Garland speaks with BDN about companion gardening
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Kate Garland, a horticulturist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for an article about companion gardening, the practice in which certain plants improve each other’s health and yields when grown together. “People have been [companion gardening] for as long as there has been gardening,” Garland said. “I think we naturally do companion gardening and don’t even think about it. Any time you have diversity in your garden, you have companion planting.” Companion gardening, Garland said, can be an organic alternative to pest management, weed suppression and adding nutrients to the soil. “When it comes to pest management in companion garden crops, one species will almost always be the ‘sacrificial’ crop,” she said. “It will be more attractive to the pests than the plant or crop you want to succeed.” Eggplant is an example of one crop that will attract an array of bugs that want to nibble on peppers, tomatoes or cucumbers, the article states.