Companion Planting

I’ve been an avid gardener for over 20 years now. Each year I find myself growing more than the year before. It began with a few flowers and then eventually food. Pots on balconies, boulevard and community gardens.

What started out as a hobby, has evolved into what I would consider a lifestyle. Living a garden life has become my complete focus. Although I am especially lucky to have the very large 25x25ft garden now, I still use companion planting methods to increase the amount and variety of foods I can grow and preserve.

In addition to making the best use of your space to maximize your harvest, companion planting has many other benefits. When you have biodiverse garden, you have will have much healthier soil. Growing certain types of plants together can even encourage each others growth.

Some plants act as pest deterrents, while others fix nitrogen into the soil and promote other plants’ growth. For example, when you plant basil and cucumbers around your tomatoes, the basil will improve the flavour of your tomatoes, while the shade from your tomatoes protects your cucumbers. Planting onions with your strawberries will prevent deer from eating your plants before you do! These are just a couple examples of the many combinations you can make using companion planting methods.

Every year, I plant Broad beans as a cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil. The beans are delicious to eat in soups, stir-fry, stews & I also save the beans for seed for the following year.

Some plants also discourage the growth of others. There are so many different companion planting charts available for free online, but they are all different and some even contradict others. Considering the years I have spent reviewing these charts you would think I would have memorized them by now, but alas I have not. This summer I am compiling all my physical and mental notes to create a companion planting chart based on my research & experience of growing.