Broccoli Companion Plants: What to Include and Not Include
Companion plants for broccoli
When you start a garden, it can be overwhelming to know which plants are good together and which ones will make your garden thrive.
Companion planting is an ancient technique that has been used for thousands of years. It's one of the best ways to keep pests away from your crops while also creating a thriving ecosystem in your garden. But not all companion plantings are created equal! Certain combinations of plants have beneficial effects on each other, while others may cause problems if planted together. Knowing what types work well together is important when planning out your vegetable beds or flower gardens.
Companion planting with broccoli is a great way to improve the success of growing broccoli in your garden. In this post, you'll find everything you need here about what works well with broccoli as well as what doesn't work so well with this delicious green veggie! Here are some things you should include as companion plants for broccoli and what you should not include!
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What is Companion Planting?
“Companion planting maximizes space.”
Companion planting is a gardening technique that involves choosing plants for your garden based on their ability to help each other grow successfully.
Humans have been planting gardens since the beginning of time. Some people might consider it an art form, while others may think about how best to maximize their space by enhancing one plant with another's beneficial qualities or strengthening a weak area through strategic placement and understanding companion plants' needs.
Companion planting is all about prevention and sustainability. It's an age-old technique that helps reduce dependence on synthetic pesticides.
It's important for people who are new to companion planting or gardening, in general, to understand what each plant needs out of its environment so they don't inadvertently do more harm than good!
Benefits of Companion Planting
Companion plants provide a variety of benefits for your garden. Here are some examples:
Protects against pests
As a gardener, you are always at risk of infestation with pests. Pests can wreak havoc on broccoli plants and make it difficult for farmers to grow their crops successfully.
Companion planting is an effective strategy that involves pairing up two different types of plants together in one garden bed, which helps deter the spread or growth of unwanted insects and slugs attracted by certain plant's deliciousness!
This technique also has additional benefits because companion-planted vegetables do not require as much tending when they're planted close enough to each other - easy peasy!
Improved flavor
Companion plantings can also improve broccoli's flavor! Give your broccoli a taste boost with companion plants!
The Brassica family of vegetables is known for being bland and uninspiring, but you can give it some flavor by planting other herbs or veggies next to them. When the two grow together, they'll keep each other from becoming too boring - one will add aroma while another adds spice.
RELATED: Parsley Companion Plants: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Broccoli and lettuce are good companion plants because greens can help to cool the soil.
Herbs like sage can be great companion plants with broccoli due to their strong aroma which can help repel pests.
Balances nutrients
Companion planting is a great way to make plants healthier and more prosperous! Companion plants, for example, can provide nutrients that each plant might need to grow and thrive!
For broccoli, it's important to balance out the nutrients for broccoli plants to grow. Planting other vegetables next to broccoli can provide additional nitrogen and calcium which they may be lacking from their own soil content--a win-win situation all around!
Attract beneficial insects
Some vegetables are more susceptible to pests than others because of their shape or texture; however, there is always something you can do about it! For example: planting crops together in groups called "companion gardens" attracts different types of helpful insects which eat different kinds of bad bugs - thus protecting these veggies better.
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Provide shade
You may not have thought about it before, but companion plants can provide some shade.
Shady plants are ideal to grow near taller crops. Growing next to them will give the natural shelter they need from a hot, sunny day in July!
Makes use of small spaces
Companion plants can be a great way to get the most out of your small spaces! It is great for gardeners who have limited space and want to maximize their crop production.
Companion planting can help make up for some lost broccoli space by pairing broccoli plants with a variety of other veggies such as onions and potatoes.
Looking for an easy reference guide? Then check out this dedicated sheet outlining the MOST beneficial companion plants on Etsy.
Good Broccoli Companion Plants
There are a variety of plants that are good companion plants for broccoli.
