Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Found a website on Tomato Companion planting....

it says;



Wondering if the Crucifers part of this applies too AP or not.. cos mine are surrounded by Broc, Cauli and lettuce

The one tomato I have in the AP out of 3 that is doing ok is in a corner of a bed surrounded by broccoli

Mmmm - I have no doubt there is some scientific basis behind companion planting, however, like old wives tales, they've been discovered/developed over a long time - and all that time has been based around planting in soil.

I believe we will need to pick up/learn all about these beneficial relationships (and the new ones) with AP as we're starting from scratch.

While AP similar systems have been around for a hell of a long time, they've never had the variety of plants/veges that are available to us now. Furthermore, all hydroponics research to date has primarily been around growing 1-3 species in high concentration with extremely limited scope for companion planting benefits to be observed.

Who said space was the last frontier ?

Well mine seem to be doing well got some tiny toms now, found them while pollinating, went and got some small paint brushes (craft style) and done some pollenating will be good too see some big fruit kicking in

Yeah, maybe some bad companion plants in dirt are because they rob the other plant of nutrients. But in AP the nutrients are constantly renewed, so maybe not bad at all,

That was along my lines of thinking

Tomatoes seem to enjoy growing with basil its damn convenient when picking too

Yeah they reckon Basil is the best companion plant for Tomatoes - something to do with pest deterrence? Not sure.
I think nematodes in the soil have something to do with some plants not being good growing together too but may be wrong.
Have heard that Tomatoes and Capsicums are really bad to grow near each other to the point of washing your hands between touching them - even read that its best to handle one 1 day and the other the next. I think its the Caps that are supposed to suffer. Anyone had problems growing them next to each other?

interesting . .my cap next to my tomatoplant is flowerin but no fruit . .but the chilli plant next to the cap is going great huns. chilli platn also shades cap
hmmmm

I just pulled out some capsicums that were not doing well next to the tomatoes (dirt garden). At least I may have found an excuse why my green thumb went mouldy yet again

i've done extensive testing with different crops beside each other, and i have to say i've found companion planting to be an old wifes tale.

for example the tomato originates from mexico where basil comes from india, so there's not any kind of naturally occurring relationship there. without man the 2 wouldn't have met. some plants have natural chemical defenses against attack, but i haven't observed that ever extending beyond those plants to companions.

I've got masses of basil in with a tomato plant and it's still getting the same attention from pests at it's brother without basil. I'd love to see an actual scientific study that proves companion planting as even remotely as effective as real pest control measures.

I guess you could say i'm throwing down the gauntlet - someone plant 2 IDENTICAL beds and lets see if there's a difference

Planting flowers near or in your crop is a companion planting which attracts insects which pollinate and things like marigolds are supposed to attract insect eating insects which will keep the nasties in check.

I've read that comfrey is a good companion plant because it has very deep roots which brings the nutrients up from deeper in the soil.

These are the only two I know of that I know the "scientific" explanation (albeit vague).

Marigolds and tomatoes have worked fine for
me in a dirt garden.

I'm currently reading Gaia's Garden (book on permaculture) and I'm looking for any links on "plant guilds" or just plain companion planting guides that aren't old wives tales. If anyone has some links they like that's be awesome thanks!

The only credible one i've read is the roots of some plants excrete nematode killing chemicals, so you could rotate them through a field every other season and help control your nematode issues.