Everything About Companion Planting Is a LIE

Companion planting is not what it is cut out to be. So many gardeners become overwhelmed and confused. That's why I am changing things up!
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[@HappilyAfterEver]

We can actually use plant height to our advantage in super strong sun locations like FL, TX, southern CA, etc. Afternoon shade is vital for a lot of tender plants to survive the late spring or summer here, so planting just north of a tall plant or underneath the southern perimeter of a tree’s canopy will provide that midday break they really need to thrive

[@jeffmueller9422]

I plant tomatoes on the West end of my raised beds in Texas. Heat of the day shade.

[@faithsrvtrip8768]

In Washington state I knew where to plant tomatoes based on the six-foot high thistles that grew in one spot (until the next year when I put in landscaping cloth and gravel). Perfect location for tomatoes on stakes!

[@SterlingGardens]

some volunteer sunflowers came up on the south edge of half of my otherwise full sun tomato & pepper bed (thanks birds??) so I'm leaving them to see which side does better

[@katiemoyer8679]

I do this too in Most Southern Illinois. 👌 zone 7a.

[@proudgrandma138]

I was going to post the same thing lol

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

I think water needs are important too Like I wouldn’t plant rosemary next to cucumbers because cucumbers like a lot of water and rosemary likes less water 🌱💚

[@deborahdunn7844]

Good point.

[@user-pb8bp6sr2u]

My biggie is marigolds. Literally everywhere. Thus, I have no pest problem. I used to get wire worms really bad with potatoes, then last year I planted marigolds with them as well. No more wire worms. A little bit of sacrifice went a long way, since I have to space the potatoes further apart. Also, when I have tall plants, such as tomatoes, I plant both French and African type. The French ones are for when the plant is still small/short, the African ones are for when the plant has gotten tall. That way both levels of the plant are repelled of pests. Marigolds are practically maintenance free, and come in a variety of colors.

[@rachaeloverman7848]

I love to plant marigolds in amongst the veggies!! ❤

[@lindag4484]

Oh, so what I've been doing for years in my (5) raised beds is called inter-planting! I practice high density gardening. I always plant my tomato and pepper starts first, cage them, then plant everything else around them. I don't plant any space-hogging vegetables. I have a CSA with a local farmer for those things. I get plenty of tomatoes, peppers, bush cukes, kale, onions, garlic, spinach, 4 varieties of lettuce, Pusa Asita (purple/black) carrots, Swiss chard, thyme, parsley, chives, basil, dill, rosemary, sunflowers, marigolds, and a lot of other pollinator- friendly flowers: Zinnias, Lantana, Verbena, etc. Yes, and it's all in five 4' x 8' raised beds, one Greenstalk, and two grow bags for the carrots.

[@shesatitagain234]

“Bad companions corrupt good morals” but good companions might deter a hornworm! (basil 🤭)

[@terrivance8750]

I always plant basin around my tomatoes! ❤❤❤

[@johnshopkins554]

I started planting chives and green onions next to tomatoes last year. Both seemed to flourish but I'm not sure...it's all trial and error based on your soil comp, sun, water and fertilizer.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

Freaking hornworms. Last year I found 9 of them on one 18" tall tomato plant.

[@shesatitagain234]

@@Uncle_Buzz YIKES! Basil certainly made a huge difference in the amount we had. I’d go out, after dark, with my UV flashlight (which makes them appear to glow) thinking there’d be so many, but nope! Only maybe one or two on some plants; not even every tomato plant. Basil is easy to grow from seed so that was an easy choice for me.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

@@shesatitagain234 AH!! UV Flashlight, didn't even know that was a thing for hornworms! I use one for finding scorpions in the yard. I WILL CERTAINLY give that a try. And I have 2-3 varieties of basil seed, as well as dill and marigolds, I'll get them started. Thanks for the tip!

[@judyedwards7597]

As I'm watching, two minutes into this video, I recognized your location. My grandpa built the house (by himself from a kit), boathouse and dock at 1497. He had a garden suspended behind the boathouse where he grew the best tomatoes and I would spend summers with them. What a great town!

[@Laurelwoodfun]

That's so cool! Ha!

[@ctg22333]

This was very helpful! I’m one who has gardened for 30 years and figured a lot out by trial and error. This simplified the way to think of it all! Thanks!

