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Companion Crops I used to Protect and Improve My Vegetable GardenCompanion crops and the entire concept of companion cropping was new to me. At school I learnt about crop rotation but nothing on companion planting. It was only after reading books on companion vegetable gardening that I became wise to the technique. I gave it a try and was pleased at the results. I needed to apply less fertilizer to keep plants green and healthy. I also had a wider variety of vegetables to consume. Plus my garden got a facelift. Because of the different types of vegetables there was more color in the garden. It made the garden a talk piece whenever I had friends and family over. So here’s what I learnt and did. Companion vegetables and herbsI was glad to learn that planting herbs in the garden repels pest. They do this by through their scent. So I was eager to get some herbs growing in my garden. I grew the following herbs along with the following vegetables: Basil was grown with:
 Chamomile was grown alongside:
Chives were planted near to:
Peppermint did great with:
These herbs help me control the pests. They reduced attacks from the root flies, moths and aphids. Companion Vegetable PlantingThese crops helped each other prosper when planted in the same bed: My Broad Beans grew great when accompanied with:
 But they did grow well next to garlic and onion. So I avoided planting these in with the beans. The French Beans did great with celery, potatoes, strawberries and sweet corn. But again onion and garlic affected their prosperity and had to be transplanted to another bed. Beet Root and Chards did great with:
But will not be as successful if grown with runner beans. Brassicas and the cabbage family do well with:
Runner beans and strawberries are not suitable companion vegetables.
Carrot can be planted with:
Celery and Celeriac. Team these up with:
Cucurbits (which includes cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squash) thrive if grown with:
But cucurbits does badly with potatoes. Garlic and Onion should be grown with:
Growing garlic with beans and peas is not a good idea. Leeks can be grouped successfully with:
Lettuces is a great companion for:
Peas are companion planted with:
Potatoes goes great with:
Cucurbits and tomatoes aren’t good companion crops for potatoes. Swedes and Turnips can only grow well with peas. Sweetcorn can be sown with:
Tomatoes does well with:
At PresentI know that it’s a long list. But I hope it will be beneficial to you. Everytime I’m about to grow companion crops I always consult the list. The success of my vegetable garden is important to me and I always want to ensure that I do what is best for the plants. I don’t plant all the companion vegetables and herbs. I don’t have space for all of them. But I usually make a companion planting chart. This is a spread sheet of all the vegetables I’ll like to combine. I then plot them against the list and come up with different combinations that will work. (At least on paper). I then go out and plant them. Creating a spreadsheet is work especially if you plan on companion cropping many vegetables at once. But if you spend time on planning it will be easier when you actually begin planting the companion crops.
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