Summer Companion Planting Plans That Actually Work

Foreign. If you're sick of having a boring garden filled with just one plant, or working so hard in the garden to barely get a harvest, then you have got to learn the magic of companion planting to get you started. Today, I'm going to share four of my favorite warm season plant combos that you have got to try. These. These combinations don't just make your garden look beautiful, which they will, they'll also triple your harvest, help protect it from pests, and make a garden that practically takes care of itself. For all four plant combinations, I'm going to be working with a plant layout that looks like this. So imagine a raised bed with panel trellising that goes the entire length of the raised bed. We're going to have large plants planted along the back side of the garden that that will grow up the panel trellis. Then we'll have medium sized plants there in the middle. And then our smallest plants will be toward the front. Then we'll have flowers and greens on the edge of the garden. So as we work through all four plant combinations, keep this layout in mind so you can really start to picture how this could work in your own space. Plant combination number one. This is one I have put in so many of my clients gardens. It is my class. So first up is cherry tomatoes. These are going to go along the panel trellis. They're going to grow up, get plenty of sunlight, and just imagine all those beautiful red fruits sparkling on that trellis. I love it. Next up, we're going to have shishito peppers. These are the medium sized plants that can be staggered right underneath your tomatoes. They love the filtered sunlight that they get from the tomato trellis and they're perfect companions to the tomatoes growing right alongside them. Next up, we're going to have a row of basil. Basil can get really huge in the middle of the warm season. So instead of putting it on the edge of the bed, we're actually going to plant a row of basil right alongside the peppers. Basil protects your garden from pests. It puts off the smell that repels some of the most important pests that attack tomatoes and peppers. Plus, it's delicious and so good in summer salads. Next up, on the edge of the bed, we're going to have a combination of bush beans and also gem marigolds. Gem marigolds are some of the most fragrant marigolds I've ever grown. They smell so sweet and fresh and they're the best pest repellent. Plus you can even eat them. And then you're going to have bush beans growing right alongside these. So these are going to be planted by seed right along the edge of your garden. This is combination number one. By the end of this season, you're going to have bowls full of tomatoes, you're going to have baskets full of shishitos, you're going to have an overflowing basil abundance. You're going to have pesto for, like, the next year. And then you're going to have bush beans that you can harvest each and every week from the garden, and flowers to put in a vase, too, all from just one garden bed. Plant combination number two, we are still using our panel trellis. This time we're going to have the lovely pole beans growing up. But have you ever grown pole beans? So pole beans do a really cool thing where they produce slower over the season, but they just give you bean after bean after bean. And the flowers are also so beautiful. So pole beans up the panel trellis. Plant these by seed. They're going to grow all season long. And just cover this thing. It's going to be so magical. Next up, we're going to do some bell peppers. So these peppers are going to be staggered right alongside the beans. These plants grow really well together. Bell peppers are going to love the little dappled, filtered shade that they're going to get from the beans growing up the trellis. And you'll have to have, you know, a dinner of peppers and beans. I mean, what else could you want? Right next up here in the middle, we're going to be growing our greens that are medium sized. Most greens are small, but. But we've got two they like to get big, and that is kale and Swiss chard. Kale and Swiss chard. They can handle the heat in the warm season. They are a great green to grow even when it gets hot. You can make salads with them, you can make sauces with them, you can make kale chips, you can make smoothies. I mean, the list goes on. So you're gonna have your good, healthy greens growing right alongside your peppers and beans. So you're gonna have a row or two of these right in front of the peppers. And then finally, right on the edge of the bed, we're gonna have so much color. There's gonna be some nasturtiums and some purple basil. So you're gonna have this bright color, all these flowers heading over the edge of your bed. Plus you're gonna have the beautiful purple, too. So basil is gonna be able to be used as spices and sauces and little, you Know what do you call that? The stuff you just put on the side of your dish to make you look like a gourmet garnish. It's a garnish. And then nasturtiums are the perfect plant for a summer garden. They attract pests. They're like a trap crop. They're going to bring the pests to the flowers so that they don't bother your peppers, your kale, your Swiss chard, and your beans. And you can eat them. You can eat the flowers, you can eat the leaves. They have this nice little peppery flavor to them. So that is plant combination number two. We got pole beans up the panel trellis producing all season long bell peppers right here below them. Also all season long kale and Swiss chard. We got. We're talking greens for days. Like you're going to be the superfood queen. And then finally, nasturtiums and basil for flavor and color. All in one bed in just one season. Because