Tomatoes and friends

[Rex Morris]

Has anyone found a successful companion for tomatoes?

[Adhyatma]

Basil...makes them taste nice.

[Isabell Strange]

Hi Rex I am not much of a tomatoe grower as they usually get frosted my side of the mountain. however I have read that they grow well near asparagus,celery, parsley, carrots, basil and chives, but they dont like rosemary, potatoes, kohlrabi and fennel. they apparently like to grow in the same area year after year and prefer compost made from their own stalks and leaves. Sowing iron nails in the soil around them is meant to protect them from cut worm, french marigolds nearby from nemotodes and nettles (stinging) deters mould helping tomatoes to keep better. Perhaps you have tried some of these? some things just help but are not a cure all and there is no substitute for soil quality and moisture.

[Rex Morris]

Hi Isabell

Thanks for the info. I'll certainly try the marigold celery and chives. Have always grown basil next to my tomatoes mainly because a tomato and basil sandwich is so delicious!! I plant my tomatoes in a different place as much as possible each year but also add heaps of compost prior to planting.

Isabell Mary Strange said:

Hi Rex I am not much of a tomatoe grower as they usually get frosted my side of the mountain. however I have read that they grow well near asparagus,celery, parsley, carrots, basil and chives, but they dont like rosemary, potatoes, kohlrabi and fennel. they apparently like to grow in the same area year after year and prefer compost made from their own stalks and leaves. Sowing iron nails in the soil around them is meant to protect them from cut worm, french marigolds nearby from nemotodes and nettles (stinging) deters mould helping tomatoes to keep better. Perhaps you have tried some of these? some things just help but are not a cure all and there is no substitute for soil quality and moisture.

[Sean Kemball]

Well, there's a book called Carrots love Tomatoes, by Louise Riotte... so I guess you could start there.

I find they don't grow well near onions (neither do peppers) but that may just be me, not sure if it's official companion planting lore.

[Pigeon Valley]

Apparently asparagus, carrot, onion, parsley, basil, garlic, margueite daisy,
Toms give lettuce and silverbeet shade
Toms and cabbage and umbellifere (coriander/ celery/ parsley/carrots - as their insects eat pests of toms)

[Katherine Lucas]

Hi everyone
Tomatoes offer shade in the heat of the day so underneath them is a good place to plant lettuces. Lots of basil around them seems to do the trick, I find just one or two plants won't repel any pests at all. Oxheart is the tomato that the tree croppers assn recommend as containing the most anti-oxidants, great for people with cancer. Cooking intensifies the anti-oxidant I have read.
Regards Katherine

[Linnéa Lindstroem]

I'd just like to add that the umbelliferae needs to be allowed to flower to actually attract the beneficial predatory insects. As both parsley and members of the mint family (basil, oregano etc) are recommended as companions for tomatoes, remeber that parsley and basil really inhibit eachother.

Pigeon Valley said:

Apparently asparagus, carrot, onion, parsley, basil, garlic, margueite daisy,
Toms give lettuce and silverbeet shade
Toms and cabbage and umbellifere (coriander/ celery/ parsley/carrots - as their insects eat pests of toms)

[Linnéa Lindstroem]

Well, I've heard that it's not mutual... that the tomato plant benefits, but not the carrot. Haven't tried it yet! In the excellent book "Companion Planting in New Zealand" by Brenda Little nothing is mentioned about carrot-tomato relationships.

Sean Kemball said:

Well, there's a book called Carrots love Tomatoes, by Louise Riotte... so I guess you could start there.

I find they don't grow well near onions (neither do peppers) but that may just be me, not sure if it's official companion planting lore.

[Rachel Rose]

That carrots benefit the growth of tomatoes is mentioned here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants, here http://www.gb0063551.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/seeog/companion/ and here: http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html -- with the warning, as you say, that the carrots will be stunted.

 

Re Sean's comments -- what I'm reading suggests that onions (and other alliums) are supposed to be good for tomatoes. However ... it's all just theory for me right now (I'm writing an assignment on companion planting for an organic horticulture course), although I'm looking forward to testing it out in spring :-)

 

I'm happy to have found this discussion. Thank you to all those who have contributed.

[Yvonne Nikolaison]

Apparently purple tansy is good to help keep the aphids away. I have just planted a couple to see what happens. Fingers crossed. I saw a few aphids on my tomatoes this morning, hence the tansy. Interesting about the Tomatoes providing shade for others I must remember that one.

[Khadisha Harvey]

I had tansy by my garlic and I've had a good crop of garlic.
My problem with tomatoes is the green beetle and apparently something called cleome [sp?] but I cann't find any. Can any help with this.

[Rachel Rose]

An American source I found says that geraniums and petunias will act as a trap crop, attracting the beetles away from the tomatoes. I gave up on a heritage tomato last summer that was covered in green shield bugs -- they weakened the plant and ruined the fruit. I figured out that the problem was the site -- right outside Mum's kitchen window, which was never curtained in summer. Those bugs were attracted by the light that streamed out of an evening. The flowers of carrots and parsnip are supposed to attract beneficial insects, which might include ones that prey on those bugs. Nasturtiums the same.

 

Tansy made into a liquid fertiliser/compost tea is supposed to be great for tomatoes. Same with stinging nettles (you can brew the two together).