[@inasten5995]

I love your channel! As an organic agronomist and permaculturist I agree with some of the things you're saying here, but I would like to add two very important points I hope someone might find useful: Point 1: - TIMING/SUCCESSION PLANTING - Interplant fast growing and slow growing crops to maximize yield and minimize seed weeds (those who need light to sprout). In the bed of cabbages in the example shown here, you have about a month of unused area in your garden that could be used for fast growing cops. If you pop some radishes, salads, if early in the season - spinach, you could get a whole lot more produce in the exact same space and time with very little work. This applies to all fast growing crops interplanted with wintercrops/slow growing crops. For example, I have soon to be harvested radishes growing between my small, still developing beets as I am writing this. They were sown directly at the same time, following an early crop of spinach. When they are done, I will do late crops like mizuna and purslane before the snow comes. Beware that the cabbage familiy needs a minimum 4-year crop rotation to avoid clumproot, therefore I advise attendees at courses to do salad, as they are minimally prone to disease when grown over time, and have no known bad companions as exudates etc. goes. If your bed already have the kale family in it - go with radishes as they can be stored longer and you won't have a ton of salads for your family. Point 2: - USE OF HEIGHT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE - I learned the same as you describe, the idea of stealing space and nutrients, so I catch your drift. However, as others have described, the use of different heights in a bed can be used to your advantage. In permaculture, we learn to look at the bed as a house with different floors - a basement, first, second and roof. In a "perfect" permaculture bed, you use the space in all stories. What you need to be aware of, is how big your plant will be, what is it's "purpose" (cover, climber, trellis etc), how will you harvest it, how long will it be in the soil and what needs does it have. Knowing this, you can choose and space out your plants in a way that you will use the sunlight on the top, the half-shade underneath, a cover-plant for the weeds and a root crop for the space underneath. You might need additional ground cover like wool or old hay to keep soil healthy and weeds away in the beginning. Example of three story intercropping - native American three sisters: Ground cover: pumpkins or squash (or both :) ) Middle: climbing beans Top: Sweet corn - they don't shadow too much and provide a trellis for the beans. Happy growing and keep making videos! Inspired to go out and garden!

[@roslynyates4015]

Where I live in NC, I need tall plants to shade the small ones in my afternoon sun. So I purposely intercrop them. We have no trees. (Open farmland) I actually plant veggies and flowers based on the position of the sun on my property throughout the day. Or everything will be absolutely singed. 🥺

[@deedeescott9506]

I’m in Georgia and I totally agree!! My backyard gets full sun all day so I have to be strategic in how I plant or I would have NOTHING!!

[@donnabrooks1173]

Agreed. I'm near Charlotte, NC and the heat and lack of rain in summer is brutal!!

[@Volfor321]

The afternoon sun in late summer gets brutal where I am and to lessen stress on my tomatoes I'll be planting Giant Mongolian sunflowers to help shade in late afternoon.

[@MaryCumbersnatch]

I had to do the same thing in TN.

[@SincerelyHerself]

Same for me in WV! Our property was previously a commercial lot so we have mostly gravel, concrete and NO trees or shrubs for shading 😣 So I have to plant in a way that creates shade or everything will be crispy even with multiple waterings a day! I'm still learning but that's part of the fun 😁

[@bowtielife]

I am learning about the fallacy of companion planting (or the definition) and I will admit, you almost got my ire up when you started... LoL 🤣 Then I remember you have about 10 times the experience as me. 😔 IN A FRIENDLY WAY I would like to challenge your 'rule number one' only on the basis that it is something you do not deal with up in the north. Here in Florida our sun is way too harsh for some plants and I will frequently plant taller plants next to shorter ones. I will put 12 foot tall hill country red okra (which I got from you) near my ginger which seems to prefer understory locations. Less obvious, I plant some determinant tomatoes 'behind' indeterminate tomatoes on a trellis to help cut back the sun. It still allows dappled sun and the smaller tomato plants last a lot longer, MONTHS longer, in fact. This is just another one of those 'cheat codes' I supposed. All these things have confused me at one time or another in the past few years. As always, love the content! Keep up all the great work! P.S. Don't ever give my ire a second thought... I know nothing!! 🤩 If nothing else... I added a comment for whatever value that is to your channel!

[@beautyfultrini]

That's the thing about garden, adapting to micro climates in your area and gardening area. Sounds like you are doing great.

