Growing your own vegetables can be challenging, but there are ways to ensure your garden thrives and produces a bountiful harvest.
One TikToker shared a hack that guarantees their tomatoes grow healthy and strong each season.
The scoop
TikTok user Reena (@thepinehillcottage) shared a video of their beautiful garden to show off the hack they use to ensure a healthy tomato harvest: companion planting.
@thepinehillcottage Benefits of companion planting...🍅🌱🌼🥬 Companion planting can benefit tomatoes by enhancing their growth, deterring pests, and improving overall garden health. Here are some companion plants for tomatoes: 🌱 Basil: Planting basil near tomatoes can improve their flavor and repel pests like aphids, mosquitoes, and tomato hornworms because they contain eugenol oil in their leaves. 🌼Marigolds: Marigolds release compounds that deter nematodes, which can be harmful to tomatoes. They also attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps. 🧡Nasturtiums: Nasturtiums act as a trap crop for aphids and whiteflies, drawing them away from tomatoes. They also add a pop of color to the garden. 🥬Lettuce and Spinach: These leafy greens can be interplanted with tomatoes to maximize space and provide shade for the soil, reducing evaporation and weed growth. 🏡 Location: @thepinehillcottage 👩🌾 Designer: Reena, Master Gardener 🪵 Trellises: DIY Companion planting 💚 Gardening 💚 Let's grow #garden #gardens #diy #gardeninspiration #gardendesign #gardengoals #gardendreams #gardenart #verticalgarden #trellis #gardenlove #gardenlife #gardenstyle #backyardgarden #countrygarden #gardeninggoals #companionplanting #diygarden #gardening #gardenlovers #growyourown #gardeninspo #builtnotbought #tomatoes #tomato #raisedbedgardening #raisedbedgarden #raisedbeds ♬ original sound - thepinehillcottage
Companion planting involves growing different plants together and offers a wealth of benefits for your garden.
As Reena explained below the video: "Companion planting can benefit tomatoes by enhancing their growth, deterring pests, and improving overall garden health."
Reena went on to detail which plants were included with the tomatoes and why. The plant mix included lettuce, spinach, basil, nasturtiums, and marigolds.
How it's helping
Gardening can be highly beneficial for people, and not only because they're getting more veggies in their diet.
People who garden save money, as they don't need to purchase as much produce from the grocery store. Growing your own food also tends to produce better-tasting vegetables.
Those who engage in gardening also tend to be healthier than people who do not. A University of Colorado study found that people who enjoy gardening exercise more than people who do not. They also consume about 1.4 more grams of fiber daily than non-gardeners.
Plus, gardening can be a boon for mental health, as it reduces stress and can even increase optimism.
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Which of these benefits is your biggest motivation in gardening? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Getting outside more 🌱 Gardening also benefits the environment, as it improves soil and air quality, reduces the distance food needs to travel to arrive at your table, which leads to cleaner air, and encourages biodiversity.
When it comes to companion planting, there are many benefits for the gardener, including deterring pests, maximizing space in the garden, achieving better crop yields, and improving soil quality.
Companion planting also offers environmental benefits, as it reduces the impact on the environment commonly caused by mass-produced veggies shipped around the world.
What everyone's saying
Other TikTok users commented on the video, complimenting the garden and sharing about their own gardens, with many people agreeing on the mix of plants Reena was using.
"Excellent! I do the same," one TikToker commented.
"How stunning!" someone else said.
Another user wrote: "Gardens are happier with all the flowers rambling through them."
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