I'm thinking of using companion planting as a experiment this summer, and have heard lots of combinations.
What is your experience of what works or what is whacky and why??
Ann
I plant sweet peas among thefrench and runner beans frame - to attract pollinators. Pot marigolds and tagetes near tomatoes, carrots and onions mixed to repel whitefly and carrot fly. Seem to work. Also grow phacelia and borage in od spots to attract bees and hover flies.
In my view companion planting is all about creating diversity in your plot - the more different things you grow, the more wildlife (of the good kind) you attract and the more nature keeps its pests at bay.
Last year I trailed my butternut squash plants through the gaps between the sweetcorn.
I think that is done to conserve space rather than being beneficial to each other.
Only one I've tried is french marigolds with tomatoes to repel whitefly, which does seem to work. I'd also be interested in other people's experiences.
bd
I grow squashes with corn, which works well.
all of the above, plus letting herbs flower, including chives..and self seeded nasturtiums, draws the nasties away , oh, and sunflowers, just 'cos I like them ;D
Strangely enough I was reading yesterday in an allotment book about the '3 sisters' planting scheme. Squash, beans, sweetcorn together. The beans run up the sweetcorn and the squash suppresses weeds / protects the others from bird attacks. The notes I made were. ...
Create mounds 1 spade tall and wide and 2-3 spades between mounds.
Each mound is for 2 sweetcorn and 2 or 3 beans. Plant one squash between every 2 or 3 mounds. Start the corn first and plant the squash and beans when the corn is 15cm tall.
Sounds like people have tried combinations of this. I was thinking about trying it this year as I've got seeds of all.
I think the original version used much taller corn than most of us grow. I haven't tried it because I worry about the effect of all the pulling about picking beans on the corn. It would probably work if you were careful. Another thing is that climbing beans are a lot taller than any corn I've grown.
Could you not use a smaller growing French climbing bean?
I grew nasturtium with the cabbages and found the butterflies didn, tbother with the cabbages as much
I grew drawf beans inbetween the sweetcorn,I like to think that is why it did so well
am growing squash for the 1st time this year so that will go there as well
marg
The 3 sisters is an old native American method. As fae as pulling about when picking beans, you're misunderstanding how the 3 sisters is used. The sweetcorn would normally be left on the pant longer as it's for grinding rather than using fresh and the beans are left on to dry. Native Americans relied on cornmeal, dried beans and squash for over the winter.
sweet peas with my runner beans, tagates at the greenhouse door, marigolds everywhere, A few foxgloves, all the above for insect attract or repel, but leeks in your strawbs bed works! the sulphur content of leeks is of use to the strawbs.
Tansy is meant to repel ants, can be a thug tho.....seeds everywhere. French Marigolds, Calendula, Nasturtium and I'm also trying Nicandra this year from Amazin for repelling whitefly :D
I think Tansy repels moles too, I will have check that out. So Mr mole gets his cards this year >:(
Quote from: barkingdog on March 16, 2008, 17:45:02
Only one I've tried is french marigolds with tomatoes to repel whitefly, which does seem to work. I'd also be interested in other people's experiences.
bd
This is the only 'companion planting' we have had success with. We plant two or three french marigolds in the tops of the 10" plant pots we grow the tomatoes. It has worked for us for many years against whitefly.
valmarg
This is a useful site for most companion planting. (Well worth saving in favourites). I have a copy printed off and in my lottie shed.
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/companion.htm
I found this today http://www.thegardenscoop.com/
As a complete newcomer to growing stuff I don't know whether it's any good or not but thought I'd post it anyway.
French marigolds amongst the brassicas really do keep the white fly away>
;D
I agree with star on the Tansy - here and there it takes all the blackfly, gets loaded with it.
Quote from: beckydore on March 16, 2008, 18:07:46
Strangely enough I was reading yesterday in an allotment book about the '3 sisters' planting scheme. Squash, beans, sweetcorn together. The beans run up the sweetcorn and the squash suppresses weeds / protects the others from bird attacks. The notes I made were. ...
Create mounds 1 spade tall and wide and 2-3 spades between mounds.
Each mound is for 2 sweetcorn and 2 or 3 beans. Plant one squash between every 2 or 3 mounds. Start the corn first and plant the squash and beans when the corn is 15cm tall.
Sounds like people have tried combinations of this. I was thinking about trying it this year as I've got seeds of all.
I would not recommend this because of the difficulty of picking the crops. Trying to pick without stepping on squash vines etc. would be a nightmare not to mention finding the beans. The Indians were successful because, as mentioned earlier, they let the crops ripen and dry on the vines for their winter food.
Hmm I wonder if that would be a good method for dried type beans? I am growing a type of "shelly bean" called the Coco de Paimpol, you eat it semi-dried or dried. I guess it is similar to your Borlotti beans. Maybe that could go withthe corn, as well as the squash? I am going to have to get in a LOT of manure to cope with all those greedy feeders in one spot though!!!
