Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Companion Plants and Polycultures
Ecological landscape designers often look to the native plant communities in their region
to see which plants grow together naturally, in order to help determine suitable plant com-
binations for their designs. This is a form of companion planting, but plants need not have
evolved together in order to benefit each other.
Companion planting in a vegetable garden involves pairing plants that may come from
different regions, but nonetheless work well together. Examples are green beans and straw-
berries, carrots and tomatoes, and lettuce and spinach. Sometimes the plants simply work
well together because they take up different areas above or below the soil. Sometimes one
plant deters a predator of the other plant. Often, the benefits realized are not nearly as grand
as some gardening topics indicate, but usually, no harm is done.
A polyculture goes a step further. It involves planting many plants together to take ad-
vantage of various niches in the garden, much the way nature fosters this diversity. Some
will grow tall and provide shade, while others hug the ground. Some are ready for harvest
early, while others take longer, even within the same food group, such as lettuces or toma-
toes. Some attract beneficial insects, while others repel plant predators. Some provide ni-
trogen for the soil, while others happily gobble it up.
Permaculture has embraced the polyculture philosophy by using multi-level plantings to
take advantage of all the various opportunities in the garden. Another concept is the guild,
where a central plant such as a fruit tree is surrounded by a group of plants that benefit the
tree. For more information on permaculture and polycultures, a great place to start is
Gaia's Garden: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture
by Toby Hemenway.
I just wanted to point out here that plants provide fertility for each other. While legumes
and grasses are the most common cover crops, especially over winter, ornamental and food
gardens should be inter-planted with plants that provide more benefits than just being beau-
tiful. Examples of beneficial plants to use are yarrow, fennel, lemon balm and clover, and
there are hundreds of others in topics such as
Gaia's Garden
listed above.
