Companion Planting

tomato marigold Companion Planting

Companion planting is a traditional practice used by organic gardeners and is used to protect vulnerable crops from pests and diseases. By growing specific plants together it is possible to reduce the risk of pests or disease for a particular plant.

Protection is achieved in one or more of the following ways:

One plant may produce a chemical which repels pests certain pests
Companion plants can be used to camouflage the crop you wish to protect
Plants can be used to attract pests away from the crop you wish to protect, using them as a ‘sacrificial’ plant.

Below are some traditional examples of companion planting and how it works although there are many other combinations gardeners swear by:

Carrots & Chives – The growing chives confuse carrot fly so it is less likely to attack the carrot crop
Tomatoes & Basil – Basil helps to ward off white fly, a great tip when grown in the greenhouse & they taste nice together too!
Broad Beans & Nasturtiums – Blackfly love nasturtiums so grow them by your broad beans to prevent your precious crops being attacked
Cabbages & Nasturtiums – Nasturtiums will attract the caterpillars preventing damage to your cabbages
Tomatoes & Marigolds – Plant marigolds with tomatoes to prevent aphid attack. Marigolds can also help prevent tomatoes from slugs and wireworm