Companion planting

redhead120 3/22/2013, 10:01 am

I have not seen anyone discussing companion planting. When planning your garden does anyone take into consideration the plants that don't do well near each other? I am finding it harder to configure my beds because of this. If certain crops shouldn't be grown near some other type, how far is far enough away?

southern gardener 3/22/2013, 10:13 am

hi red head. Here's a link I use quite a bit. Hope this helps!! http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html#ALFALFA:

redhead120 3/22/2013, 10:22 am

I actually have that one bookmarked on my computer. It is very helpful. So are you careful what plants you plant near each other? And how far away is far enough? For instance, that site says to keep onions away from peas...how far do you think? A different box or a couple squares away?

H_TX_2 3/22/2013, 10:26 am

I try and find out why certain things should not be planted near each other. If they are susceptible to the same diseases or attract the same pests then I put them in separate boxes. If they just don't go well together or inhibit the growth on the other then I think it is safe to put them 2+ squares away.

redhead120 3/22/2013, 10:39 am

thanks for the info. I was probably being too fussy with my distances. If it ever quits snowing here I might get to work in my garden!

chjbr63 3/22/2013, 10:52 am

Here are a couple of links I use for companion planting. I mainly use them to make sure I'm not going to plant any enemies next to each other. I do plant basil in with my tomatoes. I did the Three Sisters last year without much success, corn did not grow well and had string up the beans.

http://www.unclelukes.com/companion-planting
http://www.homeandgardensite.com/companion_planting.htm

memart1 3/22/2013, 4:56 pm

I too am in the same situation as Redhead with it still snowing. I am also in Pennsylvania near Wilkes-Barre, and we have snow predicted for Monday. I have done a little clean-up work, but that's all. I hope to start some things inside this week, but I'm really waiting about two more weeks to plant outside. The weatherman says April is supposed to have above normal temperature, so that'll be a good time to work outdoors. I am not a cold weather person. Give me a cup of hot chocolate and an afghan and the ANSFG book, and I'll cuddle up and dream of my soon-to-be garden a while longer. LOL rofl

brainchasm 3/22/2013, 5:25 pm

Almost everything I've planted so far has had companion planting be a major consideration.

It's the only reason I have marigolds and nasturtiums...it's why my basil is by my tomatoes, but my beans are far away, etc.

There so many things to consider really: companionability, final height/width and the shade it may cause, vining nature or lack thereof, what it will do to the soil (like beans/peas and their nitrogen fixing), how greedy it may be, and probably another dozen!

Pollinator 3/22/2013, 6:30 pm

redhead120 wrote:I actually have that one bookmarked on my computer. It is very helpful. So are you careful what plants you plant near each other? And how far away is far enough? For instance, that site says to keep onions away from peas...how far do you think? A different box or a couple squares away?

My garden peas and onions grow alongside each other just fine. I think a lot of companion planting is just so much voodoo.

There is a good reason for planting nectar and pollen bearing flowers together with veggies (to build up pollinator populations), and to plant those that are proven to repel pests. But a lot of what you hear and read is just a lot of nonsense.

**donnainzone5** 3/22/2013, 6:36 pm

The best onions I ever grew in Southern California were planted from seed in my strawberry/asparagus bed. Nothing seemed to suffer.

Lindacol 3/22/2013, 6:37 pm

redhead120 wrote:I have not seen anyone discussing companion planting. When planning your garden does anyone take into consideration the plants that don't do well near each other? I am finding it harder to configure my beds because of this. If certain crops shouldn't be grown near some other type, how far is far enough away?

Redhead.

Use the search option top left column. I put in companion and came up with lots of threads with interesting info.

yolos 3/22/2013, 6:37 pm

Pollinator wrote:My garden peas and onions grow alongside each other just fine. I think a lot of companion planting is just so much voodoo.

I hope you are right pollinator because I planted my peas next to my onions in adjacent squares.

edfhinton 3/22/2013, 9:49 pm

The link posted by Southern Gardener worries me. It says that Corn should be at least 20 feet away from Tomatoes and Celery. My SFG isn't big enough to do that. I was planning corn at the first 4x4 box (westmost), and tomatoes and celery are planned for my third box. So the tomatoes are planned for only about 8 feet from the corn at the closest point. Does anyone think I will have a problem? (Now that i think of it, I had grown corn and tomatoes years ago in a conventional garden and they were closer than 20 feet.) I will research more but I either need them closer than 20 feet or can't grow both at all the same year.

-Ed

Pollinator 3/22/2013, 11:05 pm

edfhinton wrote:The link posted by Southern Gardener worries me. It says that Corn should be at least 20 feet away from Tomatoes and Celery. My SFG isn't big enough to do that. I was planning corn at the first 4x4 box (westmost), and tomatoes and celery are planned for my third box. So the tomatoes are planned for only about 8 feet from the corn at the closest point. Does anyone think I will have a problem? (Now that i think of it, I had grown corn and tomatoes years ago in a conventional garden and they were closer than 20 feet.) I will research more but I either need them closer than 20 feet or can't grow both at all the same year.

These companion gardeners have caused people more worries and pains-in-the-neck! Relax!

Just don't plant the corn where it will shade the tomatoes.

Lindacol 3/23/2013, 12:09 am

edfhinton wrote:The link posted by Southern Gardener worries me. It says that Corn should be at least 20 feet away from Tomatoes and Celery. My SFG isn't big enough to do that. I was planning corn at the first 4x4 box (westmost), and tomatoes and celery are planned for my third box. So the tomatoes are planned for only about 8 feet from the corn at the closest point. Does anyone think I will have a problem? (Now that i think of it, I had grown corn and tomatoes years ago in a conventional garden and they were closer than 20 feet.) I will research more but I either need them closer than 20 feet or can't grow both at all the same year.

-Ed

This is news to me. For 2 yrs now I have grown tomatoes adjacent to the squares of corn and they both did fine.

**walshevak** 3/23/2013, 12:34 am

remember everybody, the mel's mix we use is formulated for intense gardening. The high nutrients allow for much closer spacing. Worry more about compost, heat, shade than companion planting.

Kay

Sponsored content

Companion planting

Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting

Re: Companion planting


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.