Companion Planting
Are you design on companion planting your tomatoes this season , but are n’t sure which implant to avoid ? There are several plants that can compete with love apple for nutrients or attract unwished diseases into your garden . In this clause , horticulture expert Melissa Strauss shares the plants you should avoid growing near your tomatoes this season .
Contents
Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables for home gardeners to develop . There aremany different types of tomatoesand while most can grow just fine by themselves in the garden , many tomato do much well when planted with a different type of neighboring plant . This process is known as comrade planting .
Tomatoes have many great companionsin the garden that can help with pollenation , yield production , and even sample . But with the good also comes the bad .
Several types of plants should never be planted near your tomato . implant with poor fellow traveller plants will increase the risk of pest infestation , diseases , and alimentary contest . permit ’s take a deeper look at the plants you should seek to avoid planting near your Lycopersicon esculentum this season .
How Companion Planting Works
Also known as intercropping or interplanting , companion planting partners plant together that will have beneficial effects on one another .
Historically , companion planting was based mostly on folklore and trial and error , with short knowledge of which plants are scientifically compatible or incompatible . There is a caboodle to be enjoin about simply get it on what works and what does n’t base on watching .
However , we now have scientific resources to become to , and relevant information about how and why specific plants regard one another , which save a lot of time .
Ideally , fellow planting allow for benefits for both , or all plant involve . Plants that are mutually beneficial to each other are the best companion , although there are social occasion when an decorative industrial plant can be placed with edibles to no benefit of its own , except that it increase pollination for the edibles .
The video below explains a bit more about the skill behind fellow traveler plants .
Now that you have a better understanding of how familiar planting works and the skill behind it , get ’s take a look at some of the plants you should avoid planting near your love apple !
Broccoli
This union has a greater negative shock on Brassica oleracea italica than on your tomatoes , but it ’s still good to know if you design to institute both of these vegetable .
Broccoli and tomato are both heavy feeder , and while tomatoes might come out on top in this competition , it will be good for both , in the long trial , to keep them separate .
Brassicas ( of which broccoli is a member ) and nightshades ( tomato fits into this group ) typically do not boom together . They both require a lot of nutrients and will contend , leaving one or both harvest search and tasting subpar . For best results , give these two vegetables at least 3 feet of space from one another .
If you want to make it comfortable on yourself , pick an alone dissimilar flora to match with broccoliin the garden .
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprout are Brassica as well , sothey are not compatible with tomatoes . Tomatoes will digest from this union with scrubby outgrowth as brussels bourgeon hog all of the nitrogen in the soil leaving love apple to languish on their leftovers .
To give tomatoes the best chance , keep these two vegetables in separate beds . Both involve full sun , plenty of water , and N - heavy fertilizer .
Cabbage
Cabbage is another member of the brassica family of vegetables , which stand for they do n’t mix with tomatoes and will bottle up the tomato ’ growth . dinero and tomatoes together mean modest fruits and decreased output .
shekels also call for a lot of nutrients . They are leaden feeders , and so are Lycopersicon esculentum . In this relationship , the tomato seldom come through the struggle over nutrient . These two simply do not mix in . Cabbage has a long lean of friendly fellow traveler , so you are unspoilt off choosing another flora .
Cauliflower
Tomatoes and cauliflowerdo not make in force neighborsas well , and for the same reason . Cauliflower is a genus Brassica , and they will contend for nutrients , leaving both veg with lacklustre yield .
It might be tempting to see if Brassica oleracea botrytis helps hold in the wet to protect tomato plant roots , but the reality is that neither plant will do good from this union .
well to pair either plant with bean ! bean help oneself make nitrogen in the soil more available to other plant and have a vining wont , making this couple a good space saver .
Corn
Tomatoes and clavus are inadequate companionsbecause they share a very destructive , common pest . Heliothus zeais the larvae of thecorn earworm , a moth that goes by the scientific nameHelicoverpa zea .
This worm goes by another common name , Tomato Fruitworm . This pestis specifically attacks the fruit of the works and will render every fruit they touch inedible .
Because these plants share a coarse pestilence that is recognise to be highly destructive , it is good to institute them apart . Once the pests move in , they will have no reasonableness to leave if there is plenty of food for their offspring and could cease up decimating both crops .
Dill
Most herbs produce very well with tomatoes , but dill weed is an queer plant life out in that category . When Anethum graveolens is young , it can have good effect on tomatoes . For instance , aphids find dill to be a repellent , and this pairing would profit tomatoes in that way .
deplorably , the pairing would not remain beneficial in the long terminus . Once dill blooming , it stop to be a honest neighbour for tomatoes . When Anethum graveolens pass away to seeded player , it will rob the soil of nutrients that tomatoes need , stunting their growth and quality of fruit .
Eggplant
Eggplants and tomato should technically mould well together , as they are both nightshades and have similar needs . However , they will compete for nutrients , and tomato might not come out on top .
In increase , tomatoes grow much tall than aubergine , and eggplants do n’t care to be kept in the shadowiness .
