Some Plants Grow Well Together, Some Don't

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Some Plants Grow Well Together, Some Don't

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

People who grow fruit and vegetables in their gardens may worry about which plants to plant near each other. Some plants grow well together while others do not.

Studying which plants grow best together in nature can reduce the need for fertilizers and chemicals used to kill harmful insects and unwanted plants, or weeds.

Jessica Damiano is a gardening expert. She often writes about the subject for The Associated Press.

Damiano said Native Americans knew about companion planting hundreds of years ago. The Native American method of growing corn, beans, and squash together is a well-known example. They are called "the three sisters."

Companion planting puts plants together that help each other grow – like, corn, beans, and squash do.

For those three, this is how it works. As the squash grows, its large, prickly leaves cover the ground. They block the sun to keep roots cool. They also keep out weeds and animals. Corn grows tall to support the vines of the beans. And the beans help bring nitrogen into the soil to fertilize¹ all three plants.

Damiano added that other members of the bean family, such as peas and lentils, take nitrogen from the air. They then change it into a form that nourishes the soil and the plants growing in it.

At the end of a growing season, alfalfa or clover can be planted in cleared-out vegetable fields. This adds valuable nutrients² to the soil. With those nutrients you may not need fertilizer during the next growing season.

Keeps bad insects and disease away

Some plants repel³, or keep away, insects. Some plants also can protect against disease.

For example, basil repels⁴ these insects: mites⁵, aphids, mosquitoes, and tomato hornworms. So, growing basil next to tomato plants is a good idea. Basil also has anti-fungal qualities.

Tomatoes, in turn, protect asparagus from beetles⁶. Tomatoes also can protect roses from black spot, an often-deadly fungal disease.

French and African marigolds give off a chemical that repels many insects and kills some kinds of worms. Eelworms, for example, can damage the roots of vegetable and fruit crops.

Chrysanthemums⁷ produce natural chemicals that repel ticks, fleas⁸, mosquitoes, flies, and other insects. The chemicals, known as pyrethrins, do their job so well that they have been copied to create manufactured insect repellents. Damiano asked: Why treat your plants with laboratory-made chemicals when they come from something naturally available and safe?

If your garden has slugs, Damiano suggests growing lavender.

Similarly, chives keep aphids from lettuce⁹ and roses. Sage¹⁰ repels cabbage moths¹¹. Oregano and radishes protect against squash beetles and cucumber beetles.

Damiano says, zinnias and parsnips draw ladybugs to your garden. Ladybugs eat many aphids and cabbage flies. Parsley and dill also draw ladybugs. But choose one or the other. They do not grow well together.

You also want to keep tomatoes away from potatoes, cabbage, and fennel. Tomatoes might make it hard for those plants to grow.

On the other hand, you do want to grow nasturtiums near tomatoes and squash. This edible¹² flower improves the flavor of these vegetables growing nearby.

Be careful with sunflowers. They can stop the growth of beans and potatoes.

Also be careful with onions and garlic. They will hurt the growth of your asparagus, beans, leeks¹³, and parsley. But, onions and garlic help beets¹⁴, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, sage, strawberries, and tomatoes. Onion and garlic protect them against insects and diseases.

Cabbage and cauliflower are in the same vegetable family. But Damiano says not to plant them next to each other. Like family members who argue, they should be seated separately at the dinner table.

Damiano reminds us to plant friends with friends, and everyone will get along. Your garden will thank you.

Words in This Story

garden –n. a piece of ground in which fruits, flowers, or vegetables are grown

companion planting –n. growing different kinds of plants (especially vegetables) close together in an effort to get results that help all of them, such as keeping insects away

prickly –adj. having many sharp points

vine –n. a plant with a very long stem that grows along the ground or climbs up other plants

anti-fungal –adj. having a quality that prevents fungus¹⁵ from growing

slug –n. a soft-bodied creature like a snail¹⁶ without a shell that is a kind of mollusk¹⁷

edible –adj. able to be eaten

flavor –n. the quality of something that affects the sense of taste

1 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 repel   

v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥

参考例句：

• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。
• Particles with similar electric charges repel each other.电荷同性的分子互相排斥。

4 repels   

v.击退( repel的第三人称单数 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• His manner repels me. 他的举止让我厌恶。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her callous attitude repels me. 她冷酷无情的态度引起我的反感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

6 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 chrysanthemums   

n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The cold weather had most deleterious consequences among the chrysanthemums. 寒冷的天气对菊花产生了极有害的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The chrysanthemums are in bloom; some are red and some yellow. 菊花开了， 有红的，有黄的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 fleas   

n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求）

参考例句：

• The dog has fleas. 这条狗有跳蚤。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

10 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

11 moths   

n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

13 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

14 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

15 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

16 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

17 mollusk   

n.软体动物

参考例句：

• I swear I have never seen such a mollusk with thorns all over its body.我敢发誓我从来没有见过这种全身长满棘刺的软体动物。
• The colour varies with the mollusk and its environment.颜色因母体及其环境的不同而异。