By Jennifer Poindexter
Do you practice companion planting? If not, it’s a wise thing to consider. The idea behind companion planting is organizing your garden in a way that plants, which benefit each other, are grown near one another.
Sometimes both plants benefit. In other cases, only one of the plants benefit. Either way, it may lighten your load as the gardener and help boost your harvest.
If you’re interested in growing companion plants for your eggplant crop, I have a few ideas for you. Here are multiple eggplant companion plants to consider:
1. Thyme
Herbs make wonderful companion plants for a variety of vegetables. When it comes to eggplants, thyme is a great selection.
Due to its strong fragrance, this plant is great for keeping unwanted insects away. Thyme is thought to help specifically with deterring moths and aphids.
2. Lavender
Lavender is a beautiful plant with a lovely fragrance. If you’d like to add some subtle charm to your garden, consider adding lavender.
Not only is lavender beautiful and a wonderful addition to your landscape, it’s also thought to be a good companion for eggplant. Because of its scent, lavender also is helpful at keeping pests away.
3. Oregano
Oregano is a delicious herb to grow. It’s a great ingredient for sauces and a great addition to sandwiches or pizza.
If you’re interested in growing oregano, consider planting it near your eggplant. This herb is thought to be helpful at keeping aphids and spider mites away while attracting beneficial insects to your growing space.
4. Rosemary
Rosemary can become a large and beautiful herb. In the right planting zones, it can even be used as a perennial.
However, if you live in an area where the herb is only an annual, consider growing it next to your eggplant. The strong scent of the plant is another great option for deterring pests.
5. Marjoram
Marjoram has a few unique qualities that gardeners tend to embrace. First, this herb is considered to be lower-maintenance.
Also, when growing marjoram, the plant gets along with most any other plant in the garden. It also helps to encourage strong growth in the plants around it, so consider growing marjoram near your eggplant.
6. Sage
Sage is not only a beautiful herb, but it’s also quite fragrant. To humans, it’s scented in all the right ways, but to pests, not so much.
Therefore, grow sage near your eggplant to deter various pests such as snails, moths, and flea beetles. Enjoy a useful and delicious herb while also protecting your crop.
7. Catnip
Catnip makes a great companion plant for eggplants, but you must grow it with caution. First, ensure you’re growing catnip in a protected area. Otherwise, you may find stray cats hanging around your garden which you don’t want.
Second, ensure you don’t grow catnip near your green beans or peas. Catnip tends to slow the growth of green beans and peas, so use caution if choosing this option for companion planting.
8. Sunflowers
I love sunflowers. They come in so many unique varieties. Plus, they add beauty to the garden while protecting the crops around it.
Sunflowers not only provide shade during hotter portions of the day, but they also help deter pests. These flowers are thought to keep aphids, flea beetles, ants, and white flies away.
9. French Tarragon
French tarragon is thought to make a great companion for most vegetable crops. Therefore, it could serve your eggplants well.
This herb is frequently grown beside eggplant to protect its harvest. French tarragon is thought to deter an array of unwanted pests.
10. Marigolds
I love planting marigolds in my vegetable garden. They provide a pop of color and some texture to my growing space.
Plus, this flower uses its vibrant colors to attract beneficial insects while using its scent to keep unwanted pests away.
11. Chamomile
Chamomile is another beautiful herb which can grow right alongside your eggplant to not only add beauty and get the most out of your growing space, but also to serve as protection for your eggplant harvest.
When planting eggplant, consider adding chamomile around it as the scent of this herb should deter a variety of pests.
12. Borage
Borage is a vibrant herb that produces colorful, star-shaped blooms. Not only will these blooms brighten up your growing space, but they’ll benefit your eggplant.
As borage blooms, the pollinators find the plant. When pollinators come into the garden, they frequently visit multiple plants. Therefore, these pollinators can help increase your harvest.
13. Potatoes
Many people don’t think about growing a root crop next to their vibrant eggplants, but maybe we should start considering this.
Did you know potatoes make an excellent companion plant for eggplant? They share similar growing conditions and compliment each other well for this reason.
14. Mint
Mint must be planted with caution. If using this herb as a companion, it’s best to plant it in a container and grow it near your eggplant.
The reason being is mint is known for taking over a growing space. Utilize mint’s fragrance to protect your eggplant but do so with caution.
15. Swiss Chard
Eggplant serves Swiss chard well when grown close to it. These two make an excellent pair due to their height difference.
In most cases, eggplant towers over Swiss chard. Therefore, it can help prolong chard’s growing season as it can provide shade and cooler temperatures.
16. Tomatoes
Tomatoes and eggplants are both nightshade crops. For this reason, they share similar growing conditions.
When selecting plants to grow near one another, consider choosing those with the same needs, so they both have good reason to thrive.
17. Cabbage
Consider your reason for growing cabbage if using it as a companion plant for eggplant. In some planting zones, you can grow cabbage twice per year.
Some gardeners prefer to grow it in the fall due to less issues with pests. However, you may grow it in the warmer seasons as well as a sacrificial crop. When grown near eggplant, the cabbages will draw the pests to themselves and away from your eggplants.
18. Spinach
Spinach is an easy crop to grow, and it enjoys cooler weather. Should you grow it near eggplant, both of the plants get something from the arrangement.
The spinach helps the soil retain necessary moisture and also keeps weeds in check. While the eggplant provides shade to the spinach to prolong its growing season.
19. Snapdragons
Snapdragons are colorful flowers with longer stems and vertical blooms. If you like to incorporate flowers in your vegetable garden, this could make a good option.
The reason being is snapdragons serve as a great companion to eggplants. These flowers are known for repelling aphids, ants, flea beetles, and spider mites.
20. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are brightly colored flowers which are easy to grow. Plus, they make a great companion for eggplant.
Should you add nasturtiums to your vegetable garden, understand that they’re helpful in deterring pests while also keeping weeds down.
21. Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is an interesting crop that more people are adding to their vegetable garden. This plant produces a bulb above the ground and is typically enjoyed either raw, steamed, or cooked using other methods.
When growing kohlrabi, consider planting it near your eggplant. This plant is great for keeping flea beetles and aphids away.
22. Green Beans
Green beans make an excellent companion for a variety of crops in the garden. It should come as little surprise that it’s also a great companion for eggplant.
The neat thing about green beans is they add nitrogen to the soil by drawing it from the air. This adds a necessary nutrient to the soil to help your eggplants thrive.
23. Peppers
Peppers come in numerous varieties which make them a great addition to the garden because there’s a variety out there to suit most taste buds.
When planting this crop, consider growing it near eggplant as they’re both nightshade crops and share similar growing conditions.
24. Radishes
Radishes and eggplant make a great team. The radish helps keep weeds in check for the eggplant, and it also helps with moisture retention.
In return, the eggplant provides necessary shade to keep the radishes cool until harvest. Plus, most radishes can be harvested in approximately four weeks.
You now have over twenty different options for eggplant companion plants to consider. They each have different functions when growing near an eggplant.
Whether they’re providing nutrients, pest protection, or keeping weeds under control, consider pairing some of these crops. Hopefully, it’ll lessen your workload in the garden while improving your harvest.
More About Companion Planting
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/companion-planting-home-gardens
https://extension.wvu.edu/lawn-gardening-pests/gardening/garden-management/companion-planting
https://ag.umass.edu/home-lawn-garden/fact-sheets/companion-planting-in-vegetable-garden
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