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  • #1

    Companion planting query

    Evening all,

    I was reading a book on companion planting (Josie jeffery, Good companions) where you can match up various plants to see if they are good companions.

    I though about Tomatoes and Runner beans and I know that they can be planted after each other but I wondered the following: can I plant them both together and will the runner beans supply the tomatoes with nitrogen as they are growing (as opposed to waiting for them to die and rot in the ground then planting the tomatoes there in the following year)?

    The reason I ask this is I read somewhere a while back that these crops should not be planted together :S

    Many thanks for your help,

    Samuel
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  • #2
    I wouldn't plant toms and runners together because they're both tall growers that need sun. The beans would shade the toms. Doesn't seem practical to me

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    • #3
      Beans don't release nitrogen to other plants while they are growing - they fix it from the air in nodules on their roots and use it themselves.

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      • #4
        Rusty you always answer the one question I know! But I have grown a few bush tomatoes in front on my bean row (which stays in the same place every year ) and it made no difference to the crop. Good or bad.

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        • #5
          If you want to use the space between runner bean canes, I always plant winter kale down the middle. its a good use of space and the bean plants keep the flying pigs off the young kale plants. I have done this for years without a problem.
          Roger
          Its Grand to be Daft...

          https://www.youtube.com/user/beauchief1?feature=mhee

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          • #6
            I quite fancy trying this as an experiment with maybe just the one plant of each.......Must find a tall tomato variety.........
            sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
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            • #7
              Cheers everyone.

              When I think about companion planting I think of planting two different plants together which benefit each other as opposed to various examples in the book I mentioned above which I think don't come under this definition (maybe succession planting or something).

              I'm looking to find plants I can grow together which benefit the crops I am trying to grow.

              Maybe I can find another legume but one in which I do not harvest (say it acts as a weed suppressant/attracts pollinators but regularly cut to release organic matter into the soil as the crop (say tomatoes) grows. This would help me avoid/reduce the problem I had this growing season of too many weeds between my toms and the toms getting a disease

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              • #8
                What disease did your tomatoes get Samuel?

                You don't need to plant legumes specifically. Weeds contain plenty or organic matter, and as long as you pull or cut them before they flower and set seed they can be used as a mulch between your plants.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Samuel1988 View Post
                  Tomatoes and Runner beans...I read somewhere a while back that these crops should not be planted together
                  I had a "wild" tomato grow itself up my bean canes this year. Actually, it was growing horizontally, so I just tied it in to the canes. Both toms and beans ripened just fine
                  All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                  • #10
                    It would be possible to grow the two together but is that the same as companion planting? I always thought that there was ment to be some beneficial link .

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                    • #11
                      I've found this list of companion plants quite useful:

                      List of companion plants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
                      My blog: www.grow-veg.uk

                      @Grow_Veg_UK

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