Hi Garden Friends and welcome back to the Garden Goods, where we give you garden tips and build your growing confidence!
Have you heard of the terms companion planting and succession planting? Big words, but simple concepts. Let’s break them down.
Companion planting – the planting of certain plants together for a mutual benefit, usually pest control and soil improvement. You can also think of it as maximizing your growing space. If you’ve heard of 3 sisters planting, the Indigenous People’s method of planting corn, beans, and squash together, that is companion planting. The corn provides a trellis for the beans to grow up and the squash trails along the ground smothering the weeds. It’s letting the plants work together in harmony while also protecting and building your soil.
There are many books and theories about which plants “should & shouldn’t” go with other plants. We all garden in different spaces and regions and there is not one perfect answer, except diversity! Mixing in flowers and herbs among your vegetables will help to confuse and repel the insects you don’t want and draw in the pollinators you do. Nature works better together, just like with the 3 sisters method think about which plants could work well together. Pole beans can provide shade to lettuces, while nasturtiums and alyssum can be a great mulch around tomatoes and peppers.
Some of the best plants to mix in are:
Basil – a great companion to tomatoes and peppers, harvest often as the flavor is bitter once it flowers. However, allowing some to flower is a huge magnet for bees and pollinators. Try some new varieties like dwarf Greek, purple, or Thai basil.
Alyssum – a low growing ground cover with shallow roots that won’t compete with other plants. It has beautiful little flowers that pollinators love too.
Marigolds – a classic garden companion plant that comes in so many varieties, a must have in my garden that I love to tuck into all the garden beds. While you may hear that the scent of marigolds keeps bugs away it actually attracts good insects for the garden, like hoverflies and lady bugs that will help get rid of the bugs you don’t want like aphids. Marigolds do release a chemical into the soil that can be detrimental to hatching nematode eggs, nematodes live in the soil and can damage plants by sucking nutrients from roots.
Beans – beans are legumes and nitrogen fixers, meaning they add nitrogen back into the soil after they have died back. For maximum benefit leave the plants until they have died back and then cut ant the base of the plant, leaving the roots and nitrogen in the soil. They are also drought tolerant; I love tucking a few bush beans into an empty garden spot.
Pro Tip:
Keep in mind some plants make better buddies than others. It’s best to place plants together that have similar water and nutrition needs so they aren’t competing for resources.
Succession Planting/Sowing – Planting crops at different times to maximize your harvest and season. What you choose to succession plant will be based on the length of your season and what you like. Before succession planting, ask yourself if you would like to harvest a bunch of this vegetable at one time or have the harvest spread out through my season? For example, you may want to plant a small amount of carrots every few weeks. That way you are able to harvest longer. That would be succession planting. Or you may want to can your green beans and want them all to mature around the same time so you would only plant once.
Like most things in the garden, there is no one answer. Play around and find what works for you and your climate. The ground loves to be covered. Why not plant something else when you take something out? This is also a great time for crop family rotation to replenish the soil. Rotating crop families around the garden can help build back your soil and prevent diseases and pests. For example, if you had heavy feeders like onions or brassicas in a spot, plant beans or peas to add nitrogen back in.
“On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirit’s soar.” Helen Hayes