Garden Smarter with Companion Plants

Written by Vanesa Ruvalcaba

Looking for an all-natural way to deter bugs and boost the overall health of your veggie garden? The answer will either delight you or depress your wallet – more plants, aka companion planting!

Companion planting is when you incorporate other types of plants for the specific purpose of supporting the veggies in your garden – essentially making a symbiotic plant community. This is a practice that has long been utilized by indigenous peoples, but it has recently gained more credibility within the western world of gardening. Some functions of these companion plants include:

-    Attracting pollinators 
-    Deterring pests 
-    Providing physical support
-    Enhancing veggies and soil all around 
-    Suppressing weeds 

Recent academic studies have been conducted to confirm what attentive home gardeners have reported seeing in their own yards. Your veggies will thrive if you give them friends to provide a network of support.

Below is a short list of the most popular pairings:

Basil & Tomato - Basil anywhere will do you good as a bug deterrent, but it specifically intermingles with tomatoes to further improve them 

Nasturtium – Tragically, this annual is used as a sacrifice to draw pests away from eating any of your veggies; they will also attract predatory insects and enhance certain crops

Zinnia – They attract bees, but they will also enhance all crops planted close to them

Marigold – These are great for deterring pests and improve yields for surrounding crops; they can also act as a weed suppressant

Garlic – Pests loathe the smell of garlic, so intermixing them with your veggies will help ward off any hungry bugs looking for a snack

The Three Sisters Garden – Corn, pole beans, and squash planted together all work to benefit one another; Corn provides a support for beans to climb up while beans draw nitrogen into the soil and keep the three crops close together; the squash leaves give shade for the soil below and act as a deterrent for hungry critters and pests

Oregon State University has kindly provided a more extensive list for home gardeners to reference. So, rather than hoping the bugs will spare your garden for the season, consider trying out companion planting! If nothing else, you’ll have more beautiful flowers and herbs to admire.