Companion Planting Resources

For those of us who have trouble rustling up enough info to really get going on Companion Planting---
Could some of you Link Mavens (LMs) post here so we can gather the info in one spot? There's a lot out there....(slight whine)...it would be great to hear anecdotal stuff here as well...pleeease. (major whine) - ^_^

Ferinstance: I planted green beans and potatoes after onions last year >> absolute failure. Got one potato and 3 green beans as harvest from about 20 plants. Most seeds didn't even germinate, spuds didn't sprout. The same stuff did brilliantly in another location...

Do you mean something like this? http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/956030/

The books Carrots Love Tomatos and Roses love garlic are great companion plant books. amazon carries them.

No linkage right now, but anecdotal stuff:

I sort of accidentally planted a couple of tomatoes very close to my potatoes - a major no-no as they apparently can share the same blight, so if one gets it, they all get it.

They are both growing like wildfire. Apparently, they do like each other, just a little too much. So, I guess this is the year of (yet another) experiment and we'll see how they each produce. Of course, the tomatoes are already happily making little tomato fruits, so who knows how that will work out.

Other anecdote: I'm all about marigolds next to pretty much anything to drive the bad buggies away, so I planted marigolds with everything. Well, it seems to have worked in the weirdest way imaginable. I went out to water the garden the other day and saw a cloud of lovebugs hovering around the plants - but not actually landing on anything. It was kind of surreal. There were these clouds of bugs, but they were keeping about 18" away from all the plants. Very strange to see.

Very interesting info, Hastur! As there are clearly a number of reasons why one would companion plant or not for various cultivars, it makes sense that if a blight vulnerability exists you don't want to spread it, but also if the infection is not present that the same plants might benefit from similar conditions.

However, the proof will be throughout harvest, I imagine, as there may be yet other reasons not to associate those two........

For the sake of your garden of course, I hope not. ;-)

Now, what are lovebugs, pray?

Here, for anyone interested, is the other thread (in this forum) about companion planting:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/952712/

I agree, Kylaluaz. If the plants are vulnerable to the same stuff, it makes sense that they might like the same growing media and nutrient types. Something that I have seen that fascinates me is the tomato/potato thing. This tells me that they MIGHT be OK together.

Oh well. Since they are close, there's only one way to find out. *grin*

Lovebugs, by the way, are harmless, but annoying bugs that couple in the air. If you ever see a little black bug, with a red head, that appears to be glued at the rear end to another one, that's a love bug. When it's their mating season, they fly all over the place, and can be seen in clouds, with the two bugs mating as described. One of the most annoying things in the world is to drive through a large cloud of them on a motorcycle, because they will cover your helmet with dead bugs.

LOL! Okay, thanks for the description!

Soooooo... I went out to harvest some beans and took a peek at the tomatoes and potatoes. I swear I am seeing visible growth on them. The maters are starting to make me wonder if I actually planted a vegetable or a weed and the potato plants are about 4" higher than my knee.

So far no blight, either.

Oh, look what just turned up in the new Random Articles feature:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/178/

Not specifically companion planting but excellent diagram and description of Guild Gardening, and numerous informative links.

;-)

Hi there companion planters. I planted a couple of my tomatoes with potatoes too and they too seem to be doing very well. I did it for no reason in particular but it will be interesting if both of our tater-mater's do well. I have been way behind schedule for my "Big plans" this year so far but was waiting on some mail order seeds to arrive. Oh well, I can still have a smaller version this year. Planted some Chrysanthemum seeds under the peach trees too, which are beginning to sprout.

www.thefreelibrary.com/Fruit+trees+and+family+friends:+beneficial+plant+neighbors+make...-a0170927545

I didn't see anything about chrysanthemums under fruit trees in that link - did I miss something? That's an interesting concept, though; you don't think about companion plants for trees!

Okay guess I can't keep stuff straight but I read "somewhere" that Chrysanthemum Coronarium (Komi Shungiku Salada) is possibly a good companion plant, protecting neighboring plants from caterpillars and other pests and; reported that secretions from the roots can be effective in controlling nematodes in the soil. Can't recall where I obtained that info but will look for it.

I do like that above site though.

Is that chrysanthemum an ornamental?

Allium, dill, nasturtium, caraway, coriander, and various legumes are all reputed to improve orchards, either by fixing nutrients, serving as trap crops or repellants for pests, or by attracting beneficial insects.


http://www.goodseedco.net/companion.html

I really like that site PuddlePirate.

Chrysanthemum coronarium is an edible flower and medicinal herb used in Chinese medicine. Flowers and leaves are edible.