DIY Network

Gardening Techniques: Companion Planting Fostering mutually beneficial relationships among plants to create a healthy garden "ecosystem" From "Dirt On Gardening" episode DDOG-104

The Dirt on Gardening visits Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) in California and meets Sally Jean Cunningham, self-taught gardener and author of the book Garden Companions. Sally and OAEC garden manager Doug Gosling discuss creative ways to pair varieties of plants for the mutual benefit of all. Examples of this practice include planting select varieties of flowers--known to drive away certain insect pests--among a vegetable garden. It's a philosophical and natural approach to gardening that combines both beauty and bounty, and which mimics some of nature's own systems.

Sally Jean Cunningham discusses concepts of mutually beneficial plant selection.

Sally Jean quite literally wrote the book on companion planting.

advertisement

Sally and Doug discuss how growing certain plant varieties in close proximity to one another can help both thrive, and how a carefully integrated garden creates a balanced "mini-ecosystem" in which the plants attract beneficial insects while warding off harmful ones.

"It's really a matter of making a complex, bio-diverse system--a little like a rainforest," says Sally, "where there are plants that serve many functions, there are living creatures--from birds to toads, frogs and beneficial insects."

Carefully selecting flowering plants, such as some in the daisy family, an the right kinds of herbs and groundcover, and planting them strategically among the vegetable garden can create a mutual benefit for all of the species being cultivated. Chief among the reasons for companion planting is attracting beneficial insects--some of which dine on the harmful and destructive ones.

	Media Watch the Video

Though the OAEC garden is carefully thought out, there is a place for the randomness of nature, as well. "We intentionally plant companion plants," says Doug, "but we also allow a lot to happen in the garden by itself. We have a seed-saving garden, the soil is full of seeds, and a lot of things volunteer. And sometimes they volunteer in really nice combinations."

Watch the video to find out more about companion planting and the OAEC.

Go to next article in DIY's "Green Gardener" series.