Successful Companion Planting

This weeks post is all about where and how to plant those seeds for successful results!  There are many plants that like and dislike each other and many that repel the bad bugs and attract the good ones.  Let's first go over the importance of planting in raised beds.  A raised bed whether in a box or on the ground will help to decrease impaction.  Why is this important?  The plants need air and deep water penetration to stay healthy and strong!  Raised beds provide these benefits along with allowing the gardener to plant more intensively and prevent weeding too!  The beds should be 3-5 ft wide and as long as you like.  You need to be able to reach from both sides of the raised bed without having to step into the soil and create compaction. In the picture above I intensively planted "The 3 Sisters"; corn in the center with green beans planted around the corn and squash planted around the beans.  The corn provides a pole for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil the corn needs and the squash provides a ground cover to keep the soil from drying out to fast. Also remember, every time you plant anything, add good organic matter to the soil to replenish nutrients.

Here is a fantastic list I got from one of my favorite companion planting books called "Great Garden Companions", by Sally Jean Cunningham (pg. 46-47).  She categorizes the plants in families of similar likes and then lists their friends that help attract beneficial bugs and improve growth.

Tomato Family: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers

Friends: basil, cleome, cosmos, parsley, asters

Potato Family: potatoes, beans, peas

Friends: calendula, cosmos, daises, dill, rosemary

Cabbage/Root Family:

cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, root crops (radish, beets, turnips)

Friends: asters, calendula, chamomile, chrysanthemums, cosmos, marigolds, rosemary, sage, thyme

Squash Family: winter and summer squash, corn, pole beans

Friends: borage, dill, nasturtiums, sunflowers

Roots/Greens Family: carrots, greens (lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard), onions

Friends: caraway, chamomile, cleome, cosmos, dill (not carrots), fennel, asters, rosemary

Perennial Family: strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries

Friends: borage, chives, bee balm, asters, black-eyed Susans, chamomile, creeping thyme, lovage, tansy, yarrow (good for almost all crops), cosmos, dill, hollyhocks

Keep any of the onion family (including chives) away from beans and peas

Peppermint deters the cabbage butterfly and ants (be sure to plant in pots to control growth)

Keep potatoes, sage and rosemary away from cucumbers

The picture above is one of my most favorite beds in my front yard filled with plants that attract beneficial insects!  Yarrow, marigolds, lavender, bee balm, echinacea, chamomille, calendula, cosmos, chrysanthemums, dill, thyme, borage and zinnias.  You can plant these perennials and annuals anywhere and everywhere!  Keep your plants healthy this year by attracting the good to take care of the bad, making gardening less of a burden and more of a joy!