If you want to get the most out of your vegetable garden, it would be useful to know what to plant next to potatoes. By strategically growing complementary plants, you can protect your garden beds from pests without the use of chemical insecticides. In addition, having suitable neighborhood plants can help your potato plants grow by supporting each other. All of these would be a sustainable way to grow more crops at the same time and generally improve your harvest. Here is some useful information and examples of companion plants to consider when creating your vegetable garden.
Why companion planting is beneficial and what to plant next to potatoes?
It is already a well-established practice for many gardeners to use certain mixed crops in vegetable growing in order to optimize their yield. However, the selection of neighboring plants in the vegetable patch can also be challenging, since potato plants do not get along with every other crop. Some herbs, flowers, and other vegetables benefit potatoes as they grow and are repellent to Colorado beetles, aphids, and caterpillars. Additionally, the benefits of companion planting could not only allow your potato plants to take up more soil nutrients but also make them less susceptible to pests.
Such a planning of beds can be advantageous, especially in smaller vegetable gardens. This allows your crops to compete less for nutrients, which contributes to improved soil conditions and natural insect repellency. Some types of flowers, such as the marigold, are known to be able to keep pests away from potatoes. You can also use other companion plants to attract beneficial insects known to be predators of potato pests. Additionally, these crops have similar requirements for plant nutrients, watering, and hours of sunshine, which would make garden bed plant care easier.
How can you help potato plants to thrive?
Most potato varieties needed deeper soil to thrive. This means that the best companions are those with above-ground habits. Such growths will not affect the tubers of the potato plants. Some of the most common examples are spinach, lettuce, radishes and spring onions. All of these plant varieties have shallow root systems that are ideal for the spaces around potatoes. Harvesting is late in the season, making early vegetables ideal neighbors if you’re wondering what to plant next to potatoes. This takes place long before you dig up the potatoes.
There are also lamiaceae and other types of plants that are known to improve the flavor of potatoes. These include deadnettle, horseradish, and the marigolds mentioned above. Other good neighbors for potato plants would be green beans and other legumes, as such plants increase soil nitrogen levels. As for horseradish, this plant could make your potatoes more resistant to some plant diseases. Attract beneficial insects that eat Colorado potato beetles with cruciferous plants, stone herbs and nightshades like petunias. Other allies in the fight against such pests are catnip, tansy and coriander.
What neighbors would be inappropriate and what to plant next to potatoes?
Like petunias, potato plants are also a genus of plants within the nightshade family. For this reason, you should avoid growing them alongside other similar vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, or okra. In addition, you should know what to plant next to potatoes and not use the same planting site from other nightshades.
They have the same genetics, and the same growing location would make the new plants susceptible to the same pests and diseases. Therefore, when growing crops in rotation, you should wait at least two years before replanting members of the same plant family in the same growing location. Otherwise, bad neighbors for potato plants also include cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, carrots, onions, pumpkins, raspberries, sunflowers, and beets. With that in mind, you can consider choosing some of the most appropriate companion plants for your bed of potatoes by considering the more detailed examples below.
Choose suitable neighborhood plants for potatoes
When it comes to choosing companion plants for the garden bed, there are actually several good neighbors for potatoes. A general rule of thumb you could follow is that any crop that has short roots can make a good bed companion. However, a thoughtful choice could bring all of the benefits outlined above and allow for a richer harvest without much effort. Numerous herbs, flowering plants and vegetables can make the potato plants in the garden bed stronger and keep them pest-free without having to resort to toxic pesticides. Here are some of the best of them.
Tips for optimal vegetable cultivation and what can you plant next to potatoes?
- Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage – Get the most out of your garden bed by growing broccoli, kale or cauliflower along with potatoes. The short roots of these companion plants allow the potato plants to take up sufficient soil nutrients, although they are heavy feeders and should be fertilized regularly.
- Alyssum or seacress – These are dainty annuals that not only bloom beautifully, but can also attract beneficial insects for potatoes into the garden. This allows you to attract hoverflies and ladybugs, for example, to fight the pests naturally. The main benefit of these plants is that as a groundcover, they inhibit weeds, which would make your potatoes grow healthier and bigger.
- spring onions – You can use such plants as a natural insect repellent in the garden bed with potato plants. The strong aromas of spring onions and chives have a corresponding repellent effect against many pests. Another benefit of spring onions as companion plants is that when harvested with potatoes, they could be ingredients in healthy and tasty dishes like potato and leek soups.
- sage – This is a popular herb that keeps flea beetles and other pests away as a companion to potatoes and has many uses in the kitchen.
- Cilantro – You can grow this great pest control plant next to potatoes to get rid of aphids and Colorado potato beetle larvae.
- lettuce plants – Growing lettuce between your potato plants will make the most of your garden space while not sacrificing soil nutrients.
- pea and bean plants – Legumes provide more nitrogen in the garden soil and keep Colorado potato beetles away, allowing for more nutrients and healthy plant growth.
- marigolds – These ornamental plants not only enhance the look of your garden, but their flowers act as a repellent against a variety of pests.
- Nasturtium – Last but not least, these plants make good neighbors for potatoes as they keep harmful insects away from the potato plants.