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A appendage of theChenopodiaceaefamily , Swiss chard is in reality aboriginal to the Mediterranean region , contrary to what its name would lead you to consider . This sour , leafy green vegetable is an first-class source of vitamin A , E , and K , and it bring home the bacon a sound dose of Mg and copper as well . Swiss chard is soft to spring up , but it can fall prey to dirt ball and nutrient deficiencies . Fortunately , swiss chard fellow traveller plants can help ameliorate functioning .
Swiss chard companion plants like celery , mint , garlic , and cilantro repel pesky worm , while other companions , such as marigolds and nasturtium , force the aid of worthful pollinators . And edible bean , radishes , and thyme improve soil conditions to help you grow the best Swiss chard possible .
How can Swiss chard companion plants improve crop yield?
Swiss chard is a coolheaded - atmospheric condition garden veggie . It do best when planted in give and downslope , in a spot where it go plenitude of sunlight , but also has some trade protection from the sun ’s rough good afternoon shaft of light . Swiss chard prefer neutral to slightly acidic territory that is rich in constitutional matter , but also well - draining .
By keep a few Swiss chard companion plants nearby , you could facilitate improve the grow precondition in your garden so your craw will thrive . Some of Swiss chard ’s preferred fellow plants facilitate break up compacted soil , making it easy for water system and air travel to penetrate . Others roleplay as a undercoat cover to serve continue as much moisture as possible .
sure Swiss chard companion works can be used as trap crop to keep common pests away from your prized vegetable . And inflorescence companions can be grown nearby to serve attract the care of valuable pollinators , like bees , butterflies , and predatory wasp — who also feed on damaging glitch , and can reduce cuss universe in your garden .
What are the best Swiss chard companion plants for your garden?
Companion planting is an implausibly good , all - natural scheme that helps meliorate plant performance while deterring the beast and insects that feed in on them . When considering companion planting in your garden , the most important thing you need to keep in mind is your growing space .
When water regularly , Swiss chard grows up to 24 inches tall . While it ’s not the biggest vegetable out there , it can still take up quite a piece of way . Be indisputable to choose comrade plants that will not only fulfill your needs , but that will also fit in your growing space .
Radishes
Fast - growing radishes also do well in spring and fall garden because they love the cool weather condition , too . These plant take three to four weeks to mature from seeded player , so they ’re in and out of the terra firma tight . They grow well next to swiss chard because their source system are shallow , never achieve far enough into the priming coat to compete with Swiss chard ’s tooth root .
Radish tops cap out at around 18 inch , almost as big as Swiss chard , but never cock-a-hoop enough to infringe on its grow blank . For this understanding , you could grow radishes as Swiss chard companion plants in the same row , where they can facilitate shade the soil and keep wet locked in .
Beans
Bush bean , climbing beans , and peas all make wonderful Swiss chard companion plant and can be grown next to other garden favorite , too , includingblueberries , radishes , and asparagus . Beans help oneself improve N uptake in surrounding plants by making the atomic number 7 that ’s already in the soil gentle for them to utilize .
you’re able to apply beans as Swiss chard companion plants by grow them in nearby rows . However , beans wreak far better as a cover crop . let the bean to grow , produce , and perish back before address them under better the nutrient content in your grease for the next grow season . That way your Swiss chard and other plants can reach their full potential .
Celery
Swiss chard can fall prey to many garden pests , include armyworms , cucumber vine beetles , cutworms , shekels moth , and more . But making use of insect - repelling Swiss chard associate plants like celery can facilitate keep these bugs away from your veggie .
Celery plant mature about 12 inch tall , so they never interfere with Swiss chard ’s growing space . And because they have shallow root system of rules , they wo n’t utilise up the nutrients that your Swiss chard plants need to produce .
Nasturtiums
Swiss chard is wanton to grow from seeded player . But if you rise all of your vegetables from seeds , it can be difficult to commend where your row are before the plants have germinate . nasturtium work well as a perimeter for your garden , marking off rows to facilitate you determine which new sprout are veg and which unity are weeds .
Nasturtiums are also ofttimes used as a hole craw . Aphids , mites , whitefly , and earworms will all jump at the chance to give on genus Nasturtium , keeping these pesky bugs forth from your Swiss chard and other plants . butterfly , bee , and other pollinators enjoy browse this plant ’s efflorescence , too .
Onions
Onions can make great Swiss chard associate plant life . But you have to be careful about how you turn them . These are root vegetable that reach clean deep into the land . When grown too nigh to Swiss chard , these two plants will steal nutrients away from each other , so neither of them will develop well .
But by take turns rows of Allium cepa with rows of Swiss chard , they will be able to help drive Swiss chard - feed bugs , admit slug , snails , and caterpillars , without stealing minerals away from them in the process .
Cilantro
Another plant that can facilitate keep insects aside from your Swiss Swiss chard is cilantro . This aromatic herb grows swell in nerveless - atmospheric condition garden . And its shallow root system only imbibe nutrients from the uppermost stratum of the soil , so they can be grown in the same course as your Swiss chard flora .
By alternating cilantro plant with Swiss chard plants within the same row , you may avail keep germ off of both of them . maturate them tight so they fulfill in help cast wraith on the soil below , retaining moisture and keeping roots cool .
Mint
Another redolent herbaceous plant , mint attractsbees , butterflies , and many other crucial pollinators to your garden which importantly meliorate crop yield . And while it draws the attention of pollinators , it also drive back garden peststhat can damage your Swiss chard plant .
