"Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons..."
The planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity.
Companion Planting Basics: Introduction to the concept of companion planting, how it works, and why it's beneficial.
Plant Selection: Choosing which plants to companion plant together based on their compatibility, growth habits, nutrient requirements, and pest-repelling properties.
Nutrient Cycling: Understanding how companion planting can help increase soil fertility and reduce nutrient depletion through the use of nitrogen-fixing plants, deep-rooting plants, and crop rotations.
Pest Control: Using companion planting to naturally repel pests or attract beneficial insects that prey on harmful pests, reducing the need for pesticides.
Plant Placement: Planning the layout of the garden to maximize the benefits of companion planting, such as planting tall plants to shade shorter plants or intercropping plants with different growth habits to utilize space efficiently.
Polyculture: Expanding on the concept of companion planting to include growing multiple crops together in a polyculture, creating a more diverse and resilient ecosystem.
Integrating Livestock: Using companion planting to enhance the productivity of livestock, such as grazing animals or chickens, by planting certain species of plants that provide nutritional benefits or help to control parasites.
Herbal Companions: Exploring the use of herbs in companion planting, such as using chamomile to improve plant growth or peppermint to deter pests.
Composting: Incorporating companion planting into composting practices, using certain plants to help break down organic matter and enrich the compost.
Traditional and Indigenous Practices: Examining the history of companion planting in different cultures and exploring how traditional and indigenous practices can be applied to modern gardening methods.
Mixed planting: Planting different vegetables, herbs or flowers together to create a healthy and diverse ecosystem leading to fewer pests, improved soil health, and higher yields.
Three sisters planting: This is a traditional Native American companion planting technique where corn, beans, and squash are planted together. Corn provides support for beans, which fix nitrogen in the soil that corn and squash use. Squash acts as a living mulch that shades the soil, keeping it cool and moist while also suppressing weed growth.
Trap cropping: This technique uses a decoy crop, that is planted to lure pests away from the main crop which is susceptible to the pest. Once the pest infests the decoy crop, it can easily be removed or sprayed, saving the main crop from devastation.
Nurse cropping: This is when you plant a fast-growing, temporary crop alongside a slower growing crop. The quick-growing crop provides a shelter and protection to the slower-growing crop until it's ready to thrive on its own.
Positive allelopathy: This is when the companion plant releases chemicals that help the growth of the primary crop, for example, planting clovers or other legumes alongside nitrogen-hungry plants.
Nitrogen fixation: Certain plants such as beans, peas, and clovers, etc., have the ability to fix nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that other plants can use. This is beneficial to other plants in the garden that require nitrogen.
Repellent companion planting: This is when strong-smelling odors released by certain plants deter pests from nearby crops, for example, planting strong-smelling herbs like basil, rosemary, or lavender next to crops that are attractive to pests.
Insectary planting: This involves planting plants that attract predators to kill pests. For example, carrots are often grown alongside parsley, dill, or fennel, which attract parasitic wasps and hoverflies, which prey on aphids.
Crop rotation: This is a technique where different types of crops are grown in succession in the same garden bed over several seasons, reducing the pests and diseases that can survive in the soil, returning essential nutrients to the soil, and promoting soil health.
Inter-cropping: This involves planting two different crops together in a single bed or row. For example, planting lettuce and spinach in the same bed: As lettuce grows tall, it provides shade for spinach, which likes cooler soil.
"...including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity."
"Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries..."
"Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in forest gardens in Asia, and thousands of years ago in Mesoamerica."
"...to otherwise increase crop productivity."
"...including pest control..."
"...providing habitat for beneficial insects..."
"...to otherwise increase crop productivity."
"Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in forest gardens in Asia..."
"Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries..."
"Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries..."
"...the planting of different crops in proximity..."
"Many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in forest gardens in Asia..."
"Companion planting is a form of polyculture."
"...providing habitat for beneficial insects..."
"...including pest control..."
"...to otherwise increase crop productivity."
"...maximizing use of space..."
"Companion planting is a form of polyculture."
"...many centuries ago in forest gardens in Asia, and thousands of years ago in Mesoamerica."