[@jeas4980]

Glad to see radishes were spared and THANK YOU... for schooling me on sunflowers! Am I the only one that leaves their radishes in place? I use them to biofumigate the bed... and I harvest a few because they're tasty and they fluff the soil. But I leave some in place to send up their spindly stalks between larger plants and show their beautiful flowers to help confuse pests... and I love the tasty little seed pods in my salad! Honestly, they're probably my favorite plant.

[@msee1213]

Oh! I look forward to trying a radish seed pod. 😊

[@jenniferjohnston4300]

Note to self.

[@stephhae4135]

Thank you for sharing this! Throughout the years learning everything I can about gardening, I followed all the “rules”, and made detailed plans. However, due to busy life and needing to just get things planted asap, this year I’m just throwing things in the ground - no plans, no consulting old notes, no measuring, just using what I already know - for ex. those basic guidelines you’ve shared. It is very freeing!

[@matta5348]

Cheat code for the cheat code: plants that intercrop well tend to taste good together too! Tomato+basil, onions+carrots…I wonder if there are biochemical reasons for this as well?

[@smb123211]

I'd hazard that my tomatoes and basil would taste the same regardless of their proximity. LOL

[@ElderandOakFarm]

​@smb123211 no he's not saying they taste BETTER because they're grown close in proximity, he's just saying g they taste good TOGWTHER. I thought he was saying that too, at first. Because I've heard people try to claim that your tomatoes will taste better if grown close to basil. Smh. Lol.

[@missourigirl8447]

I use the words companion planting and it's fine. It's not something that's wrong. It doesn't need a new name. Some plants are better companions than others, and there are multiple variations of it. The mistake I made was not trying more than one combination.

[@Metalandwoods_longlostdentures]

W R O N G

[@crispusattucks4007]

@@Metalandwoods_longlostdenturesno unfortunately YOU are wrong. Again, sorry

[@Metalandwoods_longlostdentures]

@@crispusattucks4007 EVERYONE IS WRONG

[@crispusattucks4007]

@@Metalandwoods_longlostdentures nope, sadly you are the only one

[@leviduve4001]

I'd like to just say for a second that companion does not necessarily have a negative or positive connotation. The definition states a companion is simply something that accompanies another. Good or bad; it's still accompanying the other plant. To me, both terms make sense. Companion planting or Intercropping. It's like a synonymous term. Planted together. I think the others speaking about things to not plant together are just expressing which plants don't benefit or suffer from being accompanied by each other.

[@missourigirl8447]

Exactly. It is all the same and the terminology doesn't need corrected. It's simply the idea of planting what works well in close proximity for a variety of reasons. There is not 1 single right way to do it. It's all about learning the benefits that the plants we want in our gardens have for each other.

[@orionx79]

I was alway under the assumption, it did have positive effects, example some have tap roots so they pull up nutes from deep when you compost it back into garden, some are only suppose to use certain nutes so that others are free, like lettuce using alot of nitrogen wear as a fruiting may use more potassium and phosphorus.

[@BrickTop06]

👏👏👏 I don't obsess over it but when I need to tuck a flower or herb somewhere in my garden, you better believe I'm quickly looking up which veggies would be good (or bad!) companions.

[@5points7019]

i have free range black walnut trees growing on the back slope behind our fenced portion of our property.... and the STINGING NETTLE LOVES growing underneath them.... good thing tho... bcs the tops of stinging nettle is absolutely edible! my friend in france makes a pesto with it, and its highly nutritious... so i allow the nettle to grow as a in case of emergency crop and it prevents the apartment tenants behind us from cutting thru our side yard...

[@jimmylarge1148]

Companies will pay big money for big mature black walnut trees.

[@DinDooIt]

You know what else keeps out those pesky apartment renter poor's? Its ivy, they think any ivy is poisonous so I grow fields of it between my property and the low income housing that's beyond my boundaries, works wonders! That and some bee hives strategically placed terrify the ignorant, lmao...gEt OfF mY GrAsS...

[@DinDooIt]

@@jimmylarge1148 I buy and sell lumber, the trees need to have a minimum 20' straight non interrupted lengths, meaning no knots or crooks for a minimum of 20ft, very hard to find these days, but yes, we pay large sums for perfect sticks.

[@rf8driver]

@@jimmylarge1148 Only if they have a tall straight trunk with no defects or large side branches and the possibility of imbeded metal.

