First Word in Companion Planting

People are made for relationships, be it romantic or friendly; they thrive in the company of others. In the same way, relationships can be a burden. Many people have discovered the unfortunate truth that there is always that one person in the workplace, classroom, or sporting team with whom they cannot click. When a relationship is burdensome, it can leave both parties feeling as if they are wilting in the heat of the sun. Is it any surprise than, if the rest of the world functions in similar rhythms?

One of the best discoveries any gardener will ever happen upon is companion planting. Most of the time people stumble upon it by chance. One year they haplessly plant vegetables wherever there is room. At the end of the growing season they are left scratching their heads wondering why the tomatoes never produced and the lettuce leaves were hearty, vibrant and sweet. If it bugged them enough, they might have dug into a good gardening book and discovered the answer; otherwise, they probably intuitively changed things up the next growing season to see some basic variation of the prior year's mishaps.

After a few years of frustrations, little plant romances begin popping up everywhere and the gardeners who were accidentally killing half of there crops in prior years, are now dialed in to the forces of nature and reaping mighty harvests. They might have avoided the long years of questioning and doubting, if they would have discovered the secret of the plant romances that now keep their gardens flourishing. But then again, maybe organic discoveries are the best way to reward the hard work of the constant horticulturist.

The romance of plants can be intentionally cultivated to encourage the greatest yield out of any plant, while the awkward relationships can be avoided. It is not a miracle that alternating rows of carrots and onions seems to leave both root vegetables tasting strangely better and looking healthier. It is not a modern marvel that asparagus wilt and die when planted next to the very onion that made the carrot thrive. Plants have intricate relationships and serve one another in a variety of ways.

Companion gardening isolates these relationships helping you to avoid the bad and embrace the good. In the mind of an asparagus stalk the onion is a cross-town rival. The Cubs vs. the White Sox; the Yankees vs. the Mets while the carrot is rooting for the same team as the onion. However, in many cases, just because a plant is a companion to one does not mean he will be a rival of another. That is why the carrot and the asparagus seem to get along well enough. They must have found other interests in common-poetry or musical taste.

Whatever the case might be, there is a fascinating scientific reason for why this all works. Plants affect the soil they live in. They also attract and deter garden bugs. Unfortunately for the individual plant who does not have a companion, his very own scent may attract a foe. The positive side is, that if he lives near enough to a friend, he can grow in peace and prosperity. While he might have trouble rejecting the advances of a slug he may be great at offering up extra nitrogen from his roots. If he is close enough to a friend who often lacks the nitrogen in the soil that he needs to grow well, but excels at repelling the nemesis foe: the slug, the two plants will strike up a mutually beneficial relationship and both will thrive. And so the garden will grow like a community united in purpose and philosophy. If only it were so easy to uncover the secrets of living at peace with people. Maybe world leaders should take lessons from the garden.

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