Tomatoes should not be missing in your own garden. Here, however, the question arises as to which other plants the tomatoes can enter into a mixed culture with, because not all of them get along as neighbors.
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Advantages of tomato mixed culture
If different plant species are grown next to each other in a mixed culture, this can definitely have advantages, provided the plants get along with each other. Incompatibilities can arise due to different demands on the soil or the location. However, if everything fits together, the tomatoes can be cultivated with various other plant species in a bed. This can have the following advantages in a tomato mixed culture:
- Tomatoes are protected from pests
- these do not like the smell of neighboring plants
- Growth can be improved
- some flowers attract more insects
- Tomato flowers are better pollinated
- Harvest can be increased
- Tomatoes take on flavors from neighboring plants
Good plant neighbors
The good neighbors for the tomato plants are those who not only get along with the tomato plants and can therefore be cultivated together. The good plant neighbors also offer the tomatoes other advantages, such as a strong scent that drives away the pests or a well-nourished soil through root exudates.
Basilikum (Ocimum basilicum)
- Effect intensified by growing it together with parsley
- protects against whitefly
- also against powdery mildew
cress
- Kapuzinerkresse (Tropaeolum)
- Protection against aphids
- also the garden cress (Lepidium sativum)
Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)
- exudes odor through essential oils
- protects against aphids
- Parsley is a weak feeder
- hardly needs any nutrients
- therefore also a good plant neighbor for tomatoes
Ringelblumen (Calendula officinalis)
- are also considered medicinal plants
- attract bees and bumblebees
- also fly to the tomato blossoms
- for rich harvest of tomatoes
- can be planted as a wall between bad neighbors
Salads
- many types of lettuce fit well as neighbors of tomatoes
- Kopfsalat (Lactuca sativa var. Capitata)
- grows very large
- Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
- Feldsalat (Valerianella)
- Rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)
- grow smaller
- all three can also be used as gap fillers when there is a lack of space
Sellerie (Apium graveolens)
- Aroma of celery gives way to tomato fruits
- taste more aromatic
Asparagus (Asparagus)
- helps against tomato wilt (Fusarium wilt)
- drives the fungus out of the ground
- especially in an already infested bed
- Plant tomatoes after the asparagus are cut
Studentenblumen (Tagetes)
- work against all kinds of diseases
- Fungal infestation, viruses, bacteria
- also against whitefly
- give off a very strong scent
- don’t like many insects
- also make the bed colorful
Zucchini (Cucurbita pine var. Giromontiina)
- both require sufficient fertilizer
- good for heavy-duty tomatoes
- helps to grow healthy tomato plants
- also to a rich tomato harvest
- Zucchini need enough sun
- pay attention to this when planting
Bad plant neighbors
Plants that belong to the poor plant neighbors of tomatoes should under no circumstances be planted in the immediate vicinity and in the same bed. Because then the tomato mixed culture will not have a positive effect on living together. In such a case, the harvest can be very sparse, both for the tomatoes and for the bad neighbors. The reason for this is usually the different demands on a location of the different plants.
Peas (Pisum sativum)
- Big need of space
- also at the roots
- Peas and tomatoes stunt each other’s growth
- both plant species wither
Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus)
- Tomatoes and cucumbers need different locations
- therefore absolutely bad plant neighbors
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)
- both so-called heavy feeders
- both need a lot of nutrients
- take them away from each other
- both plants respond with stunted growth
- Fruits and tubers too small and not enough
- Tomato can get sick with the fungus Phytophthora
Conditionally suitable neighbors
In addition to the plants that are considered good or bad neighbors for the tomato plants, there are also some that can be grown together in a tomato mixed culture, but then also have certain requirements for care and are therefore not as easy to care for as neighbors of the Tomatoes are and need a little more time.
Garden strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa)
- Tomatoes need a lot of water
- Garden strawberries don’t
- garden strawberries lose their aroma if they are given a lot of water
- too much shade for low garden strawberry under tomato plant
Paprika (Capsicum)
- make sure there is enough light
- Pepper plants are smaller than tomatoes
- leave enough space between the plants
- always give enough fertilizer
- Tomatoes are heavy feeders
- could peppers steal the nutrients
Neutral plant neighbors
There are many plants that can find a place in a bed together with tomatoes, but they do not have a negative or really positive effect on each other. Nevertheless, due to a lack of space in the garden, it is often important to put some plants in a common bed in a tomato mixed culture. The following plants get along well with tomatoes and sometimes with each other:
- Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris var. nanus)
- Chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum)
- Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea var. Gongylodes L.)
- Knoblauch (Allium sativum)
- Lauch (Allium ampeloprasum)
- More (Zea mays)
- Carrots (Daucus)
- Radish (Raphanus sativus var. sativus)
- Rettich (Raphanus sativus)
- Spinat (Spinacia oleracea)
Mint (Mentha), parsnips (Pastinaca sativa) and chicory (Cichorium) are also among the plants that can find a place in a tomato bed.
