Enrol on a free Organic pest protection programme and claim a few hundred complimentary pollinators for your fruit and vegetable gardens with this handy guide.
Plants thrive in communities, some plants have mutual benefits, and some really don’t get on well at all! Here at Seed Pantry we’ve compiled an easy guide to companion planting. You’ll learn which plants make the best pot buddies and help you keep your home-grown Seed Pantry vegetables happy. 👨🌾
| Plant | Companion | Why plant together? |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale | Nasturtium | Cabbage white butterflies will happily lay their eggs on Nasturtium leaves. Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars will nibble your Nasturtiums and not your crops! |
| Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrot, Cauliflower, Kale, Onion, Radish, Tomatoes | Mint | To deter flea beetles, aphids, and to confuse carrot root fly/Onion fly, who find their host through scent. Keep the Mint in a pot if possible, as it quickly spreads and will smother your crops! |
| Carrot | Leek, Spring Onion, Onions | The smell of Leeks deters carrot root fly from Carrot, and the smell of Carrots deters Leek moth and Onion moth from Leeks and Onions! |
| Asparagus, Courgette, Tomatoes | Calendula (Pot Marigold) | Calendula is very attractive to pollinators as it’s long flowering period means it can provide nectar over the whole growing season. It can also repel Asparagus beetles and unwanted soil nematodes. |
| Aubergine, Lettuce, Pepper, Tomatoes | Basil | Basil is known to improve the flavour when grown with these vegetables. The scent also helps to deter aphids. |
| Tomatoes | French Marigold | The Marigold scent will help deter whitefly. |
| Tomatoes | Chives | The Onion smell will deter aphids. |
| Flowers | Mint, Chives, Thyme | These smelly plants will help deter aphids and blackfly from nibbling your blooms. |
| Runner Beans | Sweet Peas | Sweet Peas will attract pollinators to your Runner Bean flowers. |
| All vegetables | Tansy | The smell of Tansy deters ants. |
| All vegetables | Yarrow | Yarrow is a great ‘green manure’, use it to fertilise your vegetable plot by planting amongst your crops or composting it and adding as mulch. |
Seed Pantry top tips and ideas to make the most of companion planting:
- Create partial shade for shorter crops by planting alongside taller plants, for example peas or sweetcorn. Some plants, namely coriander, lettuce and spinach are prone to bolting in hot weather. This means that the plants produce a flowering stem before harvesting as a natural attempt to produce seeds and occurs when the plant is stressed (including in high temperatures).
- Plant herbs throughout the plot, their strongly scented leaves will help repel the less useful of insects and their flowers will encourage pollinators.
- Utilise your space! Planting fast-growing crops such as lettuce and radish between slower-growing crops like root vegetables and Brussels Sprouts will increase your yield per square inch. It will also help prevent weeds growing!
- Encourage wildlife into your garden. Butterflies, moths, beetles, birds, bats and millions of other insects all play an important role in keeping your garden happy. Sow lots of wildlife friendly seeds to bring natural predators that will help keep slugs and aphids at bay, to encourage pollinating insects, or simply to bring a little bit of life into your space.
With these tips in hand, you can grow an amazing variety of colourful veg you can grow from seed. Most importantly, you’ll be bringing better nutrition and outstanding homegrown flavour to the table all year round using companion planting!
Seed Pantry Team 🌼
#SeedPantryGrowClub
WIN a lucky-dip addition to your next box by sharing your plant pictures with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #SeedPantryGrowClub or tag us @seedpantry to enter.
Subscribe to the Grow Club box for flowers, food and herb seeds ready to sow each month… Curious? Come check out all of this month’s options!
