Knowing which plants grow well together is helpful. This is a tried-and-tested way to reduce pests, attract pollinators, and boost growth! Here are common examples.
- Tomatoes and basil are natural companions in the kitchen and garden. Basil repels certain insect pests, such as thrips, and also disorients moths that lay tomato hornworms.
- Aphids severely crimp your crop! But aphids can’t stand garlic! With this in mind, garlic planted as a barrier makes crops less vulnerable to pest attack. For example, grow potatoes between rows of garlic—it serves as a pungent bodyguard.
- Nasturtium flowers grown close to kale, cabbage, broccoli, and any brassica plants will lure hungry caterpillars away from eating your crops.
- Don’t get too fixated with pairing up crops. Correct spacing, sun, water, and good soil management are the most important influences on your growing plants.
- Why not start small with a few marigolds and zinnia seeds—and watch the beneficial bugs come! Other options to start with? How about calendula, nasturtium, basil, and borage?
Some of the best companion planting combinations for your garden.
- Basil is a help to tomatoes as an interplanted repellent to thrips. Basil deters moths that lay eggs for tomato hornworms and armyworms. Basil also attracts bees, which improves pollination, tomato health, and flavor.
- Dill attracts ladybugs, which eat tiny garden pests such as aphids and spider mites.
- Borage pairs well with tomatoes, attracting pollinating bees. It also enhances strawberries’ flavor and vigor.
- Garlic and garlic spray have a strong scent that deters many insects. Aphids can’t stand garlic! Garlic also repels onion flies, ermine moths, and Japanese beetles. Plant garlic between rows of potatoes alongside lettuces and cabbages and near fruit trees, together with alyssum, to attract aphid-eating hoverflies.
- Mint deters aphids, ants, and flea beetles. Just be careful to plant mint nearby in its own pot or bed, as it is a very aggressive grower!
- Nasturtiums attract hungry caterpillars away from brassicas like cabbage, broccoli, and kale, so grow these pretty flowers close to those crops.
- Parsley attracts beneficial insects to protect and pollinate tomatoes. Plant these herbs between tomatoes.
- Sage is a helpful herb that repels carrot flies. Also, plant it around a cabbage patch to reduce injury from cabbage moths.
- Sunflowers pair well with cucumbers and pole beans. They help provide support for climbing plants and shade for crops, which can become sun-stressed in hotter climates.
Add more flowers! Growing calendula or cosmos nearby will attract tiny parasitizing wasps and aphid-hungry hoverflies. We also love marigolds for drawing in pest-hungry beneficial bugs.
