Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Companion Planting
Why Plants Grow Well Together
To be a little more accurate here we have to look at what we mean by 'grow well together'
in other words, in what way are they beneficial to one-another's growth pattern.
There are in fact three main ways that this can be so, and they are:
• Nutritional
• Protection
• Decoy
Nutrition:
In the first instance, nutrition is perhaps the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to
advantageous companion planting; and indeed nutrition is of paramount importance in most
cases.
Beans and peas, as in all legumes, draw in nitrogen and fix it into the soil. This in turn can
provide the nutrients for corn for instance; which in turn can act as stalks for the beans. If
squashisplanted aroundthestems thenthiswill benefit fromthenitrogen, andinturncover
thegroundwiththeirbroadleaves,restrictingthegrowthofweedsandothercompetitorsfor
the nutrients. This is the typical 'three sisters' approach to companion planting.
Anothergoodexampleisthe'squarefoot'gardeningapproach.Thisisespecially applicable
to raised bed gardening, and is a simple rotational method of growing crops in a confined
space(16squarefeet),thatarebeneficialtoeachneighbour,andsoproducegoodvegetables
without the need for fertilizers.
Protection:
However there are the issues of protection against insect or herbivore predation to consider,
and this goes hand in hand in many cases with the 'decoy' aspect of companion planting.
Even protection against inclement weather plays a part in companion planting. For instance
some plants prefer the shade, and so can grow under the shade provided by tall plants like
Tomatoes. This can also provide protection against high winds or other weather conditions,
that may be detrimental to some fruit or vegetable species.
Insects:
Insects can be controlled either by using the natural insect repellent abilities of some plants
to scare the insects away; or by using the natural attraction of some plants to insects like