I thought of trying the marigolds with tomatoes idea, if only because it looks so pretty. They say basil with tomatoes improves the flavour? (in the ground, not just on the plate) ;)
I tried the three sisters last year, I only put the beans on the corn at the edges of the block so I could get to them easily.Coz I dont dry my beans. The squash was ok with its growth, but it tasted awful.........it was a seedling I found in the compost. Though it did work for weed control ;)
I grew the 3 sisters as Dj wrote ... I used the climbiing borlotti to dry ... an area that grew with little attention needed and no work required from me ;D
Grow morning glory amonst your runner beans to encourage pollinators!
Companion Planting is a great way of naturally protecting your crops from pests and encouraging them to grow by planting other plants/crops that assist growth. ;D ;D ;D
Plant aromatic flowering plants to attract pollinating bees etc close to those crops that need pollinating.
Hope these help you all ;) Flo x
Beans like growing with rosemary, peas, cucumbers, carrots, chives, radishes lettuce, but not onion or fennel.
Beets will thrive with, lettuce, onions, cabbage but flounder with mustard.
Cabbage Good companions are celery, dill, onions and potatoes. Caraway also offers aromatic protection for cabbages in sunny weather. Bad companions are strawberries, beans and tomatoes.
Carrots grow well with chives, rosemary, sage, radishes, lettuce, parsley and tomatoes. Onions are good at repelling carrot fly due to the smell. dill and carrots are bad planted together.
Cucumbers like beans, carrots, onions, radishes in with them but bad
companions are herbs other than basil and dill.
Lettuce loves beans, carrots, cucumbers, onions, radishes and strawberries as neighbours.
Nasturtiums benefit cucumber and lettuce. (and potates!) They entive awy the black fly too !!
Onions Good companions are lettuce, beetroots, strawberries and tomatoes. Bad companions are peas and beans.
Peas are happy with lettuce, beans, carrots, radish, cucumbers, corn, turnips and beans with them, but not onions or garlic.
Radishes Good companions are beets, carrots, spinach, parsnips, cucumbers and beans. Radish does not like cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or turnips.
Sweet corn pumpkins, peas, beans, cucumbers and potatoes are good
companions.
Squash / pumpkins Good companions: radishes, cucumbers and corn.
Tomatoes grow well with basil, carrots, onions, parsley, but corn, cabbage, cauliflower and fennel are bad companions. If you grow asparagus a substance called asparagin in asparagus repels tomato pests.
Useful Herbs
Basil improves the flavour of many garden vegetables, specifically tomatoes
and lettuce, and repels flies and mosquitoes
Borage near strawberries and tomatoes attracts bees, which help to improve crop yield by pollinating plants
Comfrey Tap roots bring minerals to the surface of the soil.
Dill and fennel attract hoverflies, which then eat aphids.
Dill grows well next to lettuce and cucumbers
Garlic and chives keep away aphids and black spot and planted round fruit trees/ bushes discourage insects from climbing the trunk. Garlic also improves the growth and health of raspberry bushes and can enhance the production of oils in herbs Chives enhance the flavour and growth of tomatoes, carrots, apples, berries and grapes.
Marjoram and oregano are helpful to all vegetables
Rosemary benefits beans and carrots.
Sage amongst the brassica family, particularly cabbages repels cabbage white butterfly. Sage also benefits carrots, peas, beans but does not like cucumbers. Sage provides cover for frogs and toads that eat snails and slugs.
Summer savoury deters black fly - gow this with your broad beans!
Tagetes (African & French marigolds) Excellent on your plot! Deters aphids and whitefly through scent and by attracting hoverflies. Mexican marigolds (Tagetes Minuta), stops ground elder All marigold roots secrete chemicals, which help stop bindweed. The roots also stop eelworm from recognising their host plants, which include potatoes.
Valerian amongst your veg stimulates earthworms, which helps to boost plant growth.
Wormwood, hyssop and rue on your plot borders act as insect deterrents.
Has anyone tried sweetcorn and strawberries before? Good/bad companions?
I love borage with everything, poached egg plants too for pollination partners. Made a bit of an error last year, underplanted beans with 'dwarf' sunflowers, turned out 6' high.......not suprisingly the beans took ages to get going..... :-\
I get borage coming up everywhere, but it's a big plant that overshadows everything if you're not careful.
Quote from: star on March 16, 2008, 19:58:37
Tansy is meant to repel ants, can be a thug tho.....seeds everywhere. French Marigolds, Calendula, Nasturtium and I'm also trying Nicandra this year from Amazin for repelling whitefly :D
I think Tansy repels moles too, I will have check that out. So Mr mole gets his cards this year >:(
We've watched the spread of tansy down the street from our plant in the front garden. It even made it round the corner, but the council have sprayed....