A Guide to Companion Planting

Types of Companion Plants

Companion plants are categorized according to what they are able to do for one another. So you get trap crops, weed controllers, disease controllers, soil modifiers, and pollinator attractors.

Using trap crops is one of the easiest ways to control common garden pests. As the name probably gives away, trap crops are used to lure pests away from veg that you want to protect and essentially “trap” them. For instance, aphids love broccoli, but they love nasturtiums a little bit more. Plant these two closer together and you can give your broccoli plant some protection.

Weed controllers are used to keep weeds away from plants. Weeds are not just problematic because they physically take up space. They are also a pest because they steal nutrients and moisture from your crop. Cucumbers are a good example of a weed controlling plant. Not only do they creep and spread leaves that block out sunlight, but they also excrete a hormone that repels weeds. They can also end up repelling certain vegetable seedlings, resulting in slow growth of the plants you put too close, so think carefully about using plants as weed control.

Disease controllers can prevent fungal and other soil borne disease, thus protecting not only what you plant close by but also what you plant in future.

Soil modifiers are natures very own fertilizer. Peas and most beans put additional nitrogen into the soil, but they only add a little while they are growing. The key to benefitting from soil modifying plants is to cut them back to the ground when they begin to die, and then leave the roots in the ground. The roots will continue to add nitrogen after the plant is gone.

Pollinator attractors are a must and yet many first time gardeners neglect to plant them because they are so focused on growing food. Without pollinators, the fruit and veg would struggle to get pollinated, and so by planting things like flowers in the vegetable garden you are bringing in the bees. Great pollinators that fit into a smaller garden include Sweet Alyssum, Boy o Boy Marigolds, African Blue Basil (if you plant this beautiful perennial, remember to keep it well pruned or it will take over).

Planning the Space

Plants that will get along and benefit one another can be planted quite close together. They can be placed in the same bed, or used as a border.

And when it comes to planting non companion plants, you need to leave at least 2 to 3 rows, or about a meter, between your plants. You don’t have to overthink this or get really stressed out about planting unfriendly plants too close together. Just don’t plant them on top of one another.