Plants That Don't Get Along Well Together

All plants release various substances into the air and soil around them - plant hormones, substances that work against insects and fungi, and roots produce exudates that allow better nutrient release.

In some cases, these compounds can have a stimulating effect on certain species of neighboring plants or vice versa. Often it's not direct action, but for example they influence insects - certain species repel insects so strongly that neighboring plants can also benefit from this effect. Permaculture makes extensive use of this principle of plants influencing each other.

Selective Vegetables

In vegetable growing, interactions between plants are most commonly utilized.

Tomatoes are among the most widely grown vegetables in greenhouses and beds. Suitable companions include onions, spinach, celery, parsley, various types of cabbage, cress or kohlrabi. They are also positively influenced when these were grown in the tomato bed the year before.

Definitely do not plant red cabbage or beetroot, potatoes, pumpkins or peas next to tomatoes. A common mistake is growing tomatoes and cucumbers in close proximity, which doesn't suit either plant.

Growing tomatoes with basil beautifully enhances their flavor. Basil is also suitable for cucurbits.

Carrots are suitable with almost all types of vegetables, while they themselves benefit most from the proximity of dill, chives, onions, leeks, garlic or lettuce.

Parsley will thrive best in combination with tomatoes. However, lettuce right next to it won't do it any favors.

Cucumbers don't get along with tomatoes, potatoes, radishes and strawberry bushes. In the previous year, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and tomatoes should not have been grown in the same spot. On the contrary, they will prosper in combination with legumes (peas, beans), which add nitrogen to the soil. Other suitable neighbors are umbellifers, garlic, onions, chives, dill and beetroot.

Garlic grows well in the company of strawberries, which also welcome this companionship. Courgettes will be grateful for the proximity of leeks, onions or carrots. When growing potatoes, it's better to avoid planting cabbage in close proximity.

Growing mint, sage, thyme or tomatoes will reduce or stop attacks by cabbage white caterpillars on your cabbage.

Sociable Flowers

Flowers are not as demanding about their neighbors as vegetables. However, for many species, especially bulbs, locations should be rotated. Often it's not so much about mutual influence, but about fungal and other diseases that multiply in that location after a year of cultivation.

Sweet peas and garden peas lose their vitality and bloom less after growing in the same location for the second or third year. The same applies to flax. In this case, it's not about diseases, but about root exudates that gradually suppress the growth of the same species.

A real helper in the garden, whether among flowers or vegetables, is the marigold (African marigold). With its scent, it reliably repels various types of nematodes and can also work against aphids and whiteflies. It's a very popular annual that blooms all summer until frost and requires only minimal care.

Rose bushes look beautiful together with lavender cushions. This is not only an attractive but also a mutually beneficial combination.