Companion planting in the vegetable garden for blazing harvests!

Are you familiar with companion planting in the vegetable garden? It involves placing plants that can help each other close to one another. Due to their properties, certain varieties are beneficial to others in various ways, such as providing shade, attracting pollinators, or repelling certain harmful insects. Similarly, it is also preferable not to have plants that might compete for nutrients in the soil close to each other; these would be considered bad companions.

The very principle of companion planting is to mix vegetables and herbs rather than planting them in monocultures. This confuses predators and thus protects your crops. It's also recommended to add honey-producing flowers to the garden to invite pollinating insects that will aid in fertilization and increase your yield. The flowers will also attract beneficial insects like ladybugs, which will make life difficult for harmful insects.

Here are some beneficial associations in the garden:

• Plant basil between tomato plants: the taste of the tomatoes will be more pronounced.
• Plant leafy vegetables that do not like too much heat, such as lettuce, spinach, and kale, at the base of taller-growing vegetables (tomatoes, corn, etc.) to provide them with shade.
• Plant marigolds in the garden. In addition to attracting pollinators, they will repel nematodes that can be harmful to certain plants.
• Plant nasturtiums, which are also edible flowers, in a corner of the garden. As they attract aphids, your other plants will be spared. Pull them out as soon as aphids appear to prevent them from spreading to other plants.
• Add legumes like peas or beans. They have the ability to fix nitrogen in the soil and thus nourish other vegetables.
• Plant highly fragrant herbs like dill and coriander; predators will be confused and your vegetables will be safe!
• Plant radishes; they slow the growth of weeds.

Friend or Foe?

To avoid mistakes and, on the contrary, achieve good results, here is a little reminder:

Thanks to garden associations, you will surely enjoy great success in your vegetable garden and abundant harvests. Consult a consultant at your Passion Jardins store to learn more about companion planting.