Companion Planting

For centuries, people did not plant the way they do today, with long straight rows of single species of plants. We call these monocultures, when a farmer grows just one crop for many acres. Think: corn fields. The Anishinaabe have not traditionally planted in monocultures, though. Most indigenous peoples of Turtle Island have a history of companion planting.

What is companion planting? It’s exactly what it sounds like: planting crops and vegetables close to the plants they ‘get along with’ and far away from the plants they ‘don’t like’. When we plant different plants next to each other, they can benefit one another.

For example, many plants have natural defenses to protect themselves from pests. Although we humans love the taste of onions and garlic, the spice of the chili pepper, and the medicine of tobacco, these chemical compounds are actually created by the plants so that their predators -- everything from aphids to deer -- will avoid them. What this means is that we can use these aromatic plants as a kind of barrier to protect our more vulnerable plants from getting eaten. You can plant garlic and onion along the perimeter of your garden to protect your tomatoes and cucumbers.

Another way that plants can benefit one another is through biodiversity. Biodiversity means that there is more than one kind of living thing in an area. Planting different plants together in companion planting allows plants with shallow roots to soak up water and nutrients close to the surface while neighboring plants with deeper roots can reach further down for the nutrients the shallow roots can’t reach. In this way, the plants don’t compete for nutrients, and no space is wasted.

Many gardeners companion plant their tomato with basil. The basil smell keeps pests away from the tomatoes and even enhances their flavor. Plus, you can harvest them together to make a delicious spaghetti sauce!

Another example is planting pollinator-attracting flowers near your squash and pumpkins, since they are not self-pollinating and require the hard work of bees, butterflies, and other pollinating species to create fruit.

However, the most famous indigenous example of companion planting, surely, is the Three Sisters Garden. Based on the story of the three sisters, who could not survive without the other and were strengthened when together, the three crops in a Three Sisters Garden support each other. The corn provides the stalk for the beans to trellis upward. The pole beans collect nitrogen from the air and make it available to the corn and the squash. The squash provides ground cover to keep the weeds down while enjoying the nitrogen of the beans as well. And all three make a delicious soup when the harvest is ready. People plant their Three Sisters Gardens in different ways; some make mounds, while others plant in circles or rows. How you plant them can vary, but the three together make great companions in the garden.

Want to know more about which plants grow well together? Check out this link at the University of Minnesota’s extension page. Google and YouTube are both overflowing with creative examples to make your garden more resilient and biodiverse.