The County Gardener

By: Maggie L. Moor-Orth

Delaware Cooperative Extension

Delaware State University

If you are like me and don’t get around to plant your vegetable garden until May 15^th, you may want to consider trying companion planting this year.

Basically, companion planting is the practice of placing plants close to each other so that they may help each plant grow better. Gardeners who practice companion planting do this more as a tradition, but in recent years, there have been studies done on this subject. Companion plants can be grown in several ways:

1. Intercropping, which is growing companion plants to attract or repel bugs between plants or in rows neighboring plants. It is also done to make better use of soil nutrients. Some examples are:

· Planting chives or garlic between rows of peas or lettuce is thought to help control aphids.· Marigolds planted in the same row to grow between hills of cucumbers, squashes, or melons should help reduce the cucumber beetle.· The roots of the marigold also produce and give off a chemical that kills soil nematodes that attack potatoes, strawberries, roses and various bulbs.

· Nasturtiums also help control the cucumber beetle when interplanted with cucumbers.

· Peanuts planted in a neighboring row with corn or squash makes use of soil nutrients.

· Chives grown between roses should help reduce the occurrence of aphids.

· Tansy herbs planted between cabbage rows are believed to help control cabbageworms and cutworms. It is also known that growing tansy around door openings helps keep ants out of the house.

· Strips of clover or alfalfa between rows of corn make use of soil nutrients.

2. As border and barrier plants, your companion plants are grown along one or more boundaries or edges in your garden to attract, create a home and breeding space for, and to feed beneficial insects “good bugs” or to repel pests “bad bugs.” Some examples of these are:

· Prostrate rosemary planted around flowerbeds helps keep slugs and snails from causing damage to your flowers.

· Nectar-producing flowering herbs and flower plants (summer savory, nasturtiums, marigold, and basil to name a few) attract and support beneficial activities.

It is important to have a variety of plants or one variety that will bloom all growing season long to ensure a steady supply of pollen for the beneficial insects to eat.

If you would like more information on companion planting, there are many books available; for example, Carrots Love Tomatoes, Roses Love Garlic, or Sleeping with a Sunflower. All three of these are written by Louise Riotte. You may also try Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.

When you finally get into the soil and plant, don’t forget to do a drawing of your garden, complete with names of companion plants. Leave room in the margins to jot down notes on the effectiveness of the companion plants during the growing season, such as, did they attract beneficial insects or did they repel any pests? This will help you in planning next year’s garden by knowing where to move or rotate the crops.

Lastly, if this is the first time you are trying companion planting in your garden, the more information you have and learn will help you decide if you want to join the many other companion planting gardeners.