you watched this video. Let's move on to number three. Plant combination number three. This one is awesome because it starts with cucumbers. I was doing a deep dive on, like, the things my family eats a lot of. And oh my gosh, my family can doubt. We just ate like eight cucumbers in the last two, two days between tzatziki sauce and pickles. And my daughter has this like fried rice dish she love. Anyway, we love cucumbers. You're going to love them too. Grow them up this panel trellis. So you're going to plant them by seed and they're going to cover the trellis. There's going to be little yellow flowers and all these little cucumbers you can pick. It's awesome. Right underneath the cucumbers are eggplant. Imagine this with me little mini eggplants growing right underneath the cucumbers. So these lines, the stagger line, you're probably going to plant a little bit less than we have of the peppers because the eggplants get a little bit bigger. But just imagine coming out of the garden with these little mini eggplants and cucumbers, too. But wait, there's more. Next up. I don't have a seed packet to show you this, but shiso is what I was thinking. So shiso is this great garnish. It's kind of got a basil flavor to it, but it really hangs on in the heat. And it's so beautiful. It's like a purple color. So you could plan that right along here in the same way that we did the basil with the first bed, but put shiso right here. And just imagine you'll have the purple shiso, purple eggplant, and the green cucumbers. Oh, so beautiful. And then finally, on the edge of this bed, we're going to do bush beans and this queen lime zinnia. I love this lime colored zinnia. And then the bush beans will be right there. Zinnias can get tall, but putting them on the edge of your bed, they're going to kind of drape over the edge and keep them cut. Cut the blooms, bring them indoors, and that'll keep the plant under control so it doesn't shade out the others. But this is a perfect combination. This is if you're looking for a lot of beauty and color, but also production, too. So cucumbers up here, eggplants right below it, then shiso, a line of shiso right in the middle. And then on the edge, you're going to have lime zinnias alongside some bush beans. If you want to really kick it up a notch, put purple bush beans on the edge. I mean, this is going to be like the purple and green bed. It'll be awesome. All right, for combo number four, this is if your warm season is a little bit longer and you've got plenty of time to get some really nice fruit on a big tomato. So I put in a Cherokee purple tomato here. This is going to grow up the trellis. You want to be growing a vining type of tomato for this. Not a determinant. So not a bush tomato, a vining type. You need all season for this thing to really fruit for you. So you need to have a warm season that goes from like, May or June all the way to September. Then right underneath it, we're going to have serrano peppers. So again, just staggering our peppers right underneath these tomatoes, but using a different variety so that we can cook more with more flavor. And then right underneath this one, I'm adding a new little line here. And this is going to be adding some carrots. So this carrot is going to have the shade of your tomatoes and of your peppers. And you can bring your carrots through the summer with the shade of those other plants. So instead of doing a basil here, you could do one or two, maybe even three or four lines of carrots right alongside underneath those peppers. Then another addition for this plan we're getting advanced here is one more line of plants, and that would be right here before you hit the edge of your bed. And. And you're going to put arugula all along that edge before you hit the final edge of the raised bed. Arugula can be planted by seed, and if it's got the shade of all these other plants, you can push it into the warm season and still get lots of harvest. Then finally, on the edge of the bed, we're going to do basil and calendula. So both these plants were going to grow right along the edge of this bed with the idea that they're going to spill over the edge and they're going to act as an incredible living fence for for your garden. So the calendula is a trap crop. The basil puts off a strong smell between the two of them. They're going to provide this one, two punch for the pest. Keep them off this bed so that your arugula stays healthy, your peppers stay protected, your carrots stay protected, and you get tons of tomatoes, too. So this last combination, large slicing tomatoes, serrano peppers right underneath. Then we've got a few rows of carrots, one row of arugula. I added that extra bonus in for you at this stage. 4. Then finally on the end, we're going to have a ton of basil and calendula, too. So here's the deal. I didn't just blindly pull all these seeds out of my box and put them together. There's a science to it. There is a reason that certain plants grow together well and others don't. It's because these are all different types of plants. And when packed together in one garden, it is pure magic. I call this the Gardenary Planting Method. And I have so many resources that teach this method and in detail. So if you want to learn more about the method and how you can do this in your own garden, I have some links right below this video that you can check out. But before you do that, I gotta know what's one type of plant that you were surprised to see in some of these plant combinations? And one that you had a little aha moment that you should be putting in your garden this season. I can't wait to read your comments. Thanks so much for listening to the Grow youw Self podcast. 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