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In your vegetable garden, despite good growing conditions, certain vegetables may show signs of poor growth and limited yield. The reason could be their neighbors on the plantation. What combinations should be avoided to ensure a productive and healthy vegetable garden?
In your vegetable garden, some vegetables get along well while others hate each other. Beware of bad associations when planting.
Why combine vegetables with a vegetable garden?
Knowing your vegetables well and knowing how to arrange them in your vegetable garden will save you disappointment. For your vegetable garden, you can use the companion plant technique, which consists of planting vegetables next to each other that protect each other. It allows:
- Reduce the risk of disease.
- Fight harmful insects and avoid chemical pesticides: for example, leeks keep worms away from carrots and vice versa.
- Limit competition between plants based on their nutrient and water needs.
- Save space, for example, by installing plants with short and long cycles in the same rows.
- Create shade naturally by planting tall vegetables (such as cabbage, beans) and low vegetables (campus, radishes) next to each other.
- Fight pests and weeds naturally.
- Encourage the growth of well-combined vegetables that take advantage of their neighbors.
Taking into account incompatibilities between certain plants will allow you to avoid depleting and weakening your soil and the health of your vegetable garden. For this, you can also focus on permaculture based on crop rotation on the vegetable plot.
8 associations to avoid
Some vegetables in the vegetable garden do not mix well, which can compromise their development and productivity. It is advisable to maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 m between incompatible varieties.
It is better to avoid growing in your vegetable garden:
- Alliaceae (onions, garlic, leeks, etc.) along with legumes (beans, lentils, peas, broad beans, etc.): have similar nutrient needs.
- Leafy greens (lettuce, watercress, chicory, lamb’s lettuce, mesclun, arugula, etc.) next to parsley.
- Carrots with beetroot (even though they are two root vegetables) or mint.
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and potatoes should not be planted together due to their common susceptibility to certain diseases and pests (blight, potato blight, etc.).
- Melons with squash or cucumbers to avoid any crossing.
- Cabbage next to radishes.
- Spinach close to Swiss chard because they compete with each other.
- Fennel next to kohlrabi, shallots or beans.
By following these tips, you will promote the growth and yield of your vegetables while minimizing the risk of disease and pests.