Companion Planting
Thinking of establish some brussel bourgeon in your garden this time of year , but not certain if these two plants are quite compatible together ? In this article , gardening expert and nester Merideth Cohrs examines if it ’s a good theme to establish brussel sprout next to your Lycopersicon esculentum this season !
Contents
Brussels sprouts are really quite an interesting flora . Sprouts might look like belittled loot , but they surely do not maturate similarly . Sprouts form multiple bulbs on a unmarried , large stalk . While this is a long - season plant that takes26 - 31 weeks to gain due date , sprouts can be harvested for months . They can be glean from September through February calculate on your location .
This is in starkcontrast to tomato plant , which aresun get laid warm time of year cropsand are well - cognise to most gardeners . So , if you want to implant both in your garden this class , can they be institute in the same space ?
allow ’s take a flavor at the nuances of planting a fellow member of the brassica family ( Brassica oleracea italica , kale , brussels sprouts , etc ) with a fellow member of the nightshade family ( tomato plant , peppers , eggplant ) .
The Short Answer
Tomatoes and brussels sprouts are deliberate ‘ enemies ’ in the garden . Popular advice from gardeners is to keep the two crops disjoined . Both plant life are threatening feeders and may rob each other of nutrients if planted too closely . But the bigger takings is the two plants have completelydifferent growing needsand get on at different pace . So if you are looking for vibrant healthy industrial plant with high yields , be sure to plant the two far aside .
The Long Answer
While some gardener describe that their brassicas and tomato plant do just fine near each other , conventional wiseness is thatbrassicas should always be kept apartfrom nightshades like tomatoes . There are several reasons for this . Let ’s dive in .
What is Companion Planting
fellow planting has a retentive and scientific history in constitutive horticulture . The construct is have in mind to copy what happens in the wild . plant life mixed together yet develop attractively . This is because an interconnectedecosystem works in harmony . All of the plants , insects , and animals in an area activate the organization to be more resilient to serious disease and pests .
When you think of the modern conception of agriculture , it look nothing like this . In order for those infertile row of single vegetables to thrive , they have to be treat with a host of pesticides and fungicides . We , as the consumer , do n’t often see that part , but it ’s instill in how our food is acquire on a declamatory ordered series .
As a home gardener , you’re able to choose something different . You canpurposefully interplantcertain herbs , veggie , and flowers to create your own complimentary ecosystem .
With that being say , every veggie has different costless associate plant life . Tomato companionsare usually plants that can stand hotness , and wo n’t shade them out . Brussel Sprouts incline to fare better with other cool conditions crops .
Reasons to Companion Plant
comrade plants will either help a specific crop farm better or do many supportive Job in the garden . benefit can let in pollinator drawing card ( which helps increase output ) , pest management , spook creation , weed suppression , and more .
you may also choose to interplant because of similar growing penury . This can be especially useful if you are gardening in a small outer space .
There are many different pests that can be deterred from fellow planting . These admit tomato hornworms , aphids , flea beetles , spider mites – you name it . pop comrade likemarigolds , Nasturtium , andother good plantscan help gross out pests .
Sometimes you ’ll want to draw predatory insects to aid keep pests by . Planting the right-hand types of pollinator and good predatory insects can help keep pest population by .
Many garden vegetables are are grave feeders . This can run through soil from crucial nutrients that are needed for plants to grow . Some fellow can add vital nutrients back into the grease . pea and bean are plants that can avail equilibrize out nitrogen degree .
Some gardeners may experience this is anecdotal , but many have experienced first - hand a better tasting vegetable as a solution of planting strongly smelling plants or plants considered to have more savor nearby . Basil with tomatoes is one example of this .
Certain works need a little more shade to maturate well in the summer . This means fellow traveller planting can be beneficial by adding grandiloquent plants near yours that can serve leave specter .
Some plant life can allow additional priming coat cover song . low-pitched grow plants like strawberries grow closer to the solid ground and can aid play as a ground cover to suppress weeds .
Reasons to NOT Companion Plant
There are also reasons you would choose to NOT interplant certain things together . Some plant have a damaging influence on one another . For case , some plantsnegatively influence the taste of other plants , lure in destructive insects , compete for sunlight and nutrient , and are susceptible to the same disease .
Warm vs. Long Season Crops
One of the biggest reasons to not engraft these two veg together is that they have completelydifferent acquire habits .
Tomatoes are a warm season harvest meaning they originate , mature , and bring forth fruit during the warm summertime months . In fact , tomato should n’t even be planted until soil temperature have reach at least 60 level at night .
Brussels Sprouts , on the other deal , are a prospicient season craw . This means they are plant in the outflow for a fall or early winter harvest . In fact , they can be harvested long after your first frost .
This ‘ frosting ’ actuallyimproves the feeling and sweetnessof the sprout . Harvest times can move from September through February look on your local climate .
If we count at the leaning of reasonableness to companion plant , we can not find a match . In fact , one reason to interplant is because plants have exchangeable growing needs when it derive to sunlight , soil , and nutrients . Simply put , these two vegetable just do not fit .
Both Plants Are Heavy Feeders
Tomatoes are well known amongst gardners for being heavy tributary . In fact , there are many article geared toward how to bung your tomato plant efficaciously during the grow season .
It can be a bit of a juggle since the works needsdifferent levels of macro nutrientslike nitrogen , P , and potassium at different stage of its life wheel . For illustration , if you keep to fertilise your tomato too much nitrogen as it matures , you ’ll wind up with a very full tomato plant bush with very petty yield .
Brussels sprouts are also heavy feeders , but their nutritive need are a small more consistent throughout their long growing time of year . An organic fertilizer that ’s high in nitrogen is encourage when seedlings reach around 6 ” .
you’re able to eat again when they ’re about halfway develop with any general veg fertilizer . Some gardners recommend a constant resupply of nitrogen specifically , but in most cases , a general fertilizer ( 5 - 10 - 10 or 10 - 10 - 10 ) will do fine .
you’re able to see that there is a difference in macronutrient requirements between the two plants . This will be nigh impossible to exert if the two plant are put too closely together .
But more importantly than finding the right mix of nutrients , member of the brassica family are well recognize fortaking up most of the soil nutrientsbefore other works have a chance . This will leave alone niggling left over for your tomatoes . The plants may not grow to maturity and your take will be fantastically sad .
Brussels Sprouts Can Inhibit Growth
member of thebrassica family produce chemicalsthat conquer proper growth in Lycopersicon esculentum plant ( along with other nightshades like peppers andeggplants ) . When you couple this knowledge with what we just discussed about nutrient challenger , the determination to keep the two of these veggie separate becomes quite wanton .
Our Recommendation
Our recommendation is to institute all of your nightshade far apart from any member of the brassica family . We have hash out several genuine world reasons why the two plantsdon’t play well together .
While some gardeners report no outcome with interplanting the two , established horticulture wisdom says otherwise . There are certainly no benefit to be obtain .
If space is at a bounty in your garden , consider using containers to establish either of these two vegetable . This will facilitate ensure that the two do n’t negatively impact the other .
Final Thoughts
While it ’s tantalizing to interplant as many vegetables , herbs , and bloom as possible , some industrial plant just do n’t play well with others . After see a few primal concerns , you now bang that the overbold play is tokeep your tomatoes and brussels sprouts away from each other in the garden . This will allow you to enjoy full and bountiful harvests of both plants without make yourself uncalled-for headaches . glad horticulture !
