Beans are an excellent garden plant. It is easy to grow, contributes to nitrogen fixation in the soil, providing your plants with inexhaustible nutrients, and is a good partner in a mixed culture. So if you're planning an organic garden, it's only logical to find the best companions for it. In this article we address this very question – which plants make good neighbors for beans!
What is the right location for bean plants in the garden?
Beans belong to the legume family (Fabaceae) and are easy to grow in the garden if you consider a few factors. First of all, remember that it is sensitive to frost. Therefore, plant them in May at the earliest, when the last frosts have passed. Find a sunny to partially shaded spot and ensure loose, moist soil. You can sow bean plants in two different ways – in rows 30-40cm apart or in clumps 10cm apart. To find good neighbors for beans, you must first understand what intercropping is and how one plant can benefit from another.
What is mixed culture and how do beans fit into it?
Mixed cultivation means that you select plants for your garden that have similar needs in terms of location and soil and complement each other in their growth habits, but that's not all. Each plant in a mixed culture attracts pests that feed on the pests of the other plant or repels them with its smell. This way you get healthier vegetables and more beneficial pollinating insects.
Beans are an excellent onePartner in a mixed culture. This is due to its ability to bind nitrogen, which it also releases to neighboring crops. It can be ideally combined with heavy feeders such as cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes, etc., but also with shallow-rooted plants, as it develops its own, very deep roots. Like other vegetables, beans should not be planted near plants of the same family.
Mixed culture with vegetables - a list of which plants go together and which don't,you can get it here!
Good neighbors for beans – tomatoes and basil
Tomatoes are a vegetable that combines well with beans because they can reduce the appearance of pests that damage the legumes. And while tomatoes provide protection from pests, their nitrogen-fixing neighbors can in return provide ground cover to prevent disease organisms from getting onto tomato leaves.
For its part, basil can help keep pests such as aphids away from beans and tomatoes. Research shows that the presence of basil under bean plants results in lower mite infestations and better harvests.
Which are bad neighbors for tomatoes? You can do thatfind out here!
Catnip and marigold repel pests
Catnip is a great herb for garden beds near green bean plants because it repels flea beetles, a common pest that likes to harass bean plants.
Marigolds are always on the companion plant list for good reason. These flowers repel harmful insects that like to attack bean plants. They produce a substance that helps suppress and repel nematodes. Nematodes are microscopic worms that attack the roots of plants. Unfortunately, you won't be able to spot them until it's too late and your plant has died. Therefore, it would be very beneficial to have marigolds in your mixed crops.
Potatoes and beans help each other
Planting beans and potatoes together makes more than sense because the two crops ward off pests that are harmful to the other. Potato plants repel the Mexican beetle, while beans keep the Colorado potato beetle away. So the two plants really benefit from each other and form a symbiotic relationship.
Radishes attract beneficial insects
Radishes are one of the plants that too many gardeners forget to plant. If you leave the radish flowers in the ground, they will attract beneficial insects and confuse the pests that are preying on your bean plants.
Cucumbers and rosemary promote stronger growth
Cucumbers form a symbiosis with beans. They are good neighbors for beans as they promote stronger growth, while the nitrogen supply from the legumes helps the cucumbers produce a bountiful harvest.
Which plants are bad neighbors for cucumbers, you canfind out here!
One of the herbs you should grow along with bean plants is rosemary. Grow them close together to improve overall bean growth.
Corn serves as a natural support for bush beans
If you choose to grow French beans, the corn will serve as a natural support system and create space in the garden for other plants. Additionally, French beans can tolerate the shade that corn creates, and because their roots are at different depths, the two crops do not compete for water and nutrients.
Other plants that make good neighbors for beans include:
- Pumpkins
- eggplant
- Broccoli
- Strawberries
- Kale
- Salat
- Carrots
- Mangold
- Brussels sprouts
- Beets
Also interesting:Planting marigold flowers in the vegetable patch: advantages & tips
