Hey friends of the farm! Do you ever find yourself wanting to plant things that also happen to have a lot of pesticides in your area? Are you reluctant to use pesticides?
Something I’ve been experimenting with this summer has been companion planting. Companion planting is planting specific plants together that can help enhance growth and repel pests. Some examples of companion planting for plants at Miller Farm, are: cabbage/kale/bok choy (brassicas) and borage, clover, celery, dill, anise, oregano, rhubarb, or onions; squash and cucumbers, pumpkin, mints, nasturtiums; tomatoes/peppers and basil, horehound; and lettuce with root vegetables or dill, You shouldn’t plant tomatoes/peppers with brassicas, eggplants, lettuce, beans, dill; lettuce and cabbage. You can plant tomatoes and carrots together, but the tomatoes will stunt the carrot’s growth.
This summer, I’ve planted summer squash with nasturtiums in a bed next to the house. Both plants seem to be growing well together. The squash haven’t been eaten by squash bugs, which are usually pretty bad in this area. However I don’t know if this is because there weren’t as many squash bugs this year or if there was success with the nasturtiums. I want to continue to experiment with companion plants in the future. I really want to see if companion planting has any effect keeping the cabbage bugs off of the brassicas.
Here are some resources about companion planting:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
http://wellnessmama.com/2524/organic-gardening-natural-pest-prevention-and-control/
http://www.gardentoad.com/companionplants.html
Happy planting!
Love, MF
Something I’ve been experimenting with this summer has been companion planting. Companion planting is planting specific plants together that can help enhance growth and repel pests. Some examples of companion planting for plants at Miller Farm, are: cabbage/kale/bok choy (brassicas) and borage, clover, celery, dill, anise, oregano, rhubarb, or onions; squash and cucumbers, pumpkin, mints, nasturtiums; tomatoes/peppers and basil, horehound; and lettuce with root vegetables or dill, You shouldn’t plant tomatoes/peppers with brassicas, eggplants, lettuce, beans, dill; lettuce and cabbage. You can plant tomatoes and carrots together, but the tomatoes will stunt the carrot’s growth.
This summer, I’ve planted summer squash with nasturtiums in a bed next to the house. Both plants seem to be growing well together. The squash haven’t been eaten by squash bugs, which are usually pretty bad in this area. However I don’t know if this is because there weren’t as many squash bugs this year or if there was success with the nasturtiums. I want to continue to experiment with companion plants in the future. I really want to see if companion planting has any effect keeping the cabbage bugs off of the brassicas.
Here are some resources about companion planting:
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
http://wellnessmama.com/2524/organic-gardening-natural-pest-prevention-and-control/
http://www.gardentoad.com/companionplants.html
Happy planting!
Love, MF
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