Hello, dear readers! Andrew here, your friendly neighborhood gardening expert from Wisconsin. Today, I want to share some tips and tricks for companion planting with beets to help you boost your beet harvests. As an experienced gardener, I’ve seen firsthand the power of strategic companion planting to increase yields, deter pests, and create a thriving garden ecosystem. So, let’s dig in!
Contents
A Brief Overview of Companion Planting
For those who may be new to the term, companion planting refers to strategically planting different crops together to benefit each other. The plants help one another by improving flavor, enhancing growth, deterring pests, and more. It’s based on the idea that different plants have different needs, and by planting them next to compatible companions, you can create symbiotic relationships that ultimately result in better harvests.
Why Companion Plant Your Beets?
Beets are a cool-weather crop in the Amaranthaceae family, producing delectable roots, nutritious greens, and even beautiful flowers. Their sweet, earthy flavor makes them a staple in my kitchen from early spring through late fall. However, like any vegetable, they can have challenges with pests, diseases, and getting sufficient nutrients from the soil. This makes them an ideal candidate for companion planting!
Beets benefit their plant neighbors by breaking up compacted soil with powerful roots. In contrast, companion plants provide pest control, increased pollination, and soil enrichment, leading to a bountiful beet harvest. It’s a win-win situation.
Getting to Know the Beet
Before we dive into the companion planting combinations, let’s get familiar with the beet itself. While commonly known for its dark red storage root, beets encompass a diverse group of plants with edible roots spanning the color spectrum from golden yellow to candy-striped. Depending on your climate, they thrive in cooler weather and can be grown as a spring, summer, or fall crop.
While often grouped with other root veggies like carrots and potatoes, beetroots are the swollen stems that store energy for the plant. Left to flower and go to seed, beets produce nutrient-dense greens and pollen-rich blossoms that make tasty additions to salads and dishes.
When preparing your garden bed, beets require loose, well-drained soil with a neutral pH of 6.5-7.0. Consistent moisture and at least 6 hours of sunlight daily will provide ideal growing conditions. Beets are heavy feeders, so incorporating some aged compost or organic fertilizer when planting can give them a strong start.
The Dynamic Duos: Best Beet Companions
Alright, let’s get growing! Carefully choosing beet companion plants is critical to maximizing mutual benefits. Here are some of my favorite plant partners:
Soil Building Leafy Greens
Cool-weather greens like lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and kale thrive alongside beets. They don’t compete for root space and help shade the soil, retaining moisture for the beets. As quick-growing crops, many can be harvested before the beets mature, allowing for succession planting. Incorporating their nutrient-rich foliage back into the soil boosts fertility for subsequent crops.
Pest Deterring Herbal Allies
Fragrant herbs like dill, chamomile, mint, oregano, and chives make excellent beet companions. Their aromatic scents confuse pests like beetles and aphids, reducing damage to beet plants. Most mature quickly and won’t overtake developing beetroots. Chopping up a few handfuls to mix into a border mulch around beets can release pest-repelling oils as they decompose.
Soil Nutrient Accumulators
Dynamic accumulators like comfrey, dandelion, and borage have deep taproots that mine nutrients from lower soil levels. Chopping up parts of these mineral-rich magnifiers to use as mulch, compost, or compost tea provides excellent benefits to shallow-rooted beets. As perennials, dedicating a few spots at the edges of planting beds can provide bountiful nourishment for years.
Pollinator Attractors
While beets can self-pollinate, extra pollinator visits courtesy of nearby wildflower plantings never hurt! Classic insect magnets like cosmos, zinnias, calendula, and nasturtiums draw in helper honeybees, butterflies, and other beneficial bugs. Having them flank the plot makes for pretty bedfellows and a biodiverse beet garden.
Soil Loosening Root Crops
Other root crops like carrots, radishes, turnips, and parsnips make great companions because their downward tunneling helps aerate and turn over the soil. Faster-growing radishes can be planted between slower-developing beet rows. Contrasting shapes, textures, and colors of roots grown together also make for lovely market displays!
What Not to Plant with Beets
When designing a beet companion planting scheme, make sure not to place them next to competing plants that could negatively impact growth:
Pole Beans: These tall climbing beans can quickly take over and shade out lower-lying beet plants, starving them of sunlight.
Field mustard: While in the same plant family, this brassica has an aggressively spreading root system that competes heavily for soil nutrients.
Sweet corn requires high nitrogen levels from the surrounding soil, depriving beets of nutrients for optimal development.
Sample Beet Garden Layout
Here is an example layout showcasing some of these dynamic beet companion pairings:
This design maximizes diversity in a small space by interplanting beets with quick-growing lettuces, pest-deterring chives border, pollinator-attracting zinnias & calendula, and soil-loosening radishes. A strategically placed nitrogen-fixing red clover cover crop fertilizes the whole system.
But don’t feel limited by the sample layout – feel free to get creative with beet companion selections based on your site conditions and personal preferences! The key is maximizing symbiotic plant relationships for an abundant, healthy harvest.
Maintaining Your Beet Companion Garden
Like any garden, beet-centric companion plantings require proper care and feeding to shine:
Watering: 1 inch of water per week is ideal, adjusted for climate and growth stages. Use drip irrigation or a gentle watering wand to avoid compacting soil.
Weeding: Keep weeds under control to prevent them from robbing nutrients and moisture from crops. Gently cultivate surface weed seedlings instead of disturbing beet roots.
Pest/Disease Monitoring: Look for pest or disease damage and treat promptly with organic sprays like neem oil or insecticidal soap if needed. Trim off infected plant material and dispose of it properly.
Fertilization: Mid-season, side dress beets and companions with a balanced organic fertilizer or compost tea. Test the soil to determine any nutritional deficiencies.
Crop Rotation: Rotating placements of plant families across years helps cycle nutrients and prevent disease buildup.
The Sweet Taste of Beet Success
When grown harmoniously with select companion plants, beets become their best selves – producing bountiful, beautiful roots and nutrient-packed greens. Experiment with different pairings to find your favorites. Soon, your harvest baskets will be brimming with beet goodness!
If you have any other questions about growing beets or want to share your companion planting success stories, please do so in the comments below! I’m always happy to dig into more gardening conversations with this fantastic community. To your seasonal planting success!
