As a perennial plant, asparagus is an easy plant to grow. If it is planted once and taken care of asparagus crowns will live and produce for years! That sounds good, isn’t it? Now, let’s identify some good companion plants for asparagus to make more of your space in the garden.
Since the crowns of asparagus stay in place, and the spears and ferns come to life each year, it is logical to look for the most suitable all-season plants to accompany asparagus.
If you’re thinking about what you can cultivate with asparagus, make sure to take into consideration the requirements for growing. This will help you discover plants that are compatible with asparagus that can be grown in a gardening area, the raised bed, or in a container.
Which are the most effective and good asparagus companion plants?
The most suitable asparagus companion plants to grow with could be basil, tomatoes, and parsley. Together they are all plants that are a good match and can be beneficial in the garden. Other best companion plants for asparagus include spinach, lettuce peppers, eggplant strawberries, and a variety of other herbs.
Some flowers are the best companion plants to make asparagus crowns or ferns. In general, you will find that asparagus is quite a nice choice as a companion to the backyard garden.
A successful garden emulates nature, with the soil, plant life, and beneficial insects all working together as a harmonious whole.
Because asparagus roots grow in depth and take an extended period for them to grow, it is best to plant them close to plants with shallow roots. The asparagus plants discussed here have roots that are deeper which makes it challenging to plant them in your asparagus rows.
This is the reason why some of the deeper-rooted asparagus species will fare better around the perimeter of your in-ground or raised asparagus garden. As you prepare for the season to begin prepare the vegetable garden bed and add flowers, herbs, and nightshades around the edges. You can also plant asparagus within the boundaries.
What are the most harmful asparagus plants to use as companion plant?
Avoid planting alliums such as onions, garlic shallots, leeks ramps, and chives near asparagus. These companion plants for asparagus plants can adversely affect how asparagus grows. Avoid planting vegetables like carrots or potatoes in the vicinity of asparagus as well. Both root vegetables could be competing for space with asparagus crowns.
Asparagus Planting Companions
When you’ve decided where to grow your asparagus you should look at your plants that are companions. This will help you make the most of all space within your backyard.
Fruit and Veggie Planting Pals for Asparagus
Since it’s a long-term commitment, it’s helpful to look at other vegetables and fruits you’d like to cultivate.
Find out if any of these are a great choice for you and your layouts for planting.
Beets
With a tiny footprint and a short period in the soil, beets are usually a good choice when they are planted close to asparagus.
Lettuce
Lettuce is fast-growing and has superficial and surface-level roots. You can plant asparagus and lettuce together to make a great team within the gardens.
It is also possible to grow a succession of lettuce in the later part of autumn for your harvest in the fall!
Asparagus, Rhubarb, Strawberries, & Horseradish Combo
Other perennial veggies can make excellent companions to asparagus. You can try pairing rhubarb and asparagus plants together with strawberry and horseradish, too.
So you will be able to expect that all your crops will return each year, and the garden won’t become a mess.
It is believed that rhubarb does exceptionally well when paired with strawberries, asparagus, and horseradish. This perennial mix appears to be a very popular asparagus companion planting suggestion across the internet.
Any combination of the asparagus rhubarb and asparagus companion planting combination will work in your garden.
Asparagus and Strawberries Companion Planting
If you’re not a fan of horseradish but you love strawberries, you can make an in lieu of companion planting.
The combination of asparagus and strawberries is beneficial because the roots thrive at different levels. This means that both strawberries and asparagus plants will benefit from nutrients in the soil!
They’re also early crops, meaning that they are usually harvested early in the growing season. This is also true for other crops.
Asparagus and strawberry plants do grow by themselves. Remember that you may have to maintain your container or strawberry beds by splitting and transplanting at certain times.
Spinach
Like beets, spinach doesn’t take up too much space and can complete its life cycle in a relatively quick time. Thus, it can be an excellent companion to asparagus.
A spinach crop that is later in the last part of summer might also be able to grow along with asparagus.
Nightshades
Some nightshades are good partners to asparagus.
Tomatoes
A wonderful companion to the asparagus plant, tomatoes are famous for their solanine odor which can help keep away asparagus beetles. In addition, asparagus helps to repel nematodes and help in the removal of tomatoes.
Eggplants
Like tomatoes, eggplants release solanine to keep asparagus beetles at low. Eggplants also benefit from the advantages that asparagus offers as a plant companion.
Peppers
Peppers are usually able to grow well with asparagus, and due to different maturing times, they aren’t competing for space.
Companion Herbs for Asparagus
Asparagus is a great plant to grow with many different kinds of plants. You might want to plant a variety of other plants around asparagus. (Just ensure that the plants are similar to each other also!)
Here are some asparagus companion plants to think about.
