Companion Planting Will MakeYour Garden Thrive
Most gardeners have heard of companion planting and may know that you should plant garlic under your roses, or plant onions and carrots next to each other, but there’s so much more to it as I found out.
Plants can be like people and animals in that they have their favorite companions and there are plants they actually don’t like to be around and if you plant bad companions together, they will stunt each others’ growth or encourage the wrong insects.
I use a great book on companion planting, written by Julie Villani, a passionate organic grower, who’s astounded me with her depth of knowledge on companion planting. Not only does her e-book reveal what to plant near what and what not to, but how to reduce your workload in the garden and all sorts of priceless gems.
She has an e-book out which I found invaluable. It covers things like:
- How to choose the right plants to grow together
- Which plants you must never grow together
- How to protect your fruits and vegetables from insect attack
- How much to plant for your family
- How to save money by not having to replace sickly plants
- How to reduce your gardening workload – let mother nature do it for you
If you’re interested to find out more, click here… Companion Planting Guide
The more we know about working in harmony with nature, the healthier our plants are.
Check out some of our companion planting…
We planted marigolds next to a patch of carrots and onions. Carrots and onions are good allies as carrots drive off onion fly and onions drive off carrot fly and marigolds have good effects on plants growing near them. I also sprinkle the petals of marigolds on salads for a colorful effect.
Coriander attracts bees into the vegetable garden and if planted near the carrots and cabbage will protect them from pests. Of course it is a very popular herb to add to those Thai dishes.
The jolly jump up is actually Viola tricolor or Heartsease, a herb with a long history in herbalism. But if you live in America; In some parts of the United States this is considered an invasive weed and is listed in many southern states as an invasive weed. But I am in Australia 🙂
I love growing edible flowers so I grow them among the vegetables. I put flowers in most of my salads and they are tasty, nutritious, and add wonderful color to your salads. So when you think of companion planting, remember to add some edible flowers into your companion planting charts. I guarantee you will never again eat a salad without them!
