Companion Planting Ideas for Organic Gardens

When it comes to organic gardening, getting “friend” plants together, while keeping the “foes” away provides natural pest control, higher yields and more beneficial insects in your site. The idea of companion planting is simple and sensible –combining two or more species in close proximity can introduce various benefits for the greenery.

The method by itself will not work miracles, but when applied in a well-maintained organic garden, it can provide startling results.

Companion Planting Ideas for Organic Gardens

The Benefits of Companion Planting
As mentioned earlier, companion planting can help keeping the pests and weeds at bay. In addition the practice also ensures protection from wind, heat and the weight of snow. It can sufficiently improve the use of space, making it more efficient. You can create diverse garden, containing various plant families in a small piece of land.

Plant Compatibility
There are a couple of principles to help you determine what companion plants to include in your garden. Your specific growing goals can give you an idea what greenery combinations to choose. For veggie gardens, you may need crops that attract beneficial insects or repel the unwanted bugs. This is one of the best organic pest control practice. If you want to prevent the weed growth, you may need fast-growing plants. They will suppress the unwanted greenery by covering every inch of free space and reducing the amount of light and nutrients. Some crops can also be used to enrich the soil with beneficial ingredients or to conserve water.

Tried and Trusted Companionships

•Bush beans and Potatoes
This is a match made in heaven. Potatoes are great fertilizers, while bush beans balance the nitrogen levels in the soil. You can plant potatoes between two rows with green beans. Bush beans will protect your root veggies from the Colorado potato beetle. Another idea is combine potatoes with leafy vegetables, followed by green beans and spinach.

•Basil and Tomatoes
These two plants go well together not only in salads and meals, but also in the garden. Basil’s strong scent repulses and confuses the pests, protecting not only your tomatoes, but other crops as well. The green herb can also improve the growth and flavour of their companions.

•The Three Sisters
The combination of beans, corn and squash is probably the most popular example of companion planting. These crops make fantastic companions. The cornstalk can support the bean vines, while the prickly squash leaves will serve as living mulch, protecting the soil from erosion, pests and weeds. In addition, the beans will add nitrogen to the land, feeding the other two plants.

•Squash and Radishes
Radishes are another strongly scented plant that repels unwanted insects. It’s worth spreading a few radishes seeds around your squash, chard and spinach crops to deter the squash borer larvae and the leaf miners.

•Marigolds and just everything
Marigolds will add colour to your garden and will prevent pest infestation. The citrusy smell of this lovely plant can keep away all kinds of unwanted bugs. On the other hand, their bright colours attract garden pollinators. Marigolds are basically an organic gardening must!