No need for sprays when you understand companion planting.
Companion planting means grouping a variety of different, mutually beneficial plants together in the garden. For example, plant corn in the middle of the bed with snake beans climbing up. Peanuts can be planted as a ground cover to stop the weeds.
Steps to consider:
- Plant what you like to eat
- Start with what is easy to grow, e.g. silver beet, broccoli, bok choy, salad greens, beans, radishes
- Plan to plant perennials first, e.g. perennial leeks, South American spinach, rhubarb, fruit trees
- Plant multi-purpose plants, e.g., sugar cane, lemon grass, elder, comfrey
- Plant a variety of flowers plants to attract the bees and other beneficial insects, e.g. borage, pineapple sage, nasturtiums, honey suckle, lemon verbena, Alyssum,
- Add plants that return nitrogen to the soil. e.g. peanuts, beans, lupins
- Plant salad green on the edge of the bed for easy harvesting and interplant with herbs
Popular companion planting guide
| PLANT | HELPS | AVOID |
| Alliums | Fruit trees, Peppers, Carrots, Cabbage, broccoli, Kohlrabi | Beans , parsley |
| Asparagus | Tomatoes | Garlic, onion |
| Beans | Corn, cucumber, eggplant, radish, rosemary, spinach, mint, summer savory, marigolds | Alliums, tomatoes, chili peppers, fennel |
| Beets | Bush beans, lettuce | Runner beans |
| Brassicas | Potatoes, rosemary, geranium, borage, thyme, wormwood, sage, peppermint | Mustard , strawberries |
| Carrots | Tomatoes, alliums | Dill, parsnips, radish |
| Celery | Bush beans, leeks, cosmos | Corn |
| Lettuce | Radish | |
| Peppers | Marjoram, tomatoes, geraniums | Beans , kale |
| Strawberries | Caraway, borage, lupins, | Brassicas, eggplant, mint, roses |
| Basil | Tomatoes | |
| Salad greens | Borage | |
| Chives | Carrots | Beans, peas |
| Coriander | Spinach | Dill |
| Garlic | Apple and pear trees, cucumbers | Beans, borage and peas |
| Parsley | Tomatoes | Lettuce |
| Fruit trees | Southernwood | |
| Salad greens | Thyme, chives, geranium, lemon verbena, marjoram, sage | |
| Chamomile | Basil, onion, cabbage | |
| Fennel | Dill | Everything |
Alliums: onions, chives, garlic chives, leeks, shallots.
Brassicas: broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, radish, kohlrabi.
Other pages of interest
For more information purchase one of my helpful gardening ebooks:
“Simply inter-planting crops from different families
will help deter pests. Adding fragrant plants
will up the anti.”
“Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening”, by FM Bradley, BW Ellis and E Phillips