October 10, 2024, 10:51 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The nasturtium is not only a beautiful summer bloomer, but also a good bedding partner. With its large foliage and unique fragrance, it brings great benefits to many plants, including zucchinis and tomatoes. Read more about good and bad neighbors for nasturtiums below.
The nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) can justifiably be described as an all-rounder in the garden. And for six reasons: It is a fantastic ornamental plant with its yellow, orange, and red flowers; it is also a powerful medicinal plant, a delicious food plant, and a productive insect pasture; it can be used as a fast-growing privacy screen and is a perfect bed neighbor for many vegetables and other plants. In the following article, myHOMEBOOK explains which plants benefit from nasturtiums as neighbors and in what form.
Nasturtium is a good neighbor for …
- Pumpkin plants: Pumpkins, cucumbers, and zucchini all have shallow roots, so hoeing and weeding are, therefore, not particularly good for them. With its ground-covering growth, nasturtium suppresses a large proportion of emerging weeds, making disruptive soil cultivation largely superfluous. Another advantage is the extensive shading of the soil, which helps to retain moisture in the soil, i.e. reduce evaporation. This is an advantage that should not be underestimated, especially for thirsty plants such as pumpkins.
- Tomatoes: As with cucurbits, nasturtiums planted alongside tomatoes help to keep weeds at bay and retain soil moisture. It also has other benefits: its ground-covering leaves act as a kind of barrier, protecting the leaves of the tomato plant from contact with the soil and splashing water. This reduces the likelihood of the tomatoes becoming infected with the dreaded late blight. In addition, the mustard oils contained in nasturtium protect the tomatoes from other fungal diseases.
- Fruit trees and roses: Aphids love fruit trees and roses, but they also love nasturtiums. It is, therefore, often recommended that nasturtium be planted as a distraction plant under fruit trees and roses. However, this trick only works under certain circumstances, as the different aphid species do not change their host plants at will. Nevertheless, it is worth a try.
- Potatoes: Nasturtium is also a good neighbor for potatoes, as its rich foliage provides good shade for the soil between the potato rows. It is also said to have a deterrent effect on Colorado potato beetles.
- Celery, beans, and peas can also be combined well with nasturtiums in the bed.
Good to know: Nasturtiums are said to keep slugs, some caterpillars, ants and voles at bay to a certain extent.
Bad neighbors for nasturtiums
Unfavorable neighboring plants include rocket, dill, chervil, coriander, parsley, and chives.
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Does nasturtium go well with cabbage plants?
Opinions differ as to whether nasturtium is a good neighbor for cabbage plants. The cabbage white butterfly is to blame. This pretty white butterfly lays its eggs on the leaves of cabbage plants but also on the leaves of nasturtiums. About 14 days later, small, voracious caterpillars hatch from the eggs and feast on the leaves.
Given this background, do cabbage and nasturtium go well together? No, say some, because the mustard oil smell of nasturtium attracts cabbage white butterflies, which then lay their eggs not only on the leaves of the nasturtium but also on the cabbage. Yes, say the others. They argue that the cabbage white butterflies prefer the nasturtium to the cabbage, and therefore, the cabbage is at least partially spared from egg laying.