Basil
Basil helps to deter asparagus beetles. While it is flowering, basil is also a magnet for pollinators making it a fantastic plant companion for any time of the year.
Parsley
Parsley can also help to keep away asparagus beetles in the garden.
The evidence from the garden suggests that asparagus is also a good choice along with these herbs that are companion plants:
- Cilantro / Coriander
- Comfrey
- Dill
- Oregano
- Sage
- Thyme
Companion Flowers for Asparagus
Alongside vegetables, fruit as well as herbs, you could also select a beautiful flower to use to go with asparagus.
Flowers bring stunning color to your garden. Certain flowers can provide anti-pest properties, as well as other advantages as plant companions.
- Asters
- Marigolds (Marigolds are great companion plants for asparagus and many other crops due to their ability to repel insects and bring in beneficial insects.)
- Nasturtiums
- Sunflowers
Plants to Avoid Growing Near Asparagus
Do not plant these crops in the vicinity of your asparagus crowns.
- Carrots
- Chives / Garlic Chives
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Leeks
- Onions
- Shallots
- Ramps
- Potatoes
What Is Companion Planting?
Companion plant is an old practice in which farmers select certain plants and then place them close to each other in the garden to reap a variety of advantages. Companion planting can increase yields for crops or ward off pests that pose a threat to the crop. They can also draw beneficial insects.
Some ground cover companions help reduce the number of weeds that grow and define zones of the garden. Overall, companion plants enhance soil nutrients and establish an environment of reciprocity and exchange that is akin to natural cooperative systems.
One of the most effective as well as oldest instances of cultivating plants that are companions is the traditional practice of cultivating the ‘three sisters’ of crops. Farmers in the region cultivate corn, beans, and squash in tandem. Corn stalks help climb beans, and shade both squash and beans.
Beans help fix nitrogen in the soil and assist the root of squash and corn to improve both plants’ taste. squash keeps pests away from beans and also covers the soil, and helps prevent the growth of weeds. Corn is a plant that grows faster which helps farmers determine which areas to plant after planting them. squash and bean seeds are still growing.
Three sisters is a good example of how companion planting could be a method of gardening and also how farmers can build an ecosystem of cooperation and support. This is the essence of companion plants: an effective system you can install for plants.
In addition to fertilization and monitoring for insects. In the end, you can allow plants to flourish in a garden that has great companions. This is also true for the planting of asparagus companion plants. If you choose plants that are similar to tomatoes and avoid the potato and garlic that are in your garden and you’ll get a good yield, and no asparagus beetles.
The Things We Plant With Asparagus
In our asparagus patch we prefer to grow Roma tomatoes and basil. Basil, tomato plants, and asparagus are great as plant companions.
I also enjoy the idea of growing flowers around the asparagus plant. They add bright color to the garden. our Zinnias attracted many pollinators last year.
There were monarch butterflies in the same garden bed!
A newly-planted asparagus bed can take about three years to establish its roots and become fully productiveโbut as a perennial vegetable, once it really gets going, an asparagus patch can continue to produce for decades.
Do you have other suggestions for asparagus companion plants or other plants to avoid? What are you doing to your yard?
We’d love to hear from you in the comments section with any asparagus-related tips or concerns you might have . We love hearing from you!
Happy Gardening!
FAQs About Companion Plants For Asparagus
โ What is HTML0? Can I plant strawberries and asparagus with each other?
Yes! Strawberry and asparagus are close neighboring plants. They're great companion plants. Make sure that your asparagus plant's roots are approximately one foot below the soil prior to interplanting strawberries. This will prevent root competition between these beautiful plants at the bare minimum.
โ Are you able to grow other veggies with asparagus?
Many vegetables love living their lives in the company of asparagus. Beets, lettuce or spinach are just a few examples. low-rooted vegetables won't be able to compete with the roots of deep asparagus and their lifespan will come to an end before the nutrients are removed from the asparagus plant.
โ What is the ideal companion plant to asparagus?
They have a long tradition of collaborating with asparagus as they share a biological link. In tomato plants they release a molecule from the chemical called solanine gets released, which repels the asparagus beetle. Asparagus beetle could ruin your harvest as it grows.
โ Can I grow lettuce using asparagus?
Lettuce. The asparagus is a wonderful partner for lettuce, as asparagus can provide shade in hot weather. In summer, the leaves of lettuce will be arranged in rows.
โ Does companion planting for asparagus worth the effort?
By keeping the proper companion plants for Asparagus close to them, and keeping the unsuitable plants and away, you'll be able to assist your asparagus to get an early head beginning. When you supply these vegetables with the necessary tools to thrive, you'll be able to make sure that you'll have delicious, home-grown asparagus at dinner for many years to in the future.