Planting combinations of plants together for function.

[rosemarythyme]

I planted nasturtiums near my cucumber, pumpkin, and rosemary to act as "bait plants" for aphids and spider mites. Plus, having the pest bugs is bringing in beneficial bugs like ladybugs and lacewings.

Good idea with the nasturtiums... I was really irritated this year to see so many aphids on them but I left the plants in place since I figured that kept the aphids from spreading to other plants. Didn't think about using them deliberately to "bait" aphids away.

 

[Marmalade25]

I love this idea. I tried to plant sunflowers with my peas for support but the peas shoot up way faster in the beginning and it wasn't that effective, though I may try again. A cherry tomato sprung up and is going right up the sunflower now. It is leggy because it's a little shaded, but its quite efficient how well it grew up the sunflower stalk, it won't need any extra support. Last year my cucumber went right up a sunflower too! I don't have much space so vertical gardening works well for me.

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

Thanks for the info about the pods! I tried radish greens but wasn't a fan. Radish sprouts are good though... I should try sprouting some when they go to seed.

In a similar vein I use carrot greens as both chicken treats and as a substitute for parsley (especially in cases where the parsley is just "something green" on top) and chopped chive flowers make for a pretty take on ranch dressing (purple speckles) while imparting some of that chive flavor.

Radish sprouts are lovely on salads, sandwich and various main dishes.