[@jimmylarge1148]

@@rf8driver idk. My buddy got a big Chunk of loot for like 7 trees.

[@proudgrandma138]

In SoCal desert, i purposely plant tall plants like corn to shade other plants.

[@peggynewsome7359]

Luke I wish you would have made this video 4 days ago. I tried looking up companion planting before planting my raised beds this week. What one site said the next said the opposite. What really useful info you just gave about”intercropping”. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge.

[@savinggracehomestead2687]

Thank you for taking the overwhelm out of companion planting

[@SincerelyHerself]

Thank you for all the effort you've put into making videos over the years! If not for you, I likely wouldn't have had the confidence to start my first garden in 2019! I've learned so much from your channel & the best part is gardening turned out to be my absolute FAVORITE hobby/activity. And if not for finding your videos I may not have ever found that out! I actually found some seeds packets that I bought from you from 2019 yesterday! I decided to do a little experiment and see how many will still germinate 5 years later. I'm excited and hoping for good results! 🤗 Especially my armana tomatoes. Those are my favorite. God bless you.

[@katieanneozarkhollowhomestead]

One thing I have found in my own garden is that peppers don’t grow well right next to tomatoes. (14 inches or so away) I believe the reason is that the tomatoes have such a large root system and feeder roots close to the top of the soil and might have robbed nutrients etc. from the peppers.

[@sgdavis8888]

Thank you for clarifying the reasons for intercropping! It helps me tremendously to know WHY plants make good comp companions, then I can make my own analysis on what to plant together instead of depending on some list, which I have used a few times, I might add. It's easy to figure out with the checklist! Happy roots? Happy leaves? Sunlight? Yay for making it so easy!!!!❤

[@loribethartist6353]

What about planting winter crops under something like tomatoes to shade them from the hot sun? For example lettuce (I’m in Tennessee zone 7, we’ll 8 now 😉)

[@MK-ti2oo]

It works well. I plant indeterminate tomatoes on the long south side edge of a few 8' beds, the tomatoes get 16'ft tall and shade my brassica's behind them.

[@prattacaster]

​@@MK-ti2oo Only 16' tall? Mine are 24-27ft tall, I just call the fire department when it's time to harvest. Easy

[@MK-ti2oo]

@@prattacaster hahaha I have them on lower and lean trellises so I drop them every so often as the fruit ripens to keep them reachable.

[@thepragmaticfarmer6308]

Good content. Certainly useful to any gardener that needs to maximize space. You can take it a step further with relay cropping, which is a useful form of interplanting.

[@yardtogarden]

Tall plant next to small plant can actually work VERY well such as using strawberries as an edible ground cover around taller plants like corn that doesn’t do a good job covering the ground and suppressing weeds.

[@PVJSLJ]

It is also very key to check with your state's extension service to find out which varieties work best in your grow zone and/or keep a garden diary of your successes/failures in your garden.

[@amygriffith3598]

Another thing to keep in mind when interplanting is to make sure they have the same watering needs. I messed that up one season!

[@MIgardener]

Good point!

[@robertgreen5309]

Their is another strong, smelling, tall herb that works great for keeping pests away and makes evenings far more relaxing.

[@Suetsumu]

Call that "weeding"

[@carlschnackel3051]

I once heard that onions grew great between rows of peppers. I tried it and, although they seem to be doing well right now, the onions are bulbing. I want to fertilize the peppers, and can't because you're not supposed to fertilize onions after they start bulbing.

[@kevenweaver9266]

I specifically co-plant to block light on certain plants. Tomatoes next to bok Choi makes both happy.

[@patriciaveltre5875]

Bush beans and tomatoes, what a great idea.

[@MIgardener]

Try it! It works so well.

[@ndennant]

I know someone who grew potatoes alongside tomatoes despite it supposedly being a bad idea, and it worked out fine. Nature finds a way

[@angelaanderson5360]

Play nice!! Luke's new phrase.

[@bluewolf4915]

He said "Play Nice" twice while I was reading that. 😂

[@katieeshaw]

My favorites are marigolds by my pole beans or cucumbers and green onions by strawberries. Keeps those bugs away.

[@Bonnie-N-Hutch]

Thanks for clearing this up - and for cabbage talk about leave size.. I just started growing veggies 3 yrs ago and still learning.

