Companion planting

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The practice is centuries-old; dating back to the “Three Sisters” technique as practiced by the Native Americans. They planted rows of maize which acted as a support for the pole beans. Squash was then planted at the base of the plants as a deterrent to foraging animals.

Companion planting creates an environment that works in balance with nature. By planting only one type of crop or separating the crops, you are creating a situation where your crops become susceptible to disease and infestation by insects and nematoids.

There is much evidence of the beneficial effects from companion planting. Certain plants will attract good insects while other plants repel bad insects. Nasturtium, as an example will protect lettuce and cabbage because the insects prefer the nasturtium leaves over the lettuce leaves. Another common plant used in companion planning is the marigold, this particular plant exudes an odor that repels aphids but also attracts hover flies which love eating aphids.

And then, just like humans, there are families of plants that just do not get along with each other and than there are other families of plants that help each other as much as possible.

The companion planting chart below is a partial guide for some of these species listing which ones to plant with each other and which ones not to plant with the others. Square foot gardening is a system of gardening that is very intensive and uses very little space to produce large quantities of produce per square foot. This system adapts extremely well to companion planting.

PLANT	LIKES	DOESN'T LIKE
Asparagus	Tomato, Parsley, Basil	Onion, garlic
Basil	Pepper, tomato, marigold
Beans	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, marigold	Chives, leek, garlic
Beans, Pole	Carrots, corn, cucumber,eggplant, lettuce, pea, radish, savory	Onions, beets
Beets	Bush beans, cabbage, onion, sage
Broccoli	celery, chaminole, dill, rosemary	Oregano, strawberry
Brussels sprouts	Potato. thyme	strawberry
Cabbage	Beets, potato, oregano	Strawberry, tomato
Carrots	Beans, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, tomato, sage	dill
Celery	cabbage, onion, spinach, tomato	parsnip, potato
Corn	Bean, cucumber, melon, pea, pumpkin, potato, radish
Cucumber	bean, celery, lettuce, pea, radish, marigold, nasturtium, savory	Cauliflower, potato, basil
Eggplant	Bean, potato, spinach
Leek	carrot, celery, strawberry
lettuce	Carrots, radish, strawberry	beans, beets, parsley
Melon	Corn, radish	potato
Onions	Broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, strawberry, tomato	Beans, peas
pea	Beans, carrot, corn, cucumber, radish	Onion family
Pepper	Onion
Potato	Bean, corn, cabbage,pea,eggplant	Cucumber, pumpkin, squash
Pumpkin	Corn	Potato>
Spinach	Celery, cauliflower, eggplant
Squash	corn, onion, radish
Strawberry	Beans, lettuce, onion, spinach	Cabbage
Tomato	Cabbage, carrot, celery, onion, mint	Corn, potato, fennel
peas	Pea	Potato

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