Companion Planting Veggies

Native Americans planted the "Three Sisters" -- corn, beans, and squash -- together. The Ancient Greeks and Romans practiced companion planting. There doesn't seem to be much modern scientific support for companion planting and some call it "old wives' tales" but every year I still put my garden together matching up old friends.

How do you companion plant?

Here are three groupings I look at: (1) botanical, (2) feeding groups, and (3) "better-together". I rotate through the beds using the final (3)"better-together" groupings with some seasonal variations for weather.

1. Botanical families (similar cultural needs and pest problems):
* Aster family: chicory, endive, lettuce, sunflowers--usually in cool weather or shade in summer.
* Cabbage family: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, kale, radishes, turnips-- heavy feeders.
* Carrot family: carrot, celery, dill, fennel, parsley--coole weather, but some like heat.
* Corn (grass family): heavy feeder, lots of water.
* Legumes: beans, peas: nitrogen fixers.
* Onion family: asparagus, chives, garlic, leeks, onions: light feeders, onion maggots.
* Beets and spinach and chard: coole weather.
* Squash family: cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squahs: warm weather, common insects and disease problems.
* Tomatoes and friends: eggplant, peppers, potatoes: heat-lovers, similar soil.

2. Feeding groups (similar soil and nutrition needs):
* Heavy feeders: celery, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, melons, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomaotes.
* Moderate feeders: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, Chinese cabbage, kale, lettuce and greens, parsley, spinach.
* Light feeders: beets, carrots, garlic, leeks, onions, potaotes, radishes, turnips.
* Soil builders: beans, peas.

3. Better-together groups (anecdotal helpmates):
* Potatoes and beans planted together with calendulas, cosmos, daisies, dill, rosemany. Three-year rotation.
* Squash family members, corn, and pole beans planted together with borage, dill, nasturtiums, sunflowers. hree-year rotation.
* Tomato and warm-fruiters, peppers, eggplants planted with basil, cosmos, parsley, Queen-Anne's-lace. Four-year rotation.
* Cabbage family, lettuce and root crops planted together with asters, calendulas, chamomile, chrysanthemums, cosmos, marigolds, rosemary, sage, thyme. Three-year rotation.
* Roots and greens--carrots, onions, greens planted with caraway, cahmomile, dill, fennel, Iceland poppies, asters. Two-year rotation.
* Perennial crops--asparagus, horseradish, strawberries, rhubarb surrounded by borage, sweet alyssum, chives, bee balm, chamomile, thyme, tansy, yarrow, cosmos, dill.

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I do number 3, but find 1 and 3..sort of one in the same with the exception of herbs added in. I have a potager...so everything is sort of mixed in anyways. But I try to keep it in sections for crop rotation. Then I interplant with beneficial herbs for that family of vegetables. I also try to keep plants that aren't good for each other...away from each other.

Great description of the 3 groupings! I think that's beneficial information for all gardeners.

My version of companion planting is based on stuff I learned when living in Maine.

Marigolds and Nastutiums with everything to drive out the bugs.

Radishes all over the place to drive away bugs and thin stuff out. We used to plant rows of 2 parts carrot seed to one part cherry radishes and then when the radishes were pulled out, the carrots were mostly thinned. We used to plant daikon radishes with the cucumbers, and the cukes hardly ever got bugs.

We also used to use two of the three sisters: Corn and beans. We would plant the corn, with about 2' worth of beans between every hill of corn. That way we got two harvests from one row. We did the same type of thing with peas, too, but planted the corn a tad closer, and let the peas run up the corn.

We also used to plant sunflowers with our trellis beans and the beans would grow up the sunflowers. Pretty to look at and delicious.

It wasn't until I started looking at gardening for myself that I realized there was an art to companion gardening. I just used to think it was a way to maximize space and keep the buggies to a minimum.