Tomato Companion Plants

Some things just go together, and the same holds true in gardening. When a gardener plants tomatoes by certain other plants, such as basil, both benefit. Some plants act as pest repellents while others are thought to improve the taste of the fruit, though this isn’t scientifically proven. The tomato benefits the companion plants as well, providing much needed shade on hot days. If you use containers, you can plant the tomato with its companion in the same pot or place the pots near each other.

Basil

Basil plants have shallow roots while many tomato plants have deep roots. The tomato’s roots draw nutrients up to the top of the soil soil, while the roots of basil provide a protective cover against erosion. Growing basil underneath a tomato plant may improve the taste of the tomato. The two plants can provide some protection for each other as well. Basil may deter flies while attracting beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, to the garden. The leaves of the tomato can block the sun for basil, which prefers partial shade.

Marigold and Calendula

Planting marigolds alongside of tomatoes not only gives the garden a boost of color, it also attracts bees and keeps away the nasty bugs, such as harmful species of nematodes, little worms that damage the roots of a tomato plant. Calendula, an edible flower also known as pot marigold, keeps tomato hornworms, large, green caterpillars with a horn on one end, that like to eat the leaves and fruit of tomatoes, away, according to Gayla Trail, author of “Grow Great Grub.”

Borage

Borage, an herb with lovely blue flowers, also apparently makes tomatoes taste better when grown nearby. There’s no scientific proof of this, but growing borage with tomatoes certainly won’t harm either plant. Like calendula, borage deters tomato hornworms, according to Trail. Its flowers also attract bees and wasps, which pollinate the tomato and can help keep harmful insects away. Borage is traditionally thought to help tomatoes resist diseases as well, according to Michigan State University Extension.

Nasturtium

Nasturtium planted near tomatoes will trick unwanted pests, such as aphids. They’ll flock to the nasturtium, a type of edible flower, and ignore the tomato or any other plants nearby. Once the bugs have gathered on the nasturtium, the gardener can remove it and the bugs from the garden. While it attracts aphids, the nasturtium plant deters others, such as white flies, according to Chemull County at Cornell’s Cooperative Extension. It may also attract beneficial, predatory insects to the garden for an added boost of protection.