Eggplants are particularly vulnerable to blight , which place their neighbors in a risky situation . Having these plants stuffy to your tomato will increase the Lycopersicon esculentum plant life ’s vulnerability to blight as well . It ’s best to keep these two apart .
Because they compete for nutrients , flummox with other eggplant companionswhen planning out your garden .
Fennel
Fennelis an interesting plant — and more often than not , you will find it on a list like this ! In most cases , they portray Florence fennel as a ugly associate .
rationality often give way are that it cause other plant life to bolt out , ruins their flavor , inhibits their growth , or even kill plants altogether by secreting a chemical from its etymon that can cause other industrial plant – a var. of allelopathy .
The irony is that fennel is also an unbelievable plant to discontinue tomato fruitworm and Lycopersicon esculentum hornworm , as it often draws in good insects that instantly attack these larvae . Tachinid rainfly / wasps are often brought in by its peak , in special , and these can be an incredible boon in the garden ! It ’s also a larval works for butterfly and a generally great pollinator flora .
Is it actually allelopathic?Well … yes and no . Yes , it is allelopathic , although most often , that ’s towards certain kinds of flower or private-enterprise weeds . Most established Lycopersicon esculentum do n’t have a job with them , and many of the other concerns only implement to leaf scratch or other green leafy plants .
But if you are occupy and have hear repulsion stories about planting Florence fennel in your garden , you may want to plant them in a nearby container or grow bagful rather .
Hot Peppers
red-hot peppers and tomatoes may work well together in salsa , but when it issue forth to garden beds , they should be kept asunder . Both are vulnerable to blight , which can build up in the grime , so keeping these out of each other ’s space is a adept idea , long - terminal figure .
These plants also share a vulgar garden pest . The Lycopersicon esculentum hornworm ( Manduca quinquemaculata ) is fond of the leafage of both flora , so put them together mean that both crop are pretend if these guys show up .
This does n’t imply peppers ca n’t be good companions in the garden . There are justother plants that mate better with peppersin your garden bed .
Kale
Typically , kale and nightshades make good familiar . Kale and eggplant are friends , and peppers put to work well with cabbage , also . tomato , however , tend to grow quite large and so they expend up a wad of nutrients . This causes kale to suffer .
This is not a toilsome and fast rule . The two can grow together if they have the good nutrient supply . If you decide to set kale with your tomatoes , make certain to give them plenty of nitrogen - rich fertilizer .
As with other plants on this inclination , kale has plenty ofdifferent plants that make far good companionsin the garden .
Kohlrabi
Because kohlrabi is a genus Brassica , it immediately becomes another speculative tomato plant neighbour . If you recall , these plant life will contend with tomato industrial plant for food , specially N .
These plant need at least 3 feet of length from each other in the garden and would be better serve by planting in disjoined bed altogether .
Potatoes
Because potatoes are nightshades , they will compete with tomatoes for nutrients . These two plants will be vulnerable to the same disease , which means that when one is infected , you are potential to lose both .
Another complication of potatoes as fellow traveller hail at harvest home time . Digging up tater can cause injury to tomato roots . Overall , this is not a good couple .
Potatoes have many other companionsthat will not only benefit their growth but can subjectively raise their taste . However , one exception to this linguistic rule is the “ Ketchup And Fries ” grafted works . This is an strange tomato in that it ’s only a Lycopersicon esculentum on top – it ’s grafted onto a white potato flora .
This Frankenstein - comparable industrial plant ca n’t have both crops harvested at once , however ; you ’ll have to hold back until after you ’ve put up your tomato and they ’ve die back to harvest your spuds .
Walnuts
Walnuts , particularlyblack walnut trees , are often cautioned against by gardener , and there ’s a good reason : juglone . The black walnut tree secretes this naturally - occurring chemical substance through its roots mainly , although it ’s also launch in the walnut hull and , to a lesser extent , in the leaves .
Most of this fall out in the soil around the tree ’s root zona , and as you might guess , a healthy black walnut tree has a fairly goodish beginning zona . Juglone is an allelopathic compound , meaning it can prohibit plant sprouting or make damage to some young plants it makes contact lens with . ( But not all plants – some do n’t even notice it ! )
Some solanaceous plant are super sensitive to the juglone secreted by the tree , so it ’s commend not to implant tomatoes directly underneath a black walnut .
If you have nowhere else to plant other than directly under the walnut Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , use a raised seam and pluck out any Kingston-upon Hull or leaves that drop into your bed . However , tomatoes like full sunshine , so planting them directly under a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree may not be your best stakes !
Juglone does not stay in the soil . It has a comparatively brusque half - spirit in the soil and any hull , leaves , or chipped wood . If the plant materials are finely chipped , hot - composted , and then aged for up to six months before use , there will be no more juglone in the remaining composted cloth , and it ’ll be safe for garden use .
But if you do n’t have a reliable blistering composting scheme , it ’s believably near to keep your tomato plant away from both the compost and the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Final Thoughts
Companion planting can increase your harvest , heighten territory quality , and meliorate the flavor of your comestible plant . tomato benefit from many mating , and in special , tons of herb make wonderful companions for Lycopersicon esculentum . well-chosen planting !
