Garden Guides

Practical, evidence-aware help from seed to harvest.

A productive mixed vegetable bed demonstrating practical companion planting

How Companion Planting Really Works

What research actually supports about plant partnerships, which popular claims have no evidence, and how to use companion planting without fooling yourself.

8 min read · Companion Planting

Browse by topic

Getting StartedPlan your garden with confidence
Pests & DiseasesIdentify problems and find solutions
Seeds & TransplantsStart strong for successful growth
Containers & Small SpacesBig impact in small places
Soil & WaterBuild living soil and wise water habits
Succession & HarvestKeep your garden producing
Companion PlantingSmarter combinations, better results
Crop RotationProtect soil health and reduce pests
Evidence & MethodHow claims are tested and classified

Explore popular guides

Starting Seeds IndoorsTiming from your last frost date, containers and mix, light and temperature, watering,… 7 min read · Seeds & Transplants Build Healthy Garden SoilTexture, structure, organic matter, pH and drainage: what to test, what to add, how much… 8 min read · Soil & Water Plan a Productive Raised BedSize, depth, orientation, paths, soil mix, what to grow in a first bed, and how the… 7 min read · Getting Started Trap Crops ExplainedA trap crop is a managed system, not a plant placed nearby: it needs a pest that prefers… 6 min read · Companion Planting Flowers for Beneficial InsectsWhich flowers feed hoverflies, lacewings, parasitic wasps and bees, why small open… 7 min read · Companion Planting Container Vegetables That ThriveContainer sizes that actually work, potting mix, watering and feeding, support, the crops… 6 min read · Containers & Small Spaces Relay and Succession CroppingUsing one bed for more than one crop in a season: relay planting where crops overlap… 6 min read · Succession & Harvest Crop Rotation by Plant FamilyWhy rotation is about previous seasons, which families carry which soil-borne risks, a… 7 min read · Crop Rotation

Getting Started (2)

Frost Dates vs. Hardiness ZonesWhy a USDA zone is not a vegetable planting schedule, where frost dates come from, how uncertain they are, and how to confirm your own.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Plan a Productive Raised BedSize, depth, orientation, paths, soil mix, what to grow in a first bed, and how the planner turns bed dimensions into a grid of real plant footprints.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Pests & Diseases (8)

Aphids: Identify, Prevent and ManageRecognising aphids and their signs, the natural enemies that usually control them, when to act, and the companion evidence that actually applies (insectary flowers, not repellent herbs).6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Blossom End Rot: Causes and PreventionThe sunken black patch at the base of tomatoes, peppers and squash is a calcium-transport problem caused by uneven watering, not a disease and rarely a soil calcium shortage.4 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Cabbage White Caterpillars and Other Brassica PestsCabbage white butterflies, diamondback moth, cabbage root fly, flea beetles and cabbage aphid: recognising each, the one protection that covers them all, and the trap and living-mulch evidence.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Clubroot in BrassicasA soil-borne disease that swells and distorts brassica roots and persists for a decade or more. Recognition, why rotation alone is not enough, liming, drainage and resistant cultivars.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Cucumber Beetles and Bacterial WiltStriped and spotted cucumber beetles chew seedlings and spread bacterial wilt that kills vines suddenly. Row cover until flowering and a Blue Hubbard perimeter trap crop are the documented non-chemical strategies.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Late Blight on Tomato and PotatoPhytophthora infestans attacks both tomatoes and potatoes, spreads by airborne spores in wet weather, and is the reason the planner keeps the two apart. Recognition, prevention and what to do when it arrives.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Powdery Mildew on Squash, Cucumbers and PeasThe white dusty coating that arrives in late summer: which plants get it, why spacing and airflow matter more than wet leaves, resistant cultivars, and what sprays do and do not do.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Slugs and Snails: Prevention and ControlWhy seedlings vanish overnight, how to reduce slug habitat, the barriers and traps with evidence, and which controls are safe around pets and wildlife.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Seeds & Transplants (1)

Starting Seeds IndoorsTiming from your last frost date, containers and mix, light and temperature, watering, hardening off and the common failures: leggy seedlings, damping off and transplant shock.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Containers & Small Spaces (1)

Container Vegetables That ThriveContainer sizes that actually work, potting mix, watering and feeding, support, the crops worth growing in pots and the ones that are not.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Soil & Water (2)

Build Healthy Garden SoilTexture, structure, organic matter, pH and drainage: what to test, what to add, how much compost, and why mulch does more than most fertilisers.8 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
How Much Water Do Vegetables Need?Roughly 2.5 cm a week, more in heat and sand, delivered deeply and less often; which crops need steady moisture, which need dry feet, and how to group them.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Succession & Harvest (2)

Harvest Forecast and Preservation PlanningEstimating when and how much each crop will yield from the number of plants, spacing and days to maturity, and matching the glut to freezing, drying, fermenting and storage.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Relay and Succession CroppingUsing one bed for more than one crop in a season: relay planting where crops overlap briefly, succession sowing for continuous harvests, and how to time both from your frost dates.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Companion Planting (7)

Competition: Light, Roots, Water, Nutrients and AccessWhy an alleged companion pair can still be a poor physical fit, how the planner checks light, root zones, water, pH, fertility and harvest access, and what to do about each.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Flowers for Beneficial InsectsWhich flowers feed hoverflies, lacewings, parasitic wasps and bees, why small open flowers matter more than showy ones, and how to keep a strip flowering all season.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
How Companion Planting Really WorksWhat research actually supports about plant partnerships, which popular claims have no evidence, and how to use companion planting without fooling yourself.8 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Intercropping FundamentalsHow two crops share one bed: complementary use of light, water and nutrients in space and time, the land-equivalent ratio, and the trade-offs that come with it.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Living Mulch: Ground Cover Between CropsUndersowing a crop with a low ground cover such as white clover: how it reduces brassica pests, what it costs in yield, and how to manage the competition.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Physical Support, Wind Shelter and ShadePlants as structures: corn for beans, tall crops as windbreaks, and deliberate shade for summer lettuce. Where the evidence is solid and where it is just sensible geometry.5 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
Trap Crops ExplainedA trap crop is a managed system, not a plant placed nearby: it needs a pest that prefers it, an earlier start, a perimeter position, monitoring, and destruction of the pests it collects.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Crop Rotation (1)

Crop Rotation by Plant FamilyWhy rotation is about previous seasons, which families carry which soil-borne risks, a practical three- to four-year plan, and what to do in a garden with only one or two beds.7 min · reviewed August 15, 2026

Evidence & Method (2)

Allelopathy: Why Lab, Pot and Field Evidence DifferPlants do make chemicals that inhibit other plants, but most garden claims about fennel, sunflower or walnut rest on laboratory bioassays that do not reproduce in soil. What counts as proof.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026
How to Run a Simple Garden ComparisonA fair way to test a companion claim in your own garden: paired plots, one difference, a written prediction, counts instead of impressions, and honest limits when you report it.6 min · reviewed August 15, 2026