[Tomato Dirt #200] Plant These Companion Plants to Protect Your Tomatoes From Pests

Back to Back Issues Page

[Tomato Dirt #200] Plant These Companion Plants to Protect Your Tomatoes From Pests
April 16, 2020

Tomato Dirt Newsletter
Volume 10, Number 8

Dear Tomato Dirt reader,

Welcome back to Tomato Dirt! A couple times a month, we’ll send you this newsletter packed with tips about growing tomatoes and using them.

FREE Kitchen Gardener Planner for Tomato Dirt Readers!

Our friends at Gardener’s Supply offer this FREE Kitchen Garden Planner so you can use square-foot gardening techniques to create your own super-productive veggie garden, no matter how much or how little space you have. Customize a pre-planned garden or create your own using their cool online tools! Check it out here.

Tomato Dirt is on Pinterest

Join us on Pinterest! Browse our 100+ boards (and growing) for all kinds of tomato inspiration and practical information: growing tomatoes, tomato seeds, cold frames for tomatoes, tomato books, tomato greenhouses, , indoor tomatoes – even crafts to do with a tomato theme. Happy pinning!

FEATURE: Plant These Companion Plants to Protect Your Tomatoes From Pests

Image: USDA

You can protect tomatoes from pests with companion plants -- those vegetables, herbs, or flowers planted nearby that offer a special benefit to tomatoes. Companion plants behave a lot like good friends.

We all know one of the benefits of good friends: they stick up for you when bullies threaten you, often protecting you from getting hurt.

Companion plants do that for tomatoes.

Tomato plants are among the favorite menu items for certain insects, including aphids, whiteflies, and different types of beetles. Once these pests flit into your garden and discover your luscious, healthy tomato plants, suddenly it’s Feast Time. But companion plants act as natural defenders against these tomato pests, either by repelling harmful insects or attracting helpful insects (to eat the harmful ones.)Try these companion plants to protect your tomatoes from pests:

Basil: repels flies, mosquitoes; attracts bees
Borage: attracts bees and wasps
Cabbage: repels whiteflies, moths
Chives: repel many insects
Collard greens: repels flea beetles ... (keep reading about companion plants to protect tomatoes. )

Be sure to check out our Companion Planting for Tomatoes board on Pinterest for more companion planting ideas.

Best Tips for Growing Tomatoes: Bestseller in 89 Countries

THE tomato-growing Bible and best-seller in 89 countries: How to Grow Juicy Tomatoes.

Two horticulturalists combine forces to give you advice about the right way to prune, fertilize, water and stake tomatoes. You’ll be able to diagnose pest and disease problems using step by step priceless information, illustrated with 260 full color photos.

Get the book and you’ll also get 6 free bonuses, including the Family Tomato Cookbook and a database of 1300 varieties of tomatoes.

More details here.

Containers and Planters: Best Selection, Built to Last

America's number one resource for gardening and a Tomato Dirt favorite: Gardener’s Supply! Get what you need for this season - raised beds, pots and planters, supports, soils, special offers, and more – plus FREE shipping on orders of $99 or more. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.