[@carly6107]

Some good ideas in here, and I definitely agree that getting bogged down trying to figure out all the “rules” is no good-sometimes you just have to learn by doing. But I think it seems complicated because it is complicated, and that’s okay. Some additional things I consider when intercropping. Soil pH-most veggies will grow fine in a neutral leaning acidic soil, but may thrive more at different ph’s-for example, blueberries like it more acidic and brassicas like it more alkaline. Seasonality-sure, my basil at its full height would overshadow my peas, but I’m harvesting my peas earlier in the summer, before the basil has gotten gigantic. Finally, watering needs. My dwarf tomatoes and bell peppers would theoretically work fine in the same bed-except that tomatoes use so much water they dry out the bed in between waterings, and peppers need relatively consistent soil moisture to do well. Sure, I could water more frequently, but I’m not going to-so I just plant them separately. I think a lot of it is learning as you go, taking in bits of advice from the gardeners you meet, and experimenting! Lots of fun.

[@mhouston7116]

I can't say I agree 100 percent. Timing is important for "intercropping". You could llant german chamomile in between those cabbages, along with garlic.... THEN plant your cabbage. The other plants would be further along and would not be shaded out. I do this every year.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

I literally have my original 1975 copy of "Carrots Love Tomatoes" on my desk next to me. Are you watching me?

[@DanlowMusic]

Yeah. Luke is really a CIA operative. 😂😂 Just kidding. Lol

[@cherylanon5791]

so strange to think of growing carrots right next to tomatoes....I've done it, but you don't get very many carrots, honestly, the tomato plants obliterate the carrots.

[@Earthy-Artist]

😆

[@ssstults999]

Thanks for clearing this subject up! I love intercropping/companion planting ❤.

[@josephzientek2322]

Okay, but I live in Oklahoma and placing my lettuce on the east side of my corn allows me to grow lettuce slightly longer in the spring. It gives afternoon shade when temps are already in the 90s in mid May!?! 👀

[@sherihicks1427]

Thank you for demystifying this topic! Now, last year, I took advantage of the shade inside my cattle panel trellis for growing lettuces. I had cucumbers on half the trellis, and a vining squash on a quarter of it. I also planted some bush-type squashes inside, and the shade was so nice when it got hot. Plus, when all the vines covered the trellis, it was cooler in there than any place else! I eill remember your rules of interplanting for the rest of my garden. Right now planting as much as possible between rains!

[@LisaRoy-qb7cv]

Works.well. I do the same.

[@rodneydyer351]

I am new to gardening and after putting some crops in found you last night. I spent the day learning about what I've planted and already learned to ignore some diverse theories for inter-cropping... and more. Glad to be here.

[@catheyjoyce]

Luke, great video! Thank you for speaking on this topic! I have a question. What are the 2 little cups attached to the side of your lettuce raised bed? Thanks!

[@MySaskatchewanGarden]

You cover all the pests we don't even see here in Saskatchewan. I have heard of only a few cases of slugs and hornworm but have never seen any myself. We have Colorado potato beetle, cabbage moth, flea beetle, and sometimes aphids. Oh, and grasshoppers...and NOTHING bothers them! What I have discovered in using companion planting is that alot of it DOES work. Beans planted next to potatoes? I discovered by accident, then found information later, that the combination completely keeps the Colorado potato beetle away. I don't think there is anything that works on flea beetles (the little tiny black shiny dots that jump around when you walk by) and they love anything brassica or related (lost my cabbage one year because they ALSO love the hyssop I planted it next to). Cabbage moths? Ugh...BTK for them, but I will try some marigolds and aromatic herbs this year as well. Last year I had no choice but to keep at them with BTK, because we are in the middle of farmland and it was planted with canola (a brassica relative) and the infestation was horrific. Row cover was such a pain and did trap other things like grasshoppers underneath it. I can also attest that at least carrots like being behind a taller plant, I had them behind tomatoes one year and they were gorgeous! Lettuce and other leafy cool-weather crops can also benefit from that shade in the hot summer. And I did seem to notice one year that the peppers nearest to my row of peas and cucumbers seemed to struggle, even though they were not really shaded.

