What is companion planting and how can it benefit your garden?
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Spring is right around the corner and garden prep is happening across the country.
How are you going to get the most out of your garden this year?
A tried-and-true method that may help is companion planting; the act of planting one or more plants together for an overall benefit.
“It saves space, it helps the soil, you know, support one plant can support the others and then we can also break up some disease and insect cycles with companion plantings,” said David Richmond, a WVU Extension Agent.
Getting your garden prepped for spring
Some examples of this include planting corn and beans together. As the corn grows taller, the beans will trellis up the stalk. This saves space in your garden and allows the bean vines to give further support to the corn stalk.
Another example is planting marigolds around your tomatoes and peppers. The scent of marigolds is incredible off-putting to some detrimental insects like flea beetles. So planting them around your tomatoes and peppers will keep the flea beetles from munching on your crops.
Finally adding legumes such as peas or beans to your garden can benefit your soil. Legumes absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere and put it back into the soil to help reduce your fertilizer needs.
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