolds' acrid smell is good for confusing pests or masking strawberries' fragrance.These produce berries summer through fall, offering a lighter crop over a longer period. .
Strawberry Companion Plants
Figuring out what works well together and learning about the ways that individual plants can bolster each other can significantly improve productivity in your garden. .
9 of the Best Companion Plants for Broccoli
But here’s what happened to my rhubarb: the broccoli grew so enormously tall that it blocked every ounce of light.To compensate, the rhubarb leaves grew as large as elephant ears and the stalks got long and floppy.But it has a secret to share with you: if you just pick the right plants to sow alongside it, they can all thrive together.For a slightly more compact cultivar that pairs well with other sun-loving companions – such as beets, celery, shallots, and rhubarb – try ‘Montebello Hybrid,’ a sprouting variety from Burpee.For tasty tops and luscious, dark red roots, try ‘Lutz Green Leaf,’ they will be ready to harvest in 65 days.Find large, tasty ‘Lutz Green Leaf’ beet seeds available at Eden Brothers or read about more of our favorite varieties here.In my garden this year, my celery (Apium graveolens) grew tall, strong, and supple.While much of what’s recommended in companion planting is more on the mythical side of things and difficult to prove with cold, hard science, some gardeners swear that celery improves the flavor of broccoli.And don’t forget to read our complete guide for the best tips on growing celery at home.You should sow chamomile seeds about eight to 12 inches apart from your broccoli plants, to give the flowers space to grow.You can find German chamomile seeds in a variety of packet sizes available at Eden Brothers.One of the more frustrating aspects of a string of sunny days, among gardeners at least, is how quickly greens tend to bolt when this type of weather is in the forecast.You’ll go into the garden to pick some lettuce for your lunchtime salad, only to find that your plant is flowering.It’s said that while potatoes absorb lots of nutrients from the soil, they don’t mind being planted next to broccoli, as the two have different nutritional needs.Potatoes need plenty of magnesium and phosphate, while broccoli loves its calcium and nitrogen.Since the two plants don’t hog each others’ nutrients, they both grow happily – as long as you keep up with fertilization!Find delicious ‘Red Luna’ potatoes in packs of 10 tubers available at Burpee.You’ll feel more rewarded for your efforts if you eat the entire plant – leaves, crown, stem, and all.The smell of rhubarb leaves, which are full of toxic oxalic acid, is also said to deter whiteflies and other leaf-eating bugs.For a no-fuss herb that’ll soldier through all sorts of weather and even help drive pests away from your broccoli, plant rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) in your garden.According to horticulturist Misty Kuceris of the Burke Nursery and Garden Center in Burke, Virginia, rosemary repels cabbage moths (Mamestra brassicae) and cabbage loopers (Trichoplusia ni), both of which can chew holes through your leaves and crowns and deposit frass all over the plants while they’re at it.If you want to pluck a few stems of rosemary and spread them around your broccoli plants, at least according to gardening lore, their spiky leaves can help keep slugs and snails away too.But I could never use an entire bulb in one meal, so I’d always end up with half an onion hidden away somewhere in the fridge.They taste amazing in a variety of dishes, and each bulb is just enough in terms of size to make an omelet or a soup, so I don’t waste nearly as much garden goodness as I used to.So if you haven’t grown your own shallots yet, check out our growing guide, and go plant some next to your broccoli.Like chamomile and celery, shallots are also said to make your favorite green vegetable taste even better.I couldn’t use it fast enough: it turned into tall columns with thick stalks and progressively smaller leaves.If I had planted it next to my broccoli instead, it would have rested in the shade of the giant leaves, feeling calm and cool rather than stressed and bolty.And don’t forget to read our guide to growing this classic leafy green vegetable.Since they have lower nutrient needs and attract the same types of pests, planting a clump of broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and the like all together can lead to problems.Companion planting is often a mixture of garden folklore and science, and we can learn a lot from trial and error by experimenting with different combinations.And don’t forget to check out our complete guide to growing broccoli to get started!Product photos via Burpee, Eden Brothers, and True Leaf Market. .
Companion Planting Chart
Plants with long taproots like parsnips and carrots will lift nutrients from the depths of the soil.Plants with long taproots like parsnips and carrots will lift nutrients from the depths of the soil.Prevent Weeds – Alternating upright plants and sprawling ones can create a thicker cover across the majority of the open land in your garden area, which will ultimately prevent weeds.– Alternating upright plants and sprawling ones can create a thicker cover across the majority of the open land in your garden area, which will ultimately prevent weeds.Regulate Shade & Wind – Too much sun can damage tender and fragile plants.– Dill and basil are natural protectants for tomato plants, keeping away the dreaded hornworm.They are particularly helpful for tomatoes, repelling the nematodes that like to attack the roots of vegetables.Basil, beets, bush beans, carrots, celery, chamomile, cucumber, dill, garlic, lettuce, marigolds, mint, nasturtiums, onions, radishes, rosemary, sage, spinach, Swiss chard, thyme Asparagus, cantaloupe, climbing beans, mustard, peppers, pumpkins, strawberries, sweet corn, watermelon Rosemary repels the cabbage fly that is detrimental to broccoli.Beets, celery, chard, lettuce, spinach, onions Kohlrabi, tomatoes Hyssop, mint, and sage deter cabbage moths Carrots.Beans, lettuce, onions, peas, peppers, tomatoes Dill Chives improve flavor, rosemary deters carrot flies Corn.Cabbage, carrots, chard, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes Beans, peas Chamomile improves growth and flavor Potatoes.Basil, beans, celery, corn, garlic, horseradish, lettuce, marigolds, onions, peas, radishes, spinach Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, eggplant, kohlrabi, melons, peppers, raspberries, squash, sunflowers, strawberries, tomatoes Cucumbers, tomatoes and raspberries attract harmful pests to potatoes.Beets, cabbage, carrots, chives, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, spinach, squash Hyssops Radish plants will work as a trap crop to protect against certain beetles.Beans, corn, dill, marigolds, nasturtiums, peas, radishes, strawberries, sunflowers Potatoes Squash has similar traits to pumpkin in terms of companion plants.Asparagus, carrots, celery, onions, parsley, peppers Corn, dill, kohlrabi, potatoes Basil, mint, and bee balm improve growth and flavor Zucchini.Beans, corn, dill, garlic, marigolds, nasturtiums, oregano, peas, radishes, spinach Potatoes and pumpkin NONE.Deep-rooted vegetables like tomatoes and asparagus should be placed in the same bed, as they will thrive with less frequent (but more thorough) watering that soaks deep into the soil.On the flip side, shallow- to medium-rooted plants like beans and chard benefit from more frequent watering that saturates just the first few inches of soil.Wind soaker hoses around your plants and attach them to dual outlet electronic timers to easily manage your watering schedule for different beds.A lot of work goes into maintaining a productive garden, so it is worth the time, effort and research it takes to grow like-minded plants that will help each other out. .