[@NatureScapesStudio]

I used to plant marigolds everywhere. Easy to save seeds and use every year. I heard too many gardeners say not to use 12:00 marigolds so I’ve stopped. Used basil in my tomatoe bed last year but they were shaded out by the tomato’s when they got tall. I put my first 4 beds in the wrong direction for optimum sun exposure so it is hard to interplant effectively.

[@1991macie]

I saved a bunch of marigold seeds from last year. I mixed them with mulch. Planted/scatters the mixture at the outer bass of the garden beds. Hopefully I'll grow marigolds instead of dandelion and thistle. Get close to flower bed with lawnmower. And the marigolds will not take up garden space while hopefully deter pests.

[@debbieschaffner2581]

Loved this! Really cleared my confusion. Thanks!

[@olgag5385]

Thank you for the info. The only thing that I would say is that, the section where you talked about planting all thae same high plants it will not work in the south, where it gets really hot, really fast, and you will need plants to shade others so they can stay healthy. So it depends where in the country you are, that will work or not.

[@virginian3390]

THANKYOU! So tired of trying to plan my large garden around companion planting, checking charts, books, and apps, and stressing over limitations. It can take the fun out of gardening.

[@DebRoo11]

Or it can make it more fun if you're like me lol. The benefits to companion planting are worth the winter planning

[@kittyfruitloop8264]

Thanks! I will now be using the term "inter-cropping"

[@ryanhessler8966]

I made an intercroping oops last year. I have a 6 foot diameter garden bed I made using a drop from my work at a culvert plant and I like to plant sunflowers around the outside of one half and zucchini and squash in the middle. Well I had the brain wave to grow cucumbers and cantaloupe out of the other side so they could spill into the walkway. It worked out great....until harvest time for the zucchini and squash😂 I couldn't reach between the sunflower stalks on one side and had to carefully tiptoe between vines on the other

[@annettearmstrong8566]

Definitely did help. I am no longer overwhelmed. Thanks.

[@lucythomas4077]

Hi Luke. Thanks for the information makes a lot of sense. Do you not cover your soil to protect against erosion or leashing of nutrients?

[@user-wj4vv1sp4t]

Awesome video! I love that you get right to the point and make things so easy to remember and understand! Thank you so much! 😊

[@leggustafson]

I love this! I love how you think about and presented this info. I will use the Intercropping Cheat Codes with my garden this year. Thanks!

[@courtneyscupboard]

Thank you for yet another video to demystify and provide real clarity to the whole companion planting headache.

[@caylinbritt1980]

I love this, I’m just learning how to actually garden with intent vs plant some seeds in whimsy every year water because of novelty and well.. hope for the best. This is super helpful!

[@landaliveourlittletinyhome7958]

Love these ideas! Would marigolds also deter squash bugs?

[@loris3002]

This is easy to understand and makes sense!! Thank you for simplifying this!!

[@MIgardener]

Glad it was helpful!

[@shellisspace]

The biggest thing I'm needing to learn more about is succession planting. Trying to get 2-3 crops per location for some crops. Like onions, leeks and potatoes, what to plant after that? Or following brassicas? One for timing and what's best after that type of crop? Like if I plant alternating rows of onions and carrots and onions are done can I plant radish where the onions were ?

[@TheTinkerersWife]

❤Thank you Luke!!!! It's been difficult to see gardeners buy into the ideology of "companion" planting, only to end up more anxious and often feel they failed or missed something when they follow instructions. I've appreciated the wisdom you are sharing and calling out things like this while offering up what works.

[@artstamper316]

Love how helpful your videos are, and I understand your effort to change the traditional concept companion planting by introducing a different term. The comments are also helpful and I enjoy reading them and the replies, but don't do it as often as I used to because after reading a reply going back to the comment list defaults to the top of the list, wasting a lot of time trying to find where I left off. I usually just give up reading at that point. 😞

[@stacyb9397]

I will be searching for a video on pruning tomatoes. I didn't know to do that. Thank you for all the great information.

[@eclecticbasil]

Learned something new here! Had no ideas Sunflowers in my garden plant was a bad idea! Ty ❤️

[@chongli297]

What about cross-pollination? Spreading of diseases like powdery mildew? I think there's a bit more complexity here.

[@leahbender7032]

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure my onions and carrots aren't crosspollinating and producing a frankencarrot. That said, if you're putting certain squash or melons too close together, you can encounter some crosspollination there, but you won't see it until the following year if you have saved seeds. Corn is the primary garden crop that becomes a problem with crosspollinating.

