Keep your asparagus beds productive and pest-free all season long with these easy-care asparagus companion plants.
Marty Baldwin
Asparagus plants can grow quite large, and their harvest season is relatively short.
That can make garden bedsplanted with only asparagussomewhat limited in productivity.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
The best companion plants can also keep pests away and encourage a more prolificharvest of asparagus spears.
Some of these asparagus companion plants excel at pest prevention, while others can keep down weeds.
Below, youll find some top asparagus companions and a few simple gardening techniques to get you started.
Credit: Bob Stefko
Basil
Basilprovides food and shelter to various beneficial insects, including predatory wasps.
As an asparagus companion plant, basil will help reduce pest populations.
Comfrey
Comfrey is a lovely plant that produces bell-shaped, pink and purple flowers that pollinators love.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
In addition to boosting pollinator activity in culinary gardens, comfrey can enrich the soil around your asparagus.
Whenmixed into home compost, it can become a source of organic nitrogen.
Nasturtium
Like other members of the aster family,nasturtiumsare wonderful for pest protection.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
They serve as an efficient trap crop, luring pests away from your asparagus and other vegetables.
Nasturtium is also a fast-growing plant that can make anexcellent groundcoverfor weed suppression.
Nightshades emit solanine, which repels one of the most destructive asparagus pests: the asparagus beetle.
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
In turn, asparagus helps protect nightshade plants by releasing a chemical into the soil that keeps nematodes away.
Parsley
Robert Cardillo
Parsley is a strongly scented herbthat provides a food source forbeneficial insectsthroughout their lifecycles.
Easy-going and resilient, petunias offer a splash of color with their prolific flowers.
Credit:Brie Williams
Strawberries
Strawberries and asparagusmay seem like an odd plant pairing, but it works.
If you’regrowing broccoli, chamomile and rosemary are two fragrant herbs to plant as companion plants.
The right combination of plants will keep your garden healthy and productive.
Credit:Peter Krumhardt
Frequently Asked Questions
you’re able to overcrowd asparagus by planting the seeds too close together.
Rabbits and deer rarely eat asparagus plants.
You could also place chicken wire directly over the plants.
Credit: Jamie Hadley
This can lead to brown, wilted leaves, misshapen spears, and stunted growth.
Credit:Robert Cardillo
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit: Brie Williams
