“Hello, Friend” — The Plants that Make Perfect Companions
We’ve spoken about it before in a previous Journal article, but companion planting is the thing that can take your gardening experience to the next level. It’s certainly something that doesn’t need to be done, but if you do, you may just find that certain veggies get pollinated quicker, or can withstand their journey longer because they haven’t been wiped out by pests.
Since releasing our Edible Flower range, which is packed with 4 powerful companion plants, we thought we’d release the perfect companion plant for those flowers.
French Marigold (not to be confused with African Marigolds).
They are helpful at killing and repelling nematodes, which are tiny organisms that are known for causing crop problems. Marigolds are known for their bee attracting qualities, and ladybugs, lacewigs and hoverflies, which enjoy eating aphids and other pests.
Companion plants:
Cucumber
Melons
Aubergines
Squash
Potatoes
Lettuce
Pumpkins
Tomatoes
Asparagus
Beans
Onions
Nasturtium:
Nasturtiums have been known to deter squash beetles and cucumber beetles. But have also been known to attract aphids and cabbage white butterflies which can damage crops — but the key to this is to use Nasturtiums a trap crop, or a distraction crop.
Companion plants:
Broccoli
Brussel Sprotus
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Kale
Kohlrabi
Pumpkins
Radish
Squash
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Aubergines
Calendula:
Being brightly coloured these plants, attract beneficial pollinators to the garden. They work to protect vegetable gardens from Aphids, Potato Beetles, Flea Beetles, Corn Earwoms, Japanese Beetles and Squash Beetles.
Cucumber
Potatoes
Strawberries
Peas
Corn
Basil
Peppers
Tomatoes
Peas
Carrots
Asparagus
Salad greens
Runner Beans
French beans
In January we released the basic tools list, this is the pro edition of that list.