What is Companion Planting?

The concept of companion planting different crops in groups to bring out the best in each other is not a new. Long before European settlers arrived in the Americas, indigenous peoples were grouping together corn, beans, and squash. This first known companion planting is known as the ‘The 3 Sisters’.

There are all kinds of benefits to planting different crops together. Tall plants can provide shade for shorter ones who favour shade. Ground covering crops work well with taller plants to utilize separate layers. Other plants can repel pests from their neighbours, while others do the total opposite and attract beneficial insects. One plants pest is another plants predator!

There’s an African proverbs that says “It takes a village to raise a child”. In much the same way when you plant a garden of friends or a community of companion plants who look out for each other, your crops will grow up strong and thrive.

Here are our 12 vegetable companion planting groups to help your garden grow in abundance. When you plant these vegetables together you’ll make the most of your space and deter pests.

12 Vegetables with their Companion Plants

1. Beetroot – broccoli, onions, cabbages, swiss chard and brussel sprouts.
2. Cabbage – broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, swiss chard and brussel sprouts and kale.
3. Carrots – onions, cabbages, peas, radishes, leeks and lettuce.
4. Potatoes – cabbages, peas, corn, beans and squash.
5. Tomatoes – carrots, cabbages and onions.
6. Onions – carrots, cabbages, lettuce, beetroot and parsnips.
7. Radishes – peas, carrots, parsnips, lettuce, cucumber and spinach.
8. Swiss Chard – cabbages, beetroot and onions.
9. Peas – beans, corn, radishes, carrots, turnips and cucumber.
10. Cucumber – corn, cabbages, beans and radishes.
11. Lettuce – beetroot, parsnips, carrots and radishes.
12. Parsnips – lettuce, radishes and onions.

Here are Your 4 Extra Companion Planting Tips!

1. Did you know onions and garlic deter most pests? Well the sulfur compounds found in onions and garlic keep nasty bugs away by simply producing an unpleasant odor that nasty garden pests don’t like. Try mixing Garlic and onions with water to pour into a spray bottle and then apply it to your plants.
2. Marigold and lavender are two flowers that are great bug repellents. It’s been well know for centuries that mosquitoes, flies and other unwanted insects hate lavender. Meanwhile, marigolds repels aphids and mosquitoes with their scent.
3. Encourage more frogs, toads and spiders to your garden. They make great companions for your plants. Frogs and toads are carnivores and have ferocious appetites. They will eat insects such as flies, mosquitoes, moths and dragonflies. Larger frogs will also eat larger insects like grasshoppers and locusts.
4. Did you know spiders rank as one of the gardener’s best tools for biological pest control and the best thing is… they don’t eat your plants!

Do you companion plant in your garden? Let us know in the comments below.

What is Companion Planting?