A Guide to Popular Vegetable Companion Planting: The Best Pepper, Tomato, and Eggplant Companion Plants
When people are just being introduced to gardening, many of them don’t understand the concept of companion planting and how it works. Without a knowledge of how this works, your produce yields won’t be as grand and you may have issues with plants bullying each other. That’s why here at Garden Tower Project, we’ve created this informational guide on what companion planting is as well as a guide to common vegetables, such as pepper, tomato, and eggplant companion plants.
First Things First: What is Companion Planting?
Understanding What it is Before Starting
Companion planting is the practice of matching certain plants to be planted next to each other. Different crops interact differently—some will help increase nutrient availability to each other and boost protection from pests and disease, while others may bully one another and make both plants weaker. By understanding the concept of companion planting and knowing what practices are best, you’ll have healthier and happier crops in no time.
The Benefits of Companion Planting and How it Affects Yield
Reasons to Find Companion Plants
There are a variety of reasons why you should integrate companion planting into your Garden Tower®—as previously mentioned, companion planting can help create a more nutritious soil that helps the plants thrive. In addition, tall plants can help regulate shade for smaller plants and be a good physical support as they grow. By pairing your plants with great companions, they’ll be less stressed and will be able to create larger, more nutritious vegetables for you to enjoy.
Plants that Repel Pests and Attract Helpful Bugs
Getting the Absolute Most Out of Your Garden
Along with vegetables, flowers are also another great companion plant when paired correctly, as they can attract bees for pollination and repel pests that may otherwise damage your crops. Flowers like nasturtium can help repel different pests that may eat away at growing plants or overall stunt growth. Taller flowers can also be a great natural support for smaller plants to lean on until they are able to support themselves.
Common Vegetables: Pepper, Tomato, and Eggplant Companion Plants
Examples of Plants You Can Combine
There are several combinations for all different types of vegetables—some of the more common ones that we wanted to cover are peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant companion plants. All three of these vegetables actually work very well together—as some of the most popular vegetables people like to eat, they all depend on each other very well and can cohabitate. While these plants are very hearty, keeping fennel away from your eggplants, broccoli and cabbage away from your tomatoes, and beans and fennel away from your peppers is a great way to ensure that these plants stay healthy and give the biggest yields possible.
Finally thinking about getting into companion gardening? With a Garden Tower®, separating plants that don’t work well together is easy with 50 different areas to place plants. Get started by exploring the infographic to quickly identify good plant companions and which plants to avoid planting together. There’s a multitude of options for every vegetable to make them grow larger and stronger—check out our comprehensive guide on all vegetables for more information on less popular vegetables and what to plant with them.