Vegetables: which plants are compatible?

A mixed culture is the specific planting of vegetables that support each other in growth. Accordingly, so-called bad neighbors are dispensed with. A good mixed culture saves a lot of work during the season.

Advantages of mixed cultures

The mixed cultivation of vegetables has already saved many gardeners a lot of work. In addition to crop rotation, mixed cultures are one of the most important concepts in the garden. The aim of mixed culture is that the vegetables that you plant next to each other support each other. However, what this support looks like can be very different.

• mutual defense against pests
• mutual protection against disease
• mutual growth resp. Maturity promotion

Mixed cultures have developed over generations in which it was observed and tried out which types of vegetables get along well with each other and which vegetables tend to hinder each other. It is important that you plant the different types of vegetables in row cultivation. It is irrelevant whether you make rows in a large field and plant variety by variety or combine good neighbors within a bed.

Tip: Beginners often find it easier to start with a mixed culture in beds. It is easier to find good partnerships on a small scale compared to large vegetable fields, where it is more difficult to avoid unfavorable combinations.

A symbiosis of good neighbors

In many gardens there are several crops per cultivated area. A basic distinction is made between the following cultures:

• Preculture
• Main culture
• Post-culture
• Interculture

Finding good neighbors is a challenge when crops change during the growing season. Short precultures such as radishes and various salads are usually followed by longer main cultures. Vegetables with a short growth period can again be used as intermediate crops. But green manure can also be used as an intermediate or post-crop.
Before you start growing your first crops in early spring, you should therefore plan which crops will be next to each other at what time. This will prevent you from having vacancies in flower beds and the vegetables from lacking supportive neighbors.
The symbiosis between the vegetables is often greater than many believe. Because they keep pests away from each other. The classic is the combination of carrots and onions. The intense smell of the carrot green keeps pests like the leek moth away, which not only goes on onions, but also on other leek plants. Conversely, the smell of onions drives away pests that eat carrots.
In addition to mutual support, good partnerships also mean that they do not hinder one another. That is why, for example, there is also a change between shallow and deep-rooted plants and plants that have a narrow, high or broad and expansive growth.

Avoid bad neighbors

Where there are good neighbors, there are also bad combinations. These are vegetables that prevent each other from growing. This is the case when the plants develop at different speeds and one type of the other type takes away light and nutrients. Plants also give off essential oils through stomata, which are not always beneficial for all direct neighbors.
Plants that are preferred by a certain pest group also do not get along well. If these vegetables are planted next to each other, the pests literally eat their way through all crops. In addition, the spread of plant diseases that can affect the same genus or plant family, for example, is favored.
The following plant families are particularly at risk of pests and diseases spreading:

• Nightshade family (Colorado potato beetle, late blight)
• Composites (snails, aphids)
• Cruciferous (cabbage white, fleas)
• Cucurbits (snails, powdery mildew)
• Leek plants (leek moth, lily chicken)
• Legumes (black bean louse)
• Umbelliferae (carrot fly)

Another problem besides disease transmission is that plants from the same family are often similar Have requirements for the location, which in turn leads to competition if they are in the immediate vicinity stand.
In addition to good and bad neighbors, there are also so-called neutral neighbors. These plants do not harm each other in the immediate vicinity, but they also do not support each other. If there is no other outcome in the mixed culture table with the selected plants, a neutral neighbor can, however, also be chosen. This at least prevents the plants from interfering with each other.

Strong and weak consumers

Especially in older mixed culture tables, heavy and weak consumers play an important role. Due to the fact that the vegetables in the garden usually have more than enough nutrients available, this can be neglected. More relevant, however, is the change between high and low consumers in crop rotation. A lot can be saved here in fertilization.

Gather your own experience

The mixed culture is based on the experience of several generations. Due to the fact that there are constantly new varieties, which are mainly bred in the direction of resistance, to the When the market comes, it is important to make your own observations as to which plants get along and which do not.

Tip: Keep your own observations, which plants get along and which do not, in a garden diary. Add to each plant or Vegetable variety on its own page and note your experiences with good and bad neighbors.

Table of important combinations

• Plant species - good neighbors - bad neighbors
• Artichokes - cucumbers, lettuce, celery - potatoes
• Eggplant - beans - peppers, tomatoes
• Basil - tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, fennel - X
• Cauliflower - French beans, celery, peas - garlic, onion
• Savory - Beans, Beets, Salad - X
• French beans - savory, Chinese cabbage, dill, strawberries, cucumber, potatoes, cabbage, beetroot, radish, Salad, celery, spinach - peas, garlic, fennel, peppers, leeks, chives, onions, runner beans
• Chinese cabbage - beans, peas, spinach - radishes, radish
• Dill - peas, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, corn, radishes, celery, zucchini - beans, potatoes, leeks, garlic, onions, tomatoes
• Strawberries - borage, garlic, lettuce, radishes, spinach - types of cabbage
• Lamb's lettuce - strawberries, radishes - X
• Fennel - peas, cucumber, cabbage, spinach, basil, savory - beans, tomatoes
• Cucumbers - basil, beans, peas, dill, types of cabbage, lettuce, corn, leek, beetroot, onions - tomatoes, potatoes, radish
• Carrots - leeks, Swiss chard, peas, lettuce, tomatoes - beets
• Potatoes - French beans, kohlrabi, corn, spinach - tomatoes, peas, cucumber, pumpkin, onion
• Garlic - strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, beets, tomatoes - peas, beans, types of cabbage
• Cabbage - beans, dill, lettuce, peas, cucumber, beetroot, celery, tomatoes - cabbage types, potatoes, garlic, onions, chives
• Kohlrabi - beans, dill, peas, cucumber, potatoes, leek, radish, celery - types of cabbage
• Leeks - strawberries, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, celery, tomatoes - beans, peas, beets
• Salad - beans, peas, fennel, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, onions, radishes, tomatoes - parsley, celery
• May beet - beans, peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, parsnips, dill - X
• Corn - beans, potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, zucchini - beets
• Swiss chard - French beans, types of cabbage, radishes, lettuce, carrots - beets
• Peppers - cabbage, tomatoes - peas, beets
• Parsnips - potatoes, lettuce, turnip, radish, beetroot, celery, corn - X
• Parsley - cucumber, tomato, onion - lettuce
• Radishes - beans, peas, Swiss chard, carrots, tomatoes - cucumbers, cabbage types
• Beetroot - beans, dill, types of cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, onions, zucchini - potatoes, leek, spinach, chard
• Salsify - kohlrabi, lettuce, carrots, leeks, basil - X
• Celery - French beans, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, leek - peas, potatoes
• Spinach - strawberries, potatoes, types of cabbage, beans, tomatoes - beets, Swiss chard
• Runner beans - cucumbers, potatoes, types of cabbage, radish, beetroot, spinach - French beans, peas, types of leek, paprika
• Tomatoes - French beans - cabbage, carrots, leeks, celery - peas, fennel, cucumber, potatoes, peppers, beets
• Zucchini - basil, runner beans, onions - cucumber
• Onions - dill, beans, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes - beans, peas, potatoes, types of cabbage

Here you can download our mixed culture table for free and easily as a PDF:

Note: Colloquially there are the so-called "three sisters", which are corn, runner beans and pumpkin. These three plants can be planted in the immediate vicinity because the beans can For example, grow tall on the corn and the pumpkin provides enough shade for the corn to have enough Has moisture.

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