If you are looking for pest control, herbs make great companion plants to broccoli. Herbs such as sage, rosemary, dill, basil, mint, thyme, catnip, are some of the most common broccoli companion plants. The oils from these fragrant herbs help to repel insects such as whiteflies, flea beetles, aphids, and cabbage moths and create a natural barrier for broccoli. Rosemary in particular is good at repelling cabbage moths and cabbage loppers from laying eggs on broccoli.
Nasturtiums, geraniums, marigolds, and snapdragons are a great choice to add too! Their strong scent can help to repel annoying insects like cabbage worms and they can provide a nice pop of color to your broccoli beds.
Want to make your broccoli more flavorful? Planting chamomile or other members of the allium family can have a positive impact on flavor! As companion plants, consider planting onions, garlic, or shallots. Celery has also been found to have a positive impact on broccoli's flavor.
When broccoli companion planting, it's important to include other plants that will help the growth of your broccoli. Beets, potatoes, and radishes should also be included in your broccoli plant's garden group because they won't have the same nutritional needs as broccoli. As a result, they won't be taking up all the nutrients broccoli needs to grow. These plants are root vegetables and grow differently in the soil, so they can be grown closer to broccoli.
Broccoli needs nitrogen and calcium and potatoes need phosphate and magnesium. Beets don't need a lot of calcium while broccoli will soak it up from the soil. Broccoli and radishes do well paired together because of the shade that broccoli provides and radishes don't need a ton of space to grow. These vegetables make a wonderful companion for broccoli.
The broccoli plant also benefits from being planted with spinach, chard, lettuce, and dark leafy greens in the garden, because they grow low to the ground and can cool down the soil. Broccoli can grow quite tall and if the broccoli plant is close to a low-growing vegetable, it will help shade them. This can help to extend the life of leafy greens and prevent it from bolting. This makes leafy greens a good companion planting for broccoli.
Broccoli seems to also grow well with cucumbers although there is not a lot of information as to why. Just make sure you give both plenty of space to grow.
Broccoli Companion Planting Chart
What Not to Plant with Broccoli
There are a few things you need to avoid when planting broccoli as well as they can do harm to your crop.
Broccoli is considered a heavy feeder so you want to keep broccoli far away from other plants that are also heavy feeders. That way they won't be competing for nutrients. Strawberries are an example of a heavy feeder. Plus strawberry plants are prone to pests which can then harm your broccoli. Some more heavy feeders to stay away from when planting broccoli are squash, sweet corn, watermelon, pumpkins, asparagus, and cantaloupe.
Don't plant broccoli near tomato or other nightshade family vegetables ( peppers and eggplants) they are also heavy feeders. Your plants will be competing for nutrients and broccoli will do better when it has a steady supply of what it needs.
It might seem counterintuitive but you want to also keep broccoli away from its relatives the Brassica Family in the vegetable garden. Members of this family include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. It will be difficult to keep the broccoli pest-free if it is planted right next to its relatives because the pests can jump from plant to plant without much trouble at all! Plus all of the crops will need the same nutrients to thrive which leads them to compete for space and food-not a good idea!
Beans specifically pole beans, bush beans, lima beans, and snap beans are also not a good companion plant to broccoli. Beans provide a nitrogen-rich environment that broccoli can't tolerate. So when the broccoli plant is sharing nutrients with a bean, it can't uptake what it needs which leads to broccoli stunted growth or no broccoli at all!
FAQS About Companion Plants with Broccoli
Can you plant broccoli and cauliflower together?
No, broccoli and cauliflower do not benefit from being planted together. The broccoli plant will compete with the cauliflower for nutrients which can lead to stunted growth or no broccoli at all. It is difficult to keep both plants pest-free if they are close together in your garden since they are from the same family and attract similar pests.
Are broccoli and carrots companion plants?
No, broccoli and carrots are not companions. They will compete for the calcium in the soil.
Companion Planting Broccoli
The benefits of companion planting are clear; and with the knowledge that some plants will have beneficial effects on broccoli while others could damage it, you can be confident about which plants to use around your garden crops. Have you had success with companion planting broccoli? What did you pair together?
