Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

By Harry RamosLast update: 2024-04-16

Plants seem harmless. But, when growing some specific types together, you can be killing them. Roll down to discover the reasons:

Melons And Squash

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Both melons and squash have many vines. In a fairy tale, combining vines can create a beautiful bed for princesses. In reality, tangled vines are just a mess. Growing melons and squash in the same area makes managing their vines difficult.

Instead, you should consider growing melons and corn together because melons will spread along the ground to keep weeds from competing for nutrients with corn.

Corn And Tomatoes

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Many gardeners want to grow corn and tomatoes together because they are heavy feeders, but the tall stalks of corn will keep tomatoes from exposing to natural light.

Moreover, both of them are susceptible to the same fungal infections; for example, the destructive corn earworm is known as the tomato fruit worm. Growing corn and tomatoes together just provides harmful pests a large meal.

Marigold And Beans

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Growing beans (legumes) can improve soil drainage by fixing nitrogen, while growing marigolds can repel many kinds of pests. These are just right if you don’t grow them together.

I used to grow marigolds and beans together, and this way just brings a large infestation of spider mites. Although I got some great harvest in the first few weeks, I must pull them all out soon.

Lettuce And Onions

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Combining lettuce and onion in a recipe gives you a great taste, but growing them in the same place is another story.

Lettuce competes for the same nutrients with onions, while the letter emits chemicals inhibiting the lettuce growth.

Cauliflower And Broccoli

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

You might grow cauliflower and broccoli together because they have a similar look.

Apart from their appearance, they attract the same pests and diseases. If you don’t want to deal with many harmful insects, plant them separately.

Potatoes And Tomatoes

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

They are in the same family, so it’s easy to grow together, right?

No.

Actually, you shouldn’t grow potatoes and tomatoes together. Potatoes will slow the normal growth of tomatoes, while tomatoes contribute to the potato blight. Plus, they are usually attacked by the same pests and diseases.

So, don’t grow potatoes and tomatoes together, even if you don’t grow potatoes in a place where you used to grow tomatoes.

Sunflower And Other Plants

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Sunflowers can attract many hordes of pollinators, helping your plant set fruit, so this is the favorite plant of most gardeners. They are great when growing alone, but you shouldn’t grow them with other plants.

First, the tall sunflowers produce shape, so the shorter plants will lack sunlight.

Next, their roots and the seed heads emit chemicals, killing nearby plants.

Therefore, you had better keep sunflowers and other plants at a safe distance of twelve inches. With seed heads, you need to harvest them before maturing and dropping.

Onions And Garlic

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?Combining onions and garlic in cooking, you have many healthy recipes.

But, growing them in an area can slow their growth. Furthermore, they attract the same pests and diseases. This means that you are providing them with 2 significant sources of food in an area. It is easy to feed and destroy your garden, right?

Cauliflower And Cabbage

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

You can easily find many delicious cauliflower and cabbage recipes on the Internet, but planting them together can’t have good cauliflower and cabbage.

Both of them are afflicted by club roots, making the roots swell, so the roots can’t take up water, leading to death quickly.

Asparagus And Fruits With Vegetables

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Although asparagus can repel most pests, affecting marigolds and basil, they don’t work well with fruits and vegetables, especially potatoes, onions, and garlic, which hog much space in the soil.

If you try to grow asparagus and other plants together, they can be stunted in the growth because they can’t take enough nutrients.

Strawberries And Cabbage

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

If you want to grow both strawberries and cabbage in a small garden, you had better grow strawberries in a dedicated bed or a container garden. Then, you put it far away from the area where you grow your cabbage.

These plants are an attractive combination of pests. While cabbage attracts pests through its soft nature, strawberries feature their sweet taste.

To solve this problem, you can grow strawberries with onions, sage, and thyme to repel properties. Growing cabbages with herbs, thyme, onion, mints, rosemary, dill, or celery can keep many pests away.

Beans And Garlic

Buttery garlic green beans are so good, but a garden of beans and garlic isn’t great.

They might not thrive or grow off-flavors.

Cucumber And Basil

Why Shouldn’t You Grow These Plants Together?

Basil can add flavor to a dish with cucumber. When it comes to growing, the strong flavor of basil badly affects the taste of cucumber.

Pumpkins And Potatoes

Many growers love growing pumpkins because their vines can serve as a living mulch that retains the soil moisture and repels pests and weeds. However, this benefit is too much for potatoes.

In general, you shouldn’t grow plants with a big height difference together because one plant can take the sunlight. What’s more, you shouldn’t grow plants that will complete nutrients and water together.

I’m Harry Ramos, who's crazy about all things green. I’m here to share some experience in my gardening adventure and how to choose the best products for your garden. Let's dig in, get our hands dirty, and celebrate the simple, earthy pleasures of the garden together!


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