While we’re on the subject of gardening, let’s briefly pause our series on “Lesser-known Uses for Wool” and dig in a little deeper. Our growing season is in full swing in Minnesota, so let’s consider other ways to support nutrient-rich soil and pest control, besides using wool mulch this season. Planting specific types of vegetables or herbs near one another to promote growth and resist pests is called companion planting. If you’ve been gardening with a parent or grandparent, you might even be used to doing this without realizing it!
Companion planting has been around for as long as people have been living off the land. In Robin Wall-Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass, we learn that people from Mexico to Montana have been planting a trio of vegetables together for millennia. Planting corn, beans, and squash together is affectionately known as the “Three Sisters”. The corn stalk provides support for climbing beans. Beans add nitrogen to the soil. Squash leaves are a natural mulch and weed suppressor, combined. The author describes this mutually beneficial arrangement as “reciprocity”. The origin of the word is Latin, and means to move backwards and forwards. An apt term considering the cyclical nature of the harmonious exchange.
An example of companion planting you might be more familiar with is the practice of planting marigolds or zinnias in and around the vegetable garden. Zinnias are known to bring in a variety of pollinators, but they also bring in insects such as hoverflies and parasitic wasps that prey on aphids and tomato hornworms. In another way of managing pests, Mexican marigolds produce an oil that suppresses the reproduction of 3 aphid species by up to 100% after 5 days of exposure.
In 1943, Richard B. Gregg published a pamphlet on companion plant combinations called “Companion Plants and How to Use Them”. This pamphlet was later published as a book with further insights from Helen Philbrick and experiments completed by a German Scientist, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, who was a pioneer in the field of biodynamic farming. Don’t hesitate to take a look through this thorough listing of beneficial partner plantings!
Benefits of Companion Planting include:
- Pest Control
- Improved Soil Health
- Increased Yields
