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ffreidl

Have you grown tomatoes next to broccoli?

ffreidl
9 years ago

I have broccoli and tomatoes planted near each other and now I've just read that broccoli supposedly stunts the growth of tomatoes.

Anyone have personal experience growing them together? Was it a problem for your tomatoes?

Funny thing is, I did it last year and it was fine, but the broccoli had actually overwintered in the bed, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

I really hope you all are going to tell me that you've done it a million times and it's perfectly fine.... : )

If not, I'll try to find another space for my broccoli, but things are tight in the garden.. : (

Comments (6)

  • digdirt2
    9 years ago

    broccoli supposedly stunts the growth of tomatoes

    Can't imagine the source of that claim but it sounds like one of the "companion gardening fad" claims that seldom seem to hold up in actual practice. I have never found it to be true.

    Right now I have broccoli growing in 2 of my Earthboxes that also have a tomato plant in them. Did the same thing the past 3 years with no problems. The broccoli is always ready to harvest long before the tomato plants need the room.

    Also have a 20 foot row of broccoli in the garden with rows of tomatoes on both sides.

    Dave

    Here is a link that might be useful: Previous discussion about this question

  • ffreidl
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    That's just what I wanted to hear. Thank you so much!

    I did get it from a companion planting article, but it was from Cornell, so I thought maybe there was more to it. Even coming from academia, though, there's always plenty of advice that regularly gets refuted in real-life situations. There may be some real basis for what the article said, but in an actual gardening situation, it may not be relevant.

    Anyway, thanks for chiming in with your experience. I'm going to leave things as they are and hopefully all will go well. I'm pretty happy this year with how the garden is organized, so I really didn't want to have to change things around.

  • carolyn137
    9 years ago

    Being a Cornell alumna I can't imagine anyone in academia writing a companion type article. I can imagine it in the section where anyone can submit articles, rate veggies and the like, but not from a faculty member.

    But I haven't looked lately and would very much appreciate it if you could post a link here so I can have a look see.

    If I'm worng, I'm wrong, and that's OK with me.

    However, when Louise Riottes book first came out called Carrots Love something or other, can't remember, I tried companion planting with several different companions, as it were, but the difference was that I used control plants , same varieties, without any companions in the same season so that a direct comparison could be made.

    With articles I've read the folks have never said that they used control plants.

    Often it's been said that it's good to grow basil near tomatoes b'c it improves their taste. Just consider the fact that whatever the basil excretes it does through the roots, and what's excreted thru the roots is chewed up enzymatically almost ASAP as it passes through the soil and couldn't be taken up by the tomato roots anyway.

    Fresh basil mixed with a fresh tomato salad, now that's delicious IMO/

    But I digress, and sorry for that but so many folks have been taken in by the concept of companion planting and that's what concerns me.

    Carolyn

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    IMHO, it is possible to "companion Grow" a lot of things, as long as they have similar requirements for watering and fertilizing.
    Lets take broccoli and tomato here. Broccoli, a cabbage family, leafy green needs an loves a lot of water and a lot more Nitrogen than tomato. Unless the two are planted farther apart it is hard to maintain both of them happy. Unless you give priority to tomato , water and fertilize accordingly.

    JMO.

  • sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
    9 years ago

    May depend on how close is 'near'. Seysonn has a good point about requirements but side dressing can help that issue.
    I don't consider myself a 'companion' gardener, but will often place palm on forehead when i run out of room and need a spot for something. I'm a sucker for something new and healthy and unusual at my local, same altitude, family run nursery just 2 miles away...

    Most likely information is ingrained from the early 90's and organic gardening magazines.
    So i will plant things that make sense-ish. I've always, once the tomatoes are in, open up a 6inch x 10ft path between, pushing aside the straw, and plant carrots very thick. Start harvesting in mid August and consider it thinning, then have about 20-30lbs at thanksgiving, well after the toms are over. It works where i am and lots of room down the middle of my toms. My tomatoes always get priority attention, : )

    Broccoli bolts in my area, but cauliflower and brussels do really well in their own bed. A bit of broccoli rabe does ok if i get it in early. Last late spring was very cold, then very hot overnight. From down vest to t-shirt/nude. Cool crops bolted without some shade.
    May seem off-topic but some crops that provide shade in the heat of middle/late July, like tall vine growers... toms and beans, just might be a good 'companion' in your garden.

  • ffreidl
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yeah - for practical reasons, I liked the accidental "companioning" of broccoli and tomato that happened last year, which is why I did it on purpose this year. The broccoli occupied a vacant, lower-to-the-ground space that was available near the tomatoes, without growing into the more leaf-crowded area, and they were pretty tough growers that handled the competition well. The tomatoes gave some shade that kept the soil around the broccoli from drying out and kept the plants from bolting when it got hot, and, in fact, the tomato plant that was nearest the broccoli was less affected by whatever disease my other tomatoes were suffering from (can't remember the name now). I later read a study that showed that broccoli residue was suppressive of certain tomato diseases (once again, can't remember which - posting too late at night!), so that was another reason to try it again this year. But then I read the article that caused me to start this post and I thought, whoops!, maybe not so good.

    Carolyn - I'm sorry to say I didn't save the article, so I can't provide a link. If I find it again, I'll post it. But at the moment I'm satisfied that it's probably a non-issue.

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