[@DebRoo11]

Way more to it. And then half way through he literally gives examples of why some plants make good companions 😅. No need to re invent the wheel. Companion planting is good gardener wisdom

[@chongli297]

@@leahbender7032 I had heard that watermelons can be ruined by other melons. Lose their sweetness due to cross-pollination

[@deborahdunn7844]

Thanks for the sunflower info regarding the root suppression effect. Gardened for 40 yrs and have never come across this tidbit.

[@heidevanness2788]

Thank you for warning me about the Walnut tree. I was going to put a small garden near one, because I have a small yard. I really like your garden setup.

[@brettblackwell2628]

Thank you for this video. Question, one thing you didn't seem to touch on is the "heavy feeder" topic. For example, I was thinking of planting tomatoes with melon (watermelon or cantaloupe) as a "living" mulch since I single-stem my tomatoes. Pretty much everything I've read says that they are both such heavy feeders that this shouldn't be done. Does that fall under your "root zone" rule?

[@emerytakacs7040]

So would basil work will with zucchini keeping the squash bugs out? If done basil with tomatoe plants and works great at keeping hornworms away. But you have to keep pinching off the forming flowers off basil to get big and bushy. Mine will get 2' high and 2' wide

[@psychochef05]

I’ve had a lot of success planting thyme, basil, and oregano among my garden. Even helped with the mosquitos too!

[@littlenugs9942]

Plant onions and garlic every where you can. I ve found that both help pest pressure IN MY AREA. Mint i find is a thrips haven, and im not sure about marrygolds yet although i have them every where as well. Is there one i should be growing that you know of that keeps pest at bay? Thanks guys/gals, and Mr.kind gardener

[@BeardedBarley1]

I had no idea that little tidbit about sunflowers. Thank you.

[@anneyday3493]

This is lots more helpful! Thanks!

[@janetperkins8949]

I think this is one of your best informative video! Thank you for all you do!!!!

[@mcgritty8842]

I’m 1st year gardener and appreciate the transparency. Earned a new subscriber in me ❤

[@ssstults999]

I've been watching him for years and love it. The weedy garden and David the good are also great ones to watch

[@Earthy-Artist]

You are in the right place, this channel has helped me immensely!

[@karabean]

You said plant fennel near tomato, but I read fennel is one of the plants that emits an anti-growth hormone. Do you know if that's correct? Have you been able to grow fennel and tomato together? I would love to be able to do so

[@PaddyyYY]

This seems to be true according to wikipedia. Maybe "wild fennel" does it more compared to cultivated fennel... maybe. "It can drastically alter the composition and structure of many plant communities, including grasslands, coastal scrub, riparian, and wetland communities. It appears to do this by outcompeting native species for light, nutrients, and water and perhaps by exuding allelopathic substances that inhibit the growth of other plants."

[@simonm8221]

Fennel and tomatoes don’t go well. Fennel is a host to a lot of bugs that will puncture the tomatoes young sprouts on adult plants, puncture the fruits, and generally infest the plant. I learnt sadly from my own experience. Keep those plants away in the garden. Southern Europe here. Keep those plants far from each other.

[@larawalker]

came here for this and the allelopathic stuff created by fennel. i had issues with one raised bed that had an existing fennel. tomatoes didn't do as well. i've removed it, so we'll see if that makes a difference, though i suspect it may take time for the fennel/allelopathic stuff to break down.

[@christineedwards4865]

Fennel can become a weed. Has anyone noticed a reduction in other weeds after fennel starts growing in them? Allelopathy in plants is a real thing, but as far as gardening goes it doesn't make much difference in most circumstances. You can grow tomatoes under walnut trees in composted walnut leaves and mulched with walnut wood chips and they will still produce. When people have problems growing something, it's easy to blame one thing that might be contributing to the plant not performing very well, but from my experience it's usually a list of contributing factors that don't get considered, including some that are difficult to control like too much rain.

[@marleigh9194]

Thank you for simplifying this information.

[@lorifitzgibbon3085]

Thanks Luke. You answered a lot of questions.

[@Happy2Run4Me]

I’ve pretty much planted onions everywhere throughout my garden. It’s also helped keep some of the critters away too. If they start eating my green beans then get a mouthful of onions then they stop right there lol. 😆 Works great!

