Plant co-existance. What benefits what?

Specop_007 · Expert Joined: Aug 12, 2004 Posts: 6267

So now its my turn to reach out for some gardening advice and knowledge.

I'm looking for information or books pertaining to what plants work well together. For example, beans add nitrogen to the ground. Are there other plants that add anything to the ground? What plants work well together and what plants should not be planted close together?

I'm trying to find a reference to make the most space efficient high yield garden possible.

Thanks,
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dinopello

I recently acquired this book.

and it has that type of information (as do probably others)

skyemoor

The gardening threads in the forum index have all this information. Use the forum index first, so that we can continue to build a knowledge base, and not answer the same questions hundreds of times.
http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic17387.html

or search for "companion plants", "interplanting", or "Jeavons"
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Pops

{Pops fiddled here}
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TreeFarmer · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 26, 2007 Posts: 350

We currently have pumpkins planted with corn. SUPPOSEDLY the spines on the pumpkin vines will discourage racoons from going for the corn. That is what I've heard, no real experience with it though. I do know that corn and pumpkins will do well together.

TF

Pops

simple garden rotation

But because I love tomatoes I'll just say:
Plant tomatoes with Marigolds!
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alokin · Intermediate Crude Joined: Aug 24, 2007 Posts: 873

This topic is not that simple. Because it depends were you are.
If an English garden writer tells for example that maybe tomatoes love basil it may not apply in the US. And not every garden tells the same.
If you want to google use the words: "companion planting".
I read somewhere that it is more important to pay attention which plants dislike each other like beans and the onion family.

For fixing nitrogen all the legume family is helpful. And Comfrey and Borage is good for drawing - I forgot what - out of the soil and is used to make stink brew.

Grifter

Comfrey is an excellent plant but depending on the size of your garden I'd limit the number of plants you establish. I have 2 well established plants. Composted Comfrey contains a lot of nitrogen which is good for leafy growth. Too much nitrogen can make plants very sappy though and you can get massive infestations of aphids. Also Borage, once established, can start sprouting up everywhere, I avoid it now except for growing in pots.

Nettles are very good for drawing magnesium from the soil so if you have a patch with nettles in try to keep a small area of them as they will recycle magnesium.

Adding a lot of leafy material from these plants to compost will give you a very good fertilizer for brassica plants like caggage, brussels, caulliflower etc. These need magnesium to grow well. Energy wise I'm not sure these plants are great but without good fibre in the diet you won't absorb other good nutrients properly and they also, of course, contain good levels of micronutrients themselves. (btw I still haven't been successful with caulli's)

Comfrey brewed in water will make a good tomato feed and the mush left over can still be used for compost.

Potatoes like phosphorus I believe but I don't know what plants other than seaweed help to add this to the soil, maybe someone else can help.

Yellow and orange flowers will attract hoverflies, their larvae eat aphids as do ladybirds which in my experience seem to like nettles.

Ok, so what I posted isn't so much about companion planting but in my limited experience feeding the soil is more important than feeding the plants. I have been quite successful as a relative newcomer to veg growing (about 5 years now).

Pops

Back in the '60's some guy wrote a book about companion planting/bio-intensive or whatever the new term is; but it was know then by the now unpopular term French-intensive gardening.

The biggest difference between rotational planting using several beds or plots and companion planting in one or several big beds is the soil gets a rest from the pathogens and demands from different families for 3/4/5 years using a rotation and the intensive idea is to pack families together for mutual benefit eliminating the problems of each family.

I guess one could find a rotation not combining several families in the same plot but it seems cumbersome to my little brain.

I had good luck with the intensive method in a small plot, I like a rotation where more room is available.
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RedStateGreen

I use this book a lot: Carrots Love Tomatoes. It's all about companion planting.
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