Vegetables

Marigolds have a reputation as the garden’s bodyguard, yet they have their own troubles: spider mites, slugs and powdery mildew. Companion planting means growing different plants

Slugs, aphids and summer heat do most of the damage in a lettuce bed, and companion plants can help with only two of those three. No

Carrot rust fly maggots tunnel through the root, leaving rusty channels that invite soft rot, and chemical control is generally unreliable. Companion planting offers a few

Mexican bean beetles can strip green bean leaves to lace and cost a badly hit crop 20 to 50 percent of its yield (Cornell), and the

Basil bolts faster than almost any other herb in the summer garden, and once it flowers, the leaves turn bitter and aphid pressure spikes. A few

Peppers are a magnet for aphids and thrips from the moment they go in the ground, and a plant this slow to establish cannot afford to

Root-knot nematodes, aphids, and pod-feeding stink bugs are the pressure points that make okra companion planting worth planning carefully. The best companions do not promise magic;

Cucumber beetles are one of the most destructive forces in the vegetable garden — and they don’t just eat foliage. They transmit bacterial wilt, a disease

Spinach growers fight a near-constant battle with leaf miners — tiny larvae that tunnel between the leaf surfaces and ruin entire harvests in a matter of

Kale is one of the easiest crops to grow — until the aphids arrive, the flea beetles strike, and the cabbage worms move in. Being a