Mint is a low - growing solid ground cover that works well as a living mulch . you could plant mint at the base of your Swiss chard plants where it will loosen compacted soil , aid the ground continue wet , and keep temperatures down at the base of the plants . And they do all of this without competing with other works for nutrient because they have shallow beginning arrangement .
Garlic
Like all appendage of the allium family , garlic contains high levels of allicin , the sulfur - rich compound that gives it such a potent sense of smell . And it ’s that allicin content that progress to garlic such a wonderful Swiss chard fellow traveler plant because it helps keep dirt ball and athirst foragers aside .
Garlic vegetable oil isextremely effective as an all - natural pesticide . So alternating quarrel of Swiss chard with row of Allium sativum , or simply grow all of your Swiss chard plants sandwich between two rows of garlic , can help snub Pseudaletia unipuncta , mites , aphids , and other pests . Additionally , garlic ’s nectar - deep flowers draw the care of local pollinator , improving pollination rate in your garden .
Broccoli
Swiss chard and broccoli do not compete for the same nutrient , so they can be planted in the same course without make problems for each other . These plants benefit from being planted nigh together because neither will overtake the other , and their leaf help fill out the air space around them , keeping the soil beneath them in the shade and preventing moisture loss .
This man - made vegetablecan be grown as a trap crop , too . dirt ball , beetles , aphids , and other bugs that wish to dine on Swiss chard will happily eat broccoli rather if it ’s available . If plague are a major problem in your garden , sacrificing a row of broccoli to keep them off your Swiss chard might just do the joke .
Marigolds
Deer will deplete Swiss chard if there is n’t enough aboriginal foliation around for them to snack on . However , they generally do not care marigolds . These smelly flowers are less than appetizing to hungry forager , plus they ’re tough and sinewy , so they ’re hard to masticate . acquire marigolds near your Swiss chard will assist keep the wildlife from nibbling on them .
Marigolds are debase with pollen and nectar , so they ’re popular withbutterflies , hoverflies , and wasps — bugs that will facilitate the pollenation process in your garden , and quarry on smaller insects , like aphids , to forbid them from destroy your vegetables .
Lavender
This redolent low - maintenance herb has been maturate as a Swiss chard associate plant for years because it helps improve the vegetable ’s flavor . Lavender is a fuss - free plant life that does n’t require much alimentation or weewee to thrive , so it will never be a threat to your Swiss leaf beet ’s growth .
Lavender ’s nipping essential oils are presentin every part of the bush , from the leafage to the stems , and most foliation - wipe out microbe are repulsed by the feeling of it . Rabbits anddeer will also invalidate eat on lavender , so this herbaceous plant can help deter all variety of pests from munching on your Swiss chard . to boot , when lavender blooms , it helps draw morebeesandbutterfliesto your garden to help pollinate your crops .
Which plants should you avoid growing with Swiss chard?
Certain plants can drastically ameliorate Swiss chard carrying into action , but not every plant will benefit your Swiss chard . works that have deep , all-inclusive origin system and that take a lot of nutrients will steal valuable minerals away from your Swiss chard , hamper growth . Be sure to give your Swiss chard peck of room to expand , both above priming coat and below the grease . quash growing the follow vegetables as Swiss chard comrade plants .
Beets
common beet belong to the same family of veggie as Swiss chard . As such , these two plant life vie for the same types of nutrients , so they do n’t do well when grow near each other . And beets tend to pull in the same character of bugs that like to eat Swiss chard , so to avoid any insect plague , keep these two veggies far aside .
Spinach
Like beets , spinach is also a extremity of theChenopodiaceaefamily , so it , too , attracts insects that prey on Swiss chard . This leafy gullible plant also contend with Swiss chard for standardised minerals , so growing them near each other will result in wretched public presentation from both of them . If you want to grow Spinacia oleracea and Swiss chard , we commend growing them on opposite side of your vegetable patch or growing one in the spring and the other in the capitulation , so they do n’t have to compete with each other .
Cucumbers
Swiss chard and Cucumis sativus plants partake many of the same pests . Slugs , beetles , worms , and caterpillars may be attract to your cucumber plants , and if your Swiss chard plant are planted near by , they may latch onto them , next . Additionally , cuke plants grow to be quite large . If the vines are n’t check to grow up a treillage , they easily pass surrounding plants . So keep your Swiss chard out of their reach and on the diametrical end of your garden .
Potatoes
Potatoes are deep - develop root veg that require a pile of nutrients to mature . get potato near your Swiss chard will suck minerals aside from them , lead in small leaves and stunted plant . If the food in your garden ’s soil are in little supplying , grow potatoes nearby can belt down your Swiss chard plants completely , so avoid make these two neighbour in your vegetable patch .
Melons
Watermelons , cantaloup , and honeydew melons have fairly mysterious root systems because they swear intemperately on water intake to produce . This , couple on with the fact that the melon imbed themselves straggle out and impinge on the produce blank of surrounding plants , makes them poor Swiss chard fellow works .
Are Swiss chard companion plants worth the extra time and effort?
Swiss chard companion plant help repel harmful insects while also attracting beneficial pollinator to back your crop ’s production . These industrial plant work in bicycle-built-for-two with your Swiss chard , better your soil ’s nutrient content and holding moisture in the soil . All of this spare you some additional DoL and enables your Swiss chard plants to bring about the tasty foliation possible .
