Tomato Companion Plantings

[karstopography]

https://savvygardening.com/tomato-companion-plants/

Interesting read for those that might want to do companion plantings with tomatoes.

[Tormahto]

My crowd of tomato plants have no room for companions. One tomato plant every 2 1/2 feet in each direction, IF I don't decide to double plant.

[karstopography]

I’m thinking of doing more companion planting with my tomatoes in 2023. My two remaining tomato plants have bush beans and marigolds around the base of them and all the plants together seem happy. I like the layered look with tall tomatoes, the shorter bush beans and then the flowering marigolds.

[Greenvillian]

Thanks for sharing!

[JayneR13]

Interesting. One thing not mentioned in the article are things to NOT plant with tomato. I've learned a couple of them the hard way: peppers and kohlrabi! I've seen peppers on the OK list too, but have had much better results growing them far from the tomato bed. The kohlrabi stunted the tomatoes so badly I had to buy a bushel that year for canning. Garden and learn, right?

[Seven Bends]

Interesting. One thing not mentioned in the article are things to NOT plant with tomato. I've learned a couple of them the hard way: peppers and kohlrabi! I've seen peppers on the OK list too, but have had much better results growing them far from the tomato bed.

I expect the main issue with planting peppers and tomatoes together is that they get some of the same diseases. My gardening space isn't big enough to plant them far away from each other, and it doesn't seem to make much difference disease-wise whether they are directly adjacent or 10 feet apart, which is about the best I can do.

I've learned a good tomato/pepper companion planting trick for our hot summers. I plant one (or more) pepper plants adjacent to and directly to the north of an indeterminate tomato plant. The pepper plant spends the height of summer somewhat in the shade of the tomato plant, so it's less stressed out by the heat and stays healthier longer. This pepper plant tends to hit full production several weeks later than the un-shaded plants and then produces longer and later. It has worked out really well.

[JayneR13]

Interesting. My peppers grown in the same raised bed as tomatoes never thrived. The plants were skinny and I rarely got any peppers from them. This year I planted in the next bed over and the peppers were much happier! Both were in full sun but different beds. I'm in 5b.

[Seven Bends]

Interesting. My peppers grown in the same raised bed as tomatoes never thrived. The plants were skinny and I rarely got any peppers from them. This year I planted in the next bed over and the peppers were much happier! Both were in full sun but different beds. I'm in 5b.

Always so hard to know what makes things go well or not go well. Definitely stick with what works!

[JayneR13]

Well, absolutely! What works in one garden may not work in the garden down the street or in another grow zone. That's why we try different things and stick with what works! Thanks for your planting method though. I may try it next season.

[Danny]

Taste is also a factor as to what you plant. I don't like bush beans due to the bending over, LOL, but do tuck them in to flower beds and areas to get more out of my ground. Ditto on peppers, because we love peppers and can always eat more of them, plus they can be quite pretty in a flower bed.

After my tomatoes are getting going in a garden, I often tuck in some marigolds and basil, oregano, chervil as they enjoy a bit of shade here in Texas and act like some mulch too.

[JayneR13]

Absolutely! There's no sense in growing what you don't like to eat unless you're a market gardener. It's amazing how intensive practices can make an urban space produce too. When I can't grow vertically, I grow horizontally! Beans love a good string trellis.

[Rockporter]

I must have missed the memo that dill isn't friends with tomatoes, or vice versa. So, I noticed both dill and tomato weren't doing good in the same container then I saw something posted about dill and tomato disliking each other so this morning while watering I moved that dill to another container all by itself. I then planted a french marigold in it's place, I hope it fixes things by moving that dill.