Is it a marigold? by RealEstateZebra
As a vegetable gardener I’ve always been interested in the idea of companion planting.
It seems to make sense, but apparently putting marigolds next to beans, cabbage, or tomatoes doesn’t work!
Evidence Against Companion Planting
You don’t have to take my word for it. In my Inbox today, from the Johnson County Kansas Extension Service, “We now have results from two studies that give some insight into companion planting.”
“The University of California looked at the effect of planting cabbage with catnip, nasturtium, marigold, summer savory and basil. The cabbage-catnip plots had reduced cabbageworm eggs and larvae but the amount of worm injury was the same. Also, the average weight per cabbage head was reduced… The other cabbage companion plantings also failed to show positive results.”
“The University of Georgia studied companion plantings of beans-marigolds, cucumber-nasturtium, cabbage-thyme, eggplant- catnip, tomato-marigold, and tomato-basil. None of these combinations prevented insect damage from the major garden insect pests.”
It’s Good News!
As far as I’m concerned it’s good news that companion planting doesn’t increase yields or reduce insect damage. There are enough things to think about when you’re new to vegetable gardening.
Relax, put marigolds amongst your tomatoes if you enjoy the flowers, nasturtiums amongst your cucumbers too. Some marigolds are edible and nasturtiums can be added to a salad. I recommend edible flowers in your garden. Just don’t expect them to keep the bugs from eating your cabbage or tomatoes.
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Whew, this gardening thing can be confusing! You’re scaring me, you know that? heheh
Melissa @ Raising Them Green´s last blog ..High Air Pollution Linked to Increase in School Absences
Another sweet to the point one Alison. I am relieved too. Each year I read and try to do another “study” in my garden, but alas, it’s small so the veggies are all kind of close to each other!
Shannon ´s last blog ..Dreaming My Life
I say ignore the rules, and just have fun. Gardening should certainly be fun and you shouldn’t need a PhD in botany. I like how you say just plant what you like.
Carole´s last blog ..English Ivy: Most Hated Plants
@Melissa, really, there’s no perfect way to garden. The most important thing is to start. You can learn along the way. I have something in mind to help you. I’ll be in touch.
@Shannon – small is fine in my experience. I’m guessing that you’re already using raised bed techniques and mulching. You can really squeeze in a lot that way.
@Carole, I agree, it should be fun, not something to fret over. Who needs more stress?
Alison,
In your research, did you see any evidence positive or negative on the Three Sisters Planting, used by Native Americans for many centuries? To me, that is a type of companion planting, using corn, beans and squash. I have always wanted to try it, but since I don’t have any luck with corn or squash at my elevation, I am hesitant.
Kathy Green ´s last blog ..Frosting the Garden
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wendy Gabriel, Wendy Gabriel, Alison Kerr, MommyMellie, bDiggin and others. bDiggin said: Companion Planting Doesn't Work. What a relief – LOL -thought I was doing something wrong all this time! http://ow.ly/1nJjOl #ff @alisonkerr [...]
Kathy, I’ve read about some people using the Three Sisters planting scheme on permaculture forums. I think that one may work, though I don’t know that it would work for keeping bug problems down. My feeling is that it’s more about getting the maximum productivity out of the space. I’ve not tried it, but I’ve heard good things. Of course if corn and squash don’t work well for you it might be better to choose plants which are better for your area.
I don’t know if you are in the midwest Kathy, but you could try the Midwest Permaculture forum to find out more about three sisters – you can read the forum without joining I think – http://midwestpermaculture.ning.com/
I would be asking questions about the conditions of this experiment. Were there other conditions that may have affected pest populations? I would also be asking who is funding this research, as there appear to be orgs out there that are intent on discrediting organic land management techniques…on our small farm, we use companion planting along with other organic techniques such as mulching, using compost to retain moisture, using aerated compost tea to improve crop yields, planting lots of flowering plants to attract beneficial insects, birds and pollinators, and we have really next to no pest issues on our small New England farm, plus we get more yield than we can use…
It IS confusing, hearing all these conflicting statements about organic gardening, but learning how to garden organically is not confusing!! It is a mental shift when have been gardening using chemicals in a bag, but once you make the mental shift to a knowledge-based gardening system, and learn the basic organic gardening fundamentals (feed the soil, not the plants, use compost to supply beneficial microorganisms, use mulch to retain moisture and protect soil biology, test your soil to determine what you need to add to grow the things you want to grow, and provide habitat for beneficial insects, birds and amphibians who will be your pest control….)
I’d like to know the other conditions of these trials from the U of Cal before accepting a statement that companion planting doesn’t work…
Ellen Sousa
Spencer, MA
THBFarm.com
New England Habitat Gardening blog: blog.THBFarm.com
Twitter: THBFarm
Ellen, I think you make some good points. I don’t know who funded this particular study (I couldn’t find any more information online) and I think we all need to be mindful of who is funding.
In this instance I was kind of relieved that it was one less thing to think about. I’d rather folks new to gardening focus on composting, mulching, and crop rotation than on planting marigolds next to tomatoes (unless the flowers make the gardening more enjoyable).