Companion planting - Success or Failure??

[kernowyon]

Just wondering if anyone had any success with companion planting this year? I tried an experiment with one small bed of carrots with marigolds between the rows and another small bed with nothing, the results - not a jot of difference between them, both got ravaged by carrot fly. The meshed bed was the only bed that offered real protection.

In the greenhouse the marigolds in the border appeared to work in preventing whitefly, not half as bad as last year (but could be due to the crazy weather we have had also)

As for bait plants such as Nasturtium in between other crops as aphids etc prefer these plants, had loads of lovely flowers and plants started to drown out my crops (note, must buy dwarf variety next year) but again the aphids appeared to be down in numbers on last year (? weather again) but the nasties were not covered in them, about the same as on the crops I was trying to protect. will try this again next year though, if anything the colours really brightened up the plot.

what were other peoples experiences?

[Skotch]

Hi, my first post to this Forum and on a topic I am looking for answers to.

This year we decided to companion plant with some annuals and nastutiums to attract pollinators. All we ended up doing. especially with the Nastutiums was to provide additional cover to the army of slugs that ate our bean and pea crop . It's definitely a lesson learned for next year!

Skotch

[jaykay]

I tried marigolds next to first lot of carrots but carrot fly got there first! Also I think the wet weather resulted in lots of green growth but tiny roots. I tried another batch of carrots next to courgette plants and these have grown really well.

The companion planting that has seemed to work is mint next to sprouts with the aim of deterring cabbage white butterfly. I've left the sprouts alone all summer while the mint grew furiously - and now have lots of little sprouts on very healthy looking plants. I also planted nasturtiums around the plot and haven't been bothered by aphids either. I agree that they do add a splash of colour! Another plot holder said he has a small pond and thought the frogs keep the bugs under control.

I've kept some large potted herbs (sage, basil and rosemary) in the greenhouse next to the tomatoes and have not had any problems with flies or other pests until now when I suspect a mouse may be helping itself to salad seedlings!

[moggssue]

My first year so not sure my experience counts for much, but I planted broad beans and sweet peas together up a wigwam and had very few blackfly, and also planted a couple of basil plants next to my tomatoes and they were bug free as well, but of course didn't stop the blight! Not sure how much was down to the weather rather than the planting, but am definitely encouraged to take the idea further next year.

[JennieAtkinson]

I planted marigolds and tagetes in GREAT numbers in the greenhouse when I got a bad infestation of white fly (it is my first year with the greenhouse). Within a week they had made an incredible difference and I've not had a problem with white fly since.

I always plant tagetes, poached egg (Spanish omlette this year!) and nasturtiuns in the polytunnel. It looks rather nice! But I do think they do a great job. Again I've had no problems with white fly or aphids ever in the tunnel (in four years) and I think the poached egg flowers have done a great job in pulling in the small number of bees as I've had the best crop of runner beans ever.

I'm going to try and get as much information on companion planting as possible over this winter and build it in to my plans as I really think it works.

[zazen999]

Hi.
Great success here.
Partnered carrots with onions and coriander; no carrot fly at all.
Partnered toms with basil, coriander, a few other herbs, a few marigolds inerspersed and no greenfly whatsoever [flippin' blight ruined it tho', it would have worked!]. Now have jalapenos where the toms were and they are also greenfly free.
Partnered brocolli and the like with tagetes, and flax; got a few blackfly early in the year [sprayed with garlic and chili spray], and a few caterpillars but picked them off and threw in the canal; certainly better than last year's infestation. Flax are gorgeous flowers by the way; we are definitely saving seed and having more next year. The insects love them. Incidentally, in the courtyard where we have no tagets or flax, caterpillars were rife...
We also grew 4 separate [but small] beds of the 3 sisters, and this has been really good fun.
Also put coriander and basil around the courgettes, corn, beetroot, lettuce etc; and very little in the way of any infestations; the occasional blackfly but no greenfly at all.

Trick with the carrot fly and coriander which works for me; as the coriander grows trim it every day [or every few days] back to the same height as the carrot tops. Then, i use my secateurs, chop the trimmings off half an inch at a time, to make coriander confetti; and sprinkle over the carrots [and esp if you have another new batch of carrots in - which i usually do have]. This keeps the scent alive and the dropped shreds transfer the smell to patches where the coriander hasn't grown yet. When you harvest the carrots, leave the coriander and it will set seed and you can use it for next year.

Last year's carrots were absoluely inundated with carrot fly, and the OH is really impressed with my carrots this year. i did spend a whole afternoon when we moved here sieving the soil after we rotavated it where i knew carrots were going first, and it has paid me back big style.

Another hint; grow different types. I added purple and yellow to the usual orange, and the straightness and length of both is absolutely fabulous compared with the orange [and i grow several different types]. It's not the soil as i mixed them up when i sowed them. Excellent results.

Another thing i did in a moment of madness was a vege box; which was a plastic storage box filled with compost [obviously], in which i sowed some peas, beans, courgettes, cukes and toms. [the OH raised eyebrows as per usual]. I then just basically staked it and left it; but kept it watered and fertilised occasionally. Some grew and some didn't but out of this i have had veg every week since May. First the peas and beans, then the courgettes [the cukes died but then so did all my others], and now it is has toms on it [and no blight], which are just starting to turn. Bearing in mind that's on a bad summer, i am quite pleased with this approach to be honest. If i added in a few onions [some spring and some others] it would then keep me in veg for about 6 months...which can't be bad. A few of those around [if you haven't got a garden and use pots to grow veg], planted successively [so one every month for 4/5 months] - and some with winter veg with a cloche - could bring you very nearly to year round fresh veg. The only problem i had was a bit of blackfly which went with a spray of garlic/chili treatment. Now the OH is looking quite lovingly at the only toms to survive this year [that'll teach him to laugh at me!]

[greenlung]

Nicotiana helps attract and trap insects with their sticky leaves and creates a good barrier for slugs and snails.

[Snadger]

Tagetes with my peppers in greenhouse........no bugs and a lovely bit of colour.
Likewise with marigolds in my tomato greenhouse........no bugs and a wonderful show of flowers.
Deffo for next year, although the tagetes seem to last longer than the marigolds even though both were dead headed!

[wormlady]

I planted my carrots between rows of either leeks, spring onions or shallots and had no carrot fly at all. I planted the carrots in a trench filled with used grow bag compost and it worked a treat, I was especially chuffed as all the old guys down the plot said Id never get anywhere with carrots on clay soil:-)
I also found some little ball type carrots on www.seedsofitaly.com which I planted a few weeks ago which are supposed to be ideal for clay soils.
Oh and I have poached egg plant and nasturiums all over for the bees and havnt been troubled by aphids much at all.
ZaZen999 did you plant everything in your veg box at the same time?

[JennieAtkinson]

Now that I have brought my peppers indoors they are absolutely covered in whitefly. No tagetes sadly in the upstairs bedroom!