Plants and people do best with companionship. Mutually beneficial plant relationships are proven to enhance any vegetable garden. If you plan to grow arugula this year, consider adding some arugula companion plants to your selection.
Arugula is a full-flavored salad green that gives everything a peppery punch. Originally from the Mediterranean and foraged by the Romans, it’s no surprise arugula makes a great pesto and goes well on pizza.
Learn what to plant with arugula and how to incorporate biodiversity into your garden for more variety in your everyday meal ingredients.
Have You Considered What to Grow with Arugula?
Arugula plants are members of the brassica or cabbage family and are one of the leaf lettuce varieties. They are prolific and grow heartily in early spring, bolting in the summer and self-propagating for a fall crop.
Choosing a companion species with similar nutritional requirements or including a species that will benefit or help the arugula makes your vegetable garden more productive. More people are returning to homegrown foods, and you can, too.
Discover the most complementary veggies, herbs, and flowers for your arugula garden. Learn what to plant with arugula to make the happiest veggie garden in your neighborhood.
When growing arugula from seeds, plan your garden carefully to take advantage of mutually beneficial plants and make the most of your space.
Alliums
Alliums make merry but smelly companion plants for brassicas. Of course, they smell delicious to us but planting next to onions makes a put-off for garden pests like aphids. Add a few rows of leeks to disguise your precious baby arugula leaves. Check out these alliums that make great arugula companion plants.
Chives and leeks help your garden by keeping nematodes and other burrowing pests in the soil away during the arugula growing season. Even if you aren’t keen on the taste of onions, allowing them to flower entices beneficial insects. Alliums produce irresistible flowers that bring pollinators to benefit the rest of your vegetable garden. Arugula is great to plant together with garlic, too.
Herbs Make Wonderful Arugula Companion Plants
Herbs are famous for their savory and sweet aromas, and we love them for cooking our favorite dishes. Herbs are even great for companion planting arugula because they produce beautiful flowers which attract pollinators and pest-eating insects alike. If allowed to flower, borage is particularly alluring to garden pests.
In addition to being delicious, pungent-smelling herbs like oregano and coriander dissuade unwelcome insects. The many uses of herbs make them a garden must-have when considering what to grow with arugula. A diverse fresh herb selection might even inspire you to try new things in the kitchen.
Try Flowers for Companion Planting Arugula
Introducing a little floral diversity to your garden not only helps entice beneficial insects for your many arugula varieties, but flowers even provide a delicious distraction from your veggies.
Flowers
Insects such as invasive flea beetles or the hungry caterpillar enjoy nasturtiums and ignore your arugula in favor of it. Diversion tactics in gardening improve food quality and keep the need for chemicals down.
Chamomile, hyssop, and calendula make complementary arugula companion plants and helpful friends in any veggie garden. Marigolds are not just aesthetically pleasing; they deter root-harming nematodes. Try organic mulch around your flower bases for extra pest-fighting power.
More Brassicas
If you’re wondering what to plant with arugula, try other members of the brassica family. There are quite a few great-tasting, versatile options to complement your garden and meal plan.
Arugula is prone to bolting or going to seed in the full sun of summer. Sowing arugula in early spring with other seasonally appropriate, cool weather brassicas is a solid companion planting strategy.
Black flea beetles are a common enemy of the arugula plant. Many gardeners plant radishes as a distraction crop. Using bait brassica is a pesticide-free way to divert aphids, caterpillars, and nematodes from your veggie garden. Plus, cruciferous vegetables have documented health benefits and are nutritious additions to every dinner table.
Wondering What to Plant with Arugula?
Legumes are a family of super-veggies that include beans, known as nitrogen fixers.
Try Legumes
Add pole beans or bush beans to your veggie garden to enrich the soil for other nearby plants. All plants require nitrogen to make chlorophyll; give your soil the advantage and add beans as arugula companion plants.
If you choose beans as arugula companion plants, do not place them near your alliums. Plants like chives and leeks harm the nitrogen-producing bacteria found in the root nodules of the beans, which inhibits growth and impedes garden productivity.
We hope you enjoyed these smart gardening tips and feel ready to try arugula companion plants in your veggie garden this year.
However, if you’re new to arugula and inspired by this article, there are quite a few varieties to choose from. Many people buy mesclun mixes (salad green mix) packages from the nursery or local garden center to start.
Sow your arugula seeds in the early spring or late summer. For maximum productivity, plan to sow any suitable companions accordingly. Substitute arugula for spinach in the garden or grow some in addition to your arugula for variety.
This easy-growing annual has so many fabulous friends that the options for companion planting are endless. Customizing your garden space for aesthetics and abundance is half the fun – be sure to leap in with both feet.
Add to your plant knowledge by trying different companion planting combinations and experimenting during the growing season. To minimize the use of pesticides, grow things that either complement how you cook or increase the biodiversity of your garden. With a bit of know-how and planning, you can do both.
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