Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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Monoculture
is when a farm area grows only a single crop. They are more susceptible to soil deficiencies
and pest problems.
companion planting
is purposefully planting one type of plant beside another
to increase the flavor, growth, or protection from pest and disease.
interplanting
is planting one type
of plant within the same space as another. It's more than planting one type of plant in the row next to
another—plants actually share the row or garden plot.
Planting beneficial herbs near your vegetables can help attract pollinators and discourage pests.
Many of the plants that are often used as companion plants are flowering herbs such as nasturtium,
marigolds, and basil. The hardest part is sifting through the lore, magic, country tales, and what
has been born out by research and study.
French marigolds (
Tagetes patula
) are one of the most commonly cited plants to include in compan-
ion plantings for a variety of reasons. They were shown in a study by the University of Georgia to
help decrease the amount of root-lesion nematodes in the soil. They also attract pollinators to the
garden and have been shown to repel whiteflies.
Tansy attracts ladybug and lacewing predators to the garden where they happily munch on aphids.
Aphids are a common pest of tomatoes and roses especially. Tansy was also shown to decrease the
number of cucumber beetles by more than 60 percent in a study by Rodale Institute Research
Center. Cucumber beetles prey on all members of the squash family, and also on tomatoes and
potatoes.
European corn borer is a common pest of pepper plants, corn, beans, and tomatoes. A study
conducted at Snyder Research and Extension Farm over the course of two years showed that dill,
coriander, and buckwheat all had positive effects in decreasing the amount of fruit damage from
European corn borer.
Another form of companion planting is known as
interplanting
. The iconic example of interplant-
ing is known as the three sisters, and was perfected by Native Americans. Corn, a shallow-rooted
plant, was interplanted with beans, which are medium-rooted, and squash, which is deep-rooted.
The beans could climb the stalks of the corn as support, while the squash provided many of the
benefits of mulch with its broad leaves.
The trick when interplanting is to consider the timing. If you plant carrots and radishes together,
for example, you would have time to harvest the fast-growing radishes before the carrots are too
old. However, if you tried to pair a slower-maturing crop like tomatoes with carrots, the tomatoes
would shade out the carrots and inhibit their growth.
One plant that is commonly used in interplanting situations is white clover. White clover is a nitro-
gen producer that doesn't grow too tall to compete for sunlight. It is also used as a living mulch for
crops that consume a lot of nitrogen, such as tomatoes, corn, broccoli, spinach, and cabbage.
