This presentation explains the principle of companion planting and gives examples of some useful, common companion plants. It is part of a free, online course called Construct and plant a raised garden bed to support sustainable living which can be found at www.viva-la-veg.com

1. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Companion planting:
What grows together well?

2. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Companion planting explained
• If two or more types of plant benefit from growing together,
they are said to be “companion plants”.
• Companion planting is about planting your gardens in such a way
that these beneficial relationships take place as much as
possible.
• By combining vegetables, herbs, and flowers in a single garden
you create a planting which is has a variety of plant, has a
number of different purposes and looks nice.

3. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Companion planting example
This photo shows a good example of companion planting. The plum
tree has been under-planted with a number of different
companions, including nasturtium (inset).
Nasturtium:
• Deters insects,
particularly aphids.
• Has edible flowers
which are great in
salad; they have a
sweet cress flavour.
• Has antibiotic
properties in its
leaves and flowers.

4. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Benefits of companion planting
• Most commonly, companion planting is used as a way of
controlling pests. Combinations of plants are planted where
some plants repel pests, others trap the pests and yet others
confuse the pests so they cant find where to dine on your
vegetables.
• Companion plants can also be used to:
• Attract useful pollinators, such as bees
• Enhance the flavour of you produce
• Provide natural medicines
• Build your soil by fixing or mining nutrients
• Improve the growing conditions for plants where some taller plants
provide shelter/shade for crops which like to grow underneath
• Provide colour beauty and form to your garden.

5. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
How will I know what goes together?
• The information covered by this course comes from both
scientific research and experimentation.
• We suggest you start out by using the companions covered by
this course, but at some point you might want to try out new
arrangements to see if they work well together.
• Learning by experimenting is a great idea, but we suggest that
you keep a journal and write down what works and what
doesn’t. This will help you by preventing you from making the
same mistakes again.
• In relation to garden planning:
If in doubt, try it out!

6. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Companion planting charts
• There are numerous companion planting charts available on the
internet.
• These should be used as a guideline rather than a rule that must
be adhered to.
• Your section’s soil, climate and other factors all affect how well
your plants grow and how they interact with each other.
• It is a good idea to keep a gardening journal or notebook and
write down what plants work well together on your section.

7. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Example companion planting chart
• To use this chart:
• Choose a plant that you want to know what it’s companions are, e.g.
basil.
• Skim down the left-hand side of the table until you find it.
• Look across that row in
the table.
• Where you see a
symbol, look up that row
to see the name of the
plant.
• Where the symbol is a 
it means the two plants
are companions.
• Where the symbol is an
X, the two do not
tolerate each other.

8. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Some ideas about what works well in New Zealand
• There are many combinations of plants you can choose as
companions for the vegetable you are going to plant.
• Here are just a few you may want to consider.
• Borage • Lavender
• Basil • Marigold
• Calendula • Nasturtium (see slide 3)
• Chives • Tansy
• Comfrey • Yarrow
• Dill

9. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Borage as a companion plant
• Borage:
• Is a companion plant for
tomatoes, squash and
strawberries
• Is one of the best bee and
wasp attracting plants
• Adds trace minerals to the soil
• Leaves contain vitamin C and
are rich in calcium, potassium
and mineral salts
• Is a good addition the compost
pile

10. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Basil as a companion plant
• Basil:
• Can be scattered through your
gardens rather than being
planted in a clump
• Deters: aphids, whitefly, fruit
flies, mosquitoes
• Goes well with tomatoes
• Is a very aromatic plant

11. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Calendula as a companion plant
• Calendula:
• Attracts good insects and
butterflies
• Is often planted in combination
with marigolds
• Has many medicinal uses

12. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Chives as a companion plant
• Chives:
• Improve the growth and flavour of carrots and tomatoes.
• Are a good
companion to
apples, carrots, to
matoes, brassicas
(broccoli, cabbage
, mustard, etc)
and many others.
• Help to keep
aphids away from
tomatoes, and
sunflowers.

13. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Comfrey as a companion plant
• Comfrey:
• Is rich in nitrogen, potassium
and sodium, so great when it is
added to compost.
• Leaves can be added to the hole
you dig to plant your potatoes
to give them a good start.
• Makes great liquid fertiliser:
soak some leaves in water for a
month and then use.

14. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Dill as a companion plant
• Dill:
• Flowers provides a great food source for beneficial insects
(sometimes called “beneficials”)
• Can be used as a flavourful seasoning, great for fish dishes
• Can be used for combating the effects of windy colic

15. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Lavender as a companion plant
• Lavender:
• Attracts bees, but is also a
repellent of other, less desirable
insects
• Is used extensively in medicines
and perfumes
• Adds a strong, pleasant scent and
colour to your garden

16. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Marigold as a companion plant
• Marigolds:
• Give off a substance through their roots, which drive away the
eelworm
• Attract good insects
and butterflies

17. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Tansy as a companion plant
• Tansy:
• Is a good insect repellent
• Is a great compost activator, which means
that it speeds up the composting process
• Note: Tansy can be invasive (spreads
very quickly) so it needs to be managed

18. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Yarrow as a companion plant
• Yarrow:
• Boosts growth in other plants
• It builds up phosphorous, calcium and silica,
which are good for composting
• Attracts many beneficial insects to your
garden such as hoverflies and ladybirds

19. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
Insect repelling plants
• Basil • Lavender • Sunflower
• Borage • Marigold • Tansy
• Calendula • Mint • Thyme
• Catnip • Nasturtium • Wormwood
• Coriander
• Oregano
• Dandelion
• Parsley
• Fennel
• Pennyroyal
• Flax
• Garlic • Radish
• Geranium • Rosemary
• Horseradish • Rue
• Hyssop • Sage

20. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
So in the end, what really works?
• There is no golden answer. It will come down to the mix of
plants that you want to grow, and enjoy having in your garden.
• Play with combinations that you like.
• Keep notes about what works in your dairy, journal or notebook.
• The key is to
not put just
one plant in
and expect
it to work;
concentrate
on creating
communities
of plants.

21. Topic Four: Plan and plant a garden bed to support sustainable living
References and additional information
Photos by Mike Beedie and Ron Taiapa, reproduced with their
permission.
Deep Green Permaculture (2012). Companion
planting.http://deepgreenpermaculture.com/companion-
planting/companion-planting-table/
Garden stuff (2012). Companion planting.
http://gstuff.co.nz/shop/garden/index.php?main_page=page_4
Golden Harvest Organics (2012). Companion planting.
http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (2012).
Companion planting: Basic concepts and
resources.https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/viewhtml.php?id=72
Wikipedia (2012) List of companion
plants.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants