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Questions tagged [companion-planting]

The concept of planting different crops in proximity.

Companion planting is the concept of planting different crops in proximity, in an attempt to improve nutrient intake (eg. planting legumes with non-legumes), pest control (some plants can deter pests attracted to other plants), and pollination (plants attract pollinators which help other plants; or different varieties can be planted as non-producing pollinators for productive plants).

Companion planting has been practiced since ancient times, and by indigenous peoples. A well known example is the "Three Sisters" technique practiced by Native American peoples. This mixes squash, corn, and beans. The beans use the corn as a climbing trellis, and provide nitrogen fixing for the corn and squash. Nutritionally, these three crops also complement each other very well.

Pest control companion planting can work by deterring pests, or by introducing non-producing "decoy" plants.

Companion planting has traditionally been based a lot on folklore.

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What are the criteria for picking out vegetables to grow together in "Three Sisters" garden?

A "Three Sisters" garden is a garden grown consisting of three different crops which help each other grow in some fashion. Such as Corn, Squash and Beans. I read about it in Roots Shoots Buckets and Boots, an awesome book for making gardens with…
Peter Turner
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Do legumes provide nitrogen to their companions?

It's common knowledge that legumes (clover, beans, etc) can (with the help of Rhizobium bacteria) fix nitrogen from the air and hold it in the soil. Much is made of this fact -- advice that we should plant clover in our lawn to give the grass a…
bstpierre
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What are some good companion veggies/flowers/herbs to scare off beetles?

I've had the biggest problems with Asian Stink Bugs (an invasive species that is terrorizing the Midatlantic USA region) and Asparagus Beetles. Oddly enough the asparagus beetles (right pic) are mostly found on my radishes, turnips and brassica,…
nicholas a. evans
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What are some good plants to put in a guild built around plums/stone fruit?

I'm starting a small orchard of stone fruit trees -- just a few hundred square feet. I will be putting in plums next spring, and I'm thinking about what to plant between/around them. In the lingo of permaculture, I'm building a guild. I'm in New…
bstpierre
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What are some good herbs to grow (pair) with tomatoes?

I have 3 tomato plants in pots right now. One of them is in a large pot and I recently planted some basil in the pot, partly for some extra basil, and partly because I have heard that basil and tomatoes go together nicely (I think I heard it…
wax eagle
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What is a good companion for asparagus?

I am considering planting about 4 asparagus plants in a 5'x7' patch. The asparagus will take up most of the space in the patch. What companion plants would work well in such a space? Wikipedia recommends: Aster Family flowers, Dill, Coriander,…
Om Patange
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Where can I find credible information about companion planting/intercropping

If you do a search for "companion planting", you get millions of hits. However, it's hard to separate out the real legitimate information from the muck. There's a lot of misinformation based on pseudoscientific methods of divining which plants…
Kenneth Cochran
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Can sunflower be used in Three Sisters planting instead of corn?

The Native American Three Sisters technique traditionally uses corn, beans, and squash as companion plants. The corn provides a trellis for the beans, the beans fix nitrogen for the corn, and the squash creates a cover layer on the ground to retain…
Drake P
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What is the effectiveness of using companion plants for pest control?

How effective is basil as a companion plant for pest control? Would the benefits outweigh the ease of mono-cropping, such as being able to use cat's cradle trellis for tomatoes?
Soo
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What to guild with Asparagus

I have been working on applying permacultural techniques of layering in space and time, and most of my gardens work well on this principle but I am having trouble applying it to asparagus. What should I plant around my asparagus to reduce exposed…
Chris Travers
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What herbaceous plants like acid soil, blueberries and white pine mulch?

Looking for herbs to fill out a blueberry bed. The soil is somewhat sandy and acidic, lots of coffee grounds mixed in, and its topped with white pine chips and needles. What herbs would be happy here?
Daniel Bingham
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Is there a model out there for companion planting

I've been looking at companion planting and it's very confusing. People say "plant cucumber with beans, peas, lettuce or corn", but then somewhere else they say "don't plant beans and peas together". So what I'd really like to find is not a list of…
horacethecheese
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What combination of herbs are good to plant in the same window box?

My brother-in-law gave me basil, rosemary and mint. I planted it in my window box and the basil and rosemary seem to be doing well. The mint dried up right away. I removed most of the dried leaves. Yesterday a couple of new mint leaves came…
milesmeow
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How should flowers be used as a companion in a vegetable plot?

I noticed our neighbours have a row of flowers / flowering shrubs going through their vegetable plot. I think they are carnations. I know I could just ask my neighbours, but I would like to get a wider opinion: Is it a good idea to plant some…
going
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Are there any plants I should not grow near my rhododendrons?

The author of this answer to this question mentioned that toxins in rhododendron leaves can prohibit growth in nearby plants. (This is a paraphrase, not a direct quote.) I have six huge rhododendron bushes that have a variety of bleeding hearts,…
Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL
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