7 Best Companion Plants For Tomatoes – A Guide To Achieving Better Harvest
Every good gardener knows that there are a few tricks that can help you grow healthy and productive tomato plants. This includes adding plenty of compost, applying fertilizer, pruning, giving them proper support, and keeping pests at bay. However, there is another way to significantly improve your tomato yield and take your patch to a whole new level – companion planting. This technique is a super popular method used by gardeners to help enhance their crop growth and health. By planting certain plants next to your tomatoes you can help deter pests, add nutrients to the soil, and suppress weeds! All of those benefits just by adding specific plants next to your tomato plant – amazing! So, are you are ready to elevate your tomatoes, reduce pests, increase flavor, avoid diseases, and increase production? If the answer is yes, check out what are the best companion plants for tomatoes.
Companion planting is a super popular method used by gardeners to help enhance their crop growth
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Best Companion Plants For Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a common garden plant and make a great addition to salads, sauces, stews, soups, pasta, and more. That’s why we love to have them in the garden. They are versatile, delicious, and it seems like you can never have too many of them. So, if you are looking for a way to increase production and increase flavor, companion planting is a great choice. Plus, tomatoes pair well with a number of different plants in your garden, making it much easier to find them the right companion. Companion plants are plants that will benefit each other in growth, harvest, pest control, and more when planted next to one another. They are just compatible together. So, today we will take a look at which veggies and herbs you can plant near your tomatoes to reap these benefits.
Tomatoes pair well with a number of different plants in your garden
#Basil
Basil and tomatoes are an amazing combination not only in the kitchen but also in the garden. Basil’s strong aroma helps to camouflage the tomato plant’s scent. This helps to “hide” the plant from a variety of pests, like thrips, that like to munch on your tomatoes and spread diseases. Basil also helps deter moths, mosquitoes, and flies. Not only that but this aromatic herb helps to enhance the flavor of your tomatoes and encourages them to grow strong and healthy. So, make sure to put these plants near one another in your garden.
Basil and tomatoes are an amazing combination not only in the kitchen but also in the garden
#Carrots
This delicious veggie is a great neighbor for tomatoes. This is because carrots help to loosen up the garden soil with their long tap roots, which gives tomatoes plenty of space for more roots to grow. More tomato roots mean healthier, bigger, and stronger plants. Not only that but carrots also attract parasitic wasps which like to prey on caterpillars, including tomato hornworms. Plus, when tomatoes and carrots are planted together they improve each other flavor, so you will be enjoying great-tasting veggies when harvest comes around. The only downside to this pair is that when carrots are planted too close to tomatoes they do grow smaller. But even though their size may be smaller, their taste will be mightier.
When tomatoes and carrots are planted together they improve each other flavor
#Garlic
Garlic is an excellent companion plant for tomatoes. This is due to garlic’s strong scent it repels a variety of common garden pests, from aphids to deer. So, your tomato plants will be well-masked and protected from any critters that may want to cause them harm. And the best part is that even though garlic’s scent may be overwhelming to a variety of pests, it doesn’t have a negative impact on beneficial insects.
Garlic is an excellent companion plant for tomatoes
#Cowpeas
The green stink bug loves tomatoes, but it loves cowpeas more. So, by growing this plant near your tomatoes you will be able to lure them away from the tomato plant and save it from a ton of damage. These little pests love to cause stripping and corking of the flesh of a variety of fruits and veggies. So, giving them another plant to focus on is a great way to ensure your tomatoes will stay whole. Green stink bugs are especially problematic in a southern garden, so if you live in a southern area, make sure to grow these plants together.
The green stink bug loves tomatoes, but it loves cowpeas more
#Parsley
This delicious herb has a strong smell which many garden pests prefer to stay far away from. This means your tomato plants will be well protected. But the fact that parsley is great at deterring pests isn’t its only benefit. Tomatoes and parsley have similar growing requirements and watering needs, so it will be easy to take care of them together. And since parsley doesn’t grow tall, you can easily plant them in the rows of tomatoes.
This delicious herb has a strong smell which many garden pests prefer to stay far away from
#Marigolds
Oh, marigold flowers are a real beauty. These fire-colored plants are great companion plants for tomatoes as they help ward off nematodes. Nematodes are invisible to the human eye as they are microscopic worm-like creatures. These tiny worms like to attack the tomato plant’s roots, especially if it is growing in sandy solid, and stump the plant growth and production. But marigolds will help keep them far away. They will also help to ward off whiteflys and attract beneficial insects like parasitic wasps.
These fire-colored plants are great companion plants for tomatoes
#Asparagus
Another popular choice for a tomato companion plant. Asparagus is a great veggie to plant near your tomatoes as it keeps nematodes far away, so they won’t attack the plant’s roots. But tomatoes are also very beneficial to asparagus, as the scent of this plant helps to repel asparagus beetles. So, these two plants like to help each other out.
Another popular choice for a tomato companion plant
These were some of the best companion plants for tomatoes. We hope you found this article useful. Now that you know which plants will help enhance your tomato’s growth and taste for the better you can start planting them nearby.
These were some of the best companion plants for tomatoes
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