[@tommyfallon236]

I’ve been planting for 3 years..I’ve mixed up some stuff to see what goes with what..changed beds etc…I’ve worked out that red cabbage and green cabbage are awful with pretty much everything…this year I’ve put potatoes, corn, beans and pumpkins beside each other…so far so good.

[@christineedwards4865]

Cabbages are cool weather crops that grow better in the early or late growing season. If you planted them at the right time and they still didn't perform, it might be due to the microclimate you're trying to grow them in.

[@emily9027]

What about tomatoes and garlic? And thank you! This was helpful!

[@theserenecrane]

Thank you! Things you didn’t know that you needed to know. It really was a stressful thing for me.

[@UrbanHomesteadMomma]

😂 oh my, you should see my garden… it’s complete chaos by mid summer! I absolutly over plant all the things… flowers, veggies, fruits… cram em all in. 😅

[@nerf_herder90]

What's your plan for trellising your tomatoes in that metal bed? I'm trying to figure out a good trellising idea for my metal beds.

[@SteffaniesJourney]

I used marigolds and nasturtium last year for pest control and it worked, so this year doing the same the Sam but planted more around squash and cukes because those were mor problematic last year. I grow basil and pepper plants with my tomatoes withe some leeks or onions and that worked amazingly well. Thanks for this info Luke!!

[@madhat127]

Hi Luke, another excellent video. Great information and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing. Have fun, Mark : )

[@artstamper316]

Also, I actually *do* want to put a small plane next to a tall plant when the small plant needs to be shaded for part of the day; i.e., lettuce.

[@DaveTran-]

I read that only French marigold will help with root knot nematodes.

[@Chelleyshall]

I’m so glad I watched this. I didn’t know about the sunflowers stunting the growth of surrounding plants. Thanks!

[@Zibutegerard]

In the heat of the summer is it good to plant lettuce in the shade of taller plants?

[@IAmHumanJake]

Your right Companion planting shouldn't be what plant benefits and what plants to avoid. Companion planting shouldn't be what's plants that can be planted together to benefit the soil. The microbiology of the soil. Mycorrhizal, nitrogen fixing bacteria. So I wouldn't companion planting with plants but with biology. Multiple species of plants work with different soil biology in different ways. I'm no soil scientist though just plenty of podcasts videos watching 😂 Don't worry I ran my comment though chat gpt hopefully it clears some of the nonsense into clear information. Here’s a clearer version of your statement: Companion planting should transcend beyond just considering which plants benefit each other and which to avoid. It should encompass an understanding of the soil’s microbiology, such as mycorrhizal relationships and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Instead of pairing plants solely based on their compatibility, we should consider how a diversity of plant species can enhance and work with the soil’s biological community in various ways. This perspective aligns with the idea that a garden is a complex ecosystem where every element, from the smallest microbe to the largest plant, plays a role in the health and productivity of the space. By focusing on the soil biology, you’re looking at the garden as a living system, where the goal is to create a symbiotic relationship between the plants and the organisms in the soil.

[@KathySarich]

Agreed, potatoes don’t play nice, root zone or plant zone. I found out quite quickly my first year when I planted bush beans beside them, ended up having to use a little fence to keep the potato plants off the the beans. 😂 I’ve never had a problem with carrot fly, it’s onion maggots that have been the bane of my existence, I’m planting them in a screened in raised bed with new dirt this year. Lol!

[@acts.412]

Thanks for this video 👏 learnt a few things here 😊

[@marisayoung796]

Excellent breakdown. Thanks!

[@MIgardener]

Glad it was helpful!

[@stevenr2789]

Would u be able to plant the marigolds around butternut squash plants and spaghetti squash plants to help protect them also?

[@Lbff1225]

What do you recommend planting with strawberries in large containers?

[@stevenr2789]

I have my butternut squash and spaghetti squash plants in lick tubs next to each other what can I use to let the vines attach to and climb on ?

[@anbb5114]

When I plant marigolds around, I get a lot of spider mites and blister beetles

[@johnwood738]

Seems very fitting sitting in the middle of all my gardening beds watching an MI gardener video

[@MIgardener]

That's awesome!

[@Warrior-In-the-Garden]

Great points Luke!

[@biancabeloved2264]

I found out that here in Arkansas, black raspberry ( not red raspberry) and paw paw do really well with black walnut. I was pleased to find that out!