Do some of the vegetable plants in your garden need some new best friends? You might as well plant some that make sense! Good friends with good benefits!!! You may already know the benefits of planting marigolds, but there are so many more! I’ve got a handy visual companion planting chart for you!
This companion planting visual guide will give you a good idea about which plants are good to plant with others. If you need a wider variety of plant ideas or the reason why check out the resources below.
What is Vegetable Garden Companion Planting?
Vegetable garden companion planting is the idea of vegetable gardening with numerous plants matched together for a positive effect. This guide refers to the process of growing a vegetable garden to improve the condition and life of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. One main reason why people use this mode of planting for a vegetable garden is that it deters pests and insects. Adding vegetables and herbs mixed with appropriate flowers to your garden will improve the taste of the vegetables and keep animals and unwanted insects far.
Why Go for It?
If you need vegetable gardening help, then companion planting is an excellent start for you. The process might require researching herbs and vegetables, but this style of planting makes the effort worth it. There are certain companion plants that work well together to keep pests at bay, improve vegetables’ flavors and even increase the health and condition of your vegetable garden. By adopting this, vegetables taste richer, and it’s also a great considerable benefit to the environment and ecosystem by improving soil health and supporting wildlife.
To improve your vegetable garden, you’ll need to understand what vegetables and herbs work well together. Look at the wilderness. Specific plants grow next to each other because they offer each other support, such as providing shade, sharing nutrients, or even holding the other plant in place. By following a companion planting guide, you’ll learn what other plants provide these qualities for one another.
What Are The Flowers That Make Good Companion Plants?
Now that you understand what companion planting vegetable means, it’s time to share the best companion plants for boosting the health of your vegetables and herbs. The essential factor to consider here is that companion planting helps with practicality, rather than appearance. Unlike conventional gardens which focus on matching bright colors together, companion plants are arranged with the sole purpose of improving your vegetables’ flavor and nutritional value, as well as keeping pests away.
What Grows Well Together in a Vegetable Garden?
- Marigolds are a striking yellow that attracts many insects such as bees and butterflies – including the white cabbage butterfly. Plant marigolds grow in numerous types of soil and are great at deterring pests from eating your vegetables. This is because the flower naturally creates a chemical that pests find too strong. So, instead of using pesticides that are unhealthy for your vegetables, stick to a natural version. This flower is ideal for growing cabbage, broccoli, and tomatoes.
- Kohlrabi is another flower to take note of on your printable companion planting chart. When looking for vegetables to match with kohlrabi, bear in mind that this flower requires regular watering, so you should choose vegetables and herbs with equal growing qualities. A few examples of companion vegetables include celery, cucumber, beets, lettuce, and onion. We strongly advise that you avoid growing cabbage with this flower, as flea beetles love it and will be right around.
- Tansy is another suitable flower to look at on your companion planting chart for vegetables. This plant can be poisonous to humans, dogs, and cats if eaten raw and in large quantities. However, tansy keeps flies, moths, and ants out of your garden. This flower also helps to improve compost fermentation as well as improve the quality of your herbs and vegetables. Try basil herbs with this flower to grow apricot. We also suggest mixing tansy with potato, thyme, mint, lettuce, coriander, carrots, and more healthy vegetables.
- Hyssop is another beneficial flower on your vegetable garden companion planting chart. Unlike other flowers, hyssop doesn’t have a significant benefit for herbs but works as a great companion for vegetables. It also attracts loving insects, such as butterflies, to add color and beauty to your garden. Grow this plant next to cabbage, grapes, and, cauliflower to improve the quality and flavor of your vegetables.
- Not only are sunflowers a beautiful way to brighten and uplift your garden, but this flower also helps many favorite vegetables to grow. This includes cabbage, carrots, celery, and potato. Sunflowers are also a great companion plant to sweeten strawberries and enhance their flavor. This flower also keeps weeds at bay, but they do require a large amount of sun to develop properly.
What Are The Benefits of Companion Planting?
If you like the thought of creating an herb companion planting chart and growing your vegetables, you can easily manipulate your natural ecosystem (as stated above). You can grow vegetables in a small garden, which is ideal if you don’t have a large space.
With as many herbs and flowers that match vegetables, you don’t need much room between each section to see results. Quietly tuck them in the corner of your garden, and you’ll still notice the benefits. If you like the idea of a bright and vibrant garden, you need healthy soil. Thankfully, companion planting helps to keep the soil moist, and many flowers add nutrients to the soil. These soil benefits help when there’s little rain but you still wish to create a decorative garden.
There are many pests you want to keep out of your garden, including corn earworms, nematodes, nasturtiums, slugs, and more. Thankfully, companion planting keeps pests away so they won’t destroy and eat your crops. However, this form of planting can attract beautiful insects – such as the cabbage butterfly – to add vibrancy to your garden. Although pesticides can deter pests, you don’t want to add chemicals and toxins to your crops.
Additional Resources:
- Cornel Cooperative Extension – a good rundown on companion planting guides plus the bug-repellent benefits and plants that do NOT make good neighbors!
- Get a great rundown of a wider variety of companion planting from Common Sense Homesteading.
- Shelle from Preparedness Mama has companion planting basics to get you started.
Visual Companion PlantingChart
Finding a good companion for your tomatoes, cabbage, celery, potato, thyme, and other garden vegetables and herbs gives you the following benefits:
- The companion plant may improve the health or flavor of the target plant.
- The companion plant can assist the growth and life cycle of its partner.
- Also, the plants may repel or trap an undesirable critter or attract beneficial insects.
- The plants will add more nutritional value to your vegetables by improving the soil quality.
- In addition, the plants may provide a healthy habitat for ladybugs, spiders, and other insects which are renowned for keeping pests away.
This companion planting visual guide will give you a good idea about which plants are useful to plant with others. If you need a wider variety of plant ideas or the reason why check out the resources below.
Katy Willis
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Katy Willis is a writer, lifelong homesteader, and master herbalist, master gardener, and canine nutritionist. Katy is a preparedness expert and modern homesteader practicing everyday preparedness, sustainability, and a holistic lifestyle.
She knows how important it is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, because you just never know what's coming. And preparedness helps you give your family the best chance to thrive in any situation.
Katy is passionate about living naturally, growing food, keeping livestock, foraging, and making and using herbal remedies. Katy is an experienced herbalist and a member of the CMA (Complementary Medical Association).
Her preparedness skills go beyond just being "ready", she's ready to survive the initial disaster, and thrive afterward, too. She grows 100% organic food on roughly 15 acres and raises goats, chickens, and ducks. She also lovingly tends her orchard, where she grows many different fruit trees. And, because she likes to know exactly what she's feeding her family, she's a seasoned from-scratch cook and gluten-free baker.
Katy teaches foraging and environmental education classes, too, including self-sufficient living, modern homesteading, seed saving, and organic vegetable gardening.
Katy helps others learn forgotten skills, including basic survival skills and self-reliance.
She's been published on sites such as MSN, Angi, Home Advisor, Family Handyman, Wealth of Geeks, Readers Digest, and more.
