Garden Adversaries

Sometimes people just don’t get along. It’s the same with plants, and placing certain ‘antagonists’ together in your garden might have more abrasive results than having the Hatfields & McCoys over for a dinner party.

While the idea of companion planting varieties that form a beneficial relationship is backed by science, the same is true for garden adversaries.

Beets, for example, thrive when planted together with cabbage, kohlrabi, garlic, lettuce, and bush beans, but could do without the company of pole bean varieties.

Brassica family varieties like cabbage, kale, collards, and cauliflower perform well when planted with cucumbers and potatoes, but have irreconcilable differences with strawberries, tomatoes and pole beans.

More than a few popular vegetable varieties are selective about their bedmates, and the list may surprise you.

Corn and tomatoes are two classic summer crops that are especially popular in the southeast, but for best results, the two should be separated in the garden.

Carrots are perfectly happy alongside peppers, onions, peas and radishes, but need some space from dill.

The lead role in many a summer garden, the tomato, has plenty of friends, but won’t want to share a dressing room with potatoes, kohlrabi, corn or cabbage.

The Cucumbers is another popular summer actor, that’s happy to share the stage with tomatoes, corn, beans and lettuce, but will take issue when cast in a scene with potatoes and a variety of aromatic herbs.

While they may join forces once they arrive in the kitchen, while still in the garden, bean and onion family varieties will perform better with plenty of space in between them.