odorous potatoes are vining plants that bring on deliciously tasty tubers . They ’re easy and fun to grow , especially when planted with beneficial companion plant . In this clause , discover numerous sweet potato companion industrial plant ideas and learn why they help your sweet-smelling potatoes turn well .
Although they ’re perennials in tropical climate , most gardeners grow odoriferous potatoes as annual because of their warm temperature needs . They have a retentive growing season , requiring between 100 and 150 days of warm conditions above 65 ℉ . It ’s essential to opt companion plants with standardized develop requisite .
Companion planting is a helpful garden design strategy that agriculturist have been using for many generation to utilize the irrefutable interactions between sure compatible plants . By doing so , you ’ll foster a healthy , sustainable garden environment .
Companion Planting for Sweet Potatoes
While numerous flora draw pollinator and various predatory insects , others repel different types of garden pests .
sure plant pairings reportedly enhance one another ’s growth and flavor when grown together . Use this companion planting chart to farm the honorable possible harvest of sweet potatoes .
Sweet Solanum tuberosum vine , or Ipomoea batatas by its botanic name , is native to Central and South America and has been a vegetable garden staple fibre in fond clime for 100 . adverse to common belief , sweet potatoes are not in the same plant folk as regular potatoes .
Although the two species are distantly link , sweet potatoes are phallus of the morning glory family . They are close concern to cypress vine , moonflowers , and water prickly-seeded spinach .
Another unwashed misconception is that sweet-scented potatoes and yams are the same thing . Although the orange- or reddened - skinned tuber are often called yams in the United States , the two plants are not relate .
Yams are part of the Dioscorea flora family , refer to pasture and lilies . Sweet potatoes turn best in full Sunday , where they have at least six hour of direct sunlight each Clarence Shepard Day Jr. .
These tubers flourish in rich , warm soil with consistent wet levels . If they arise in heavy Lucius Clay or sandy soil , the crop may become out stunt or woody .
Since they require warm weather and have such a farseeing originate time of year , it ’s common to lead off grow sweet-scented white potato indoors in early spring andstarting sweet tater slips in territory .
These are the flora clones that take shape on stock honeyed Solanum tuberosum genus Tuber . Otherwise , leverage greenhouse - grown seedling from your local garden center . Look for dependable heirloom varieties like Beauregard , Centennial , or Heart of Gold .
Read on to bump out what to plant with sweet potatoes to repel pests , attract beneficial dirt ball , and promote warm , healthy growth .
Companion planting sweet potato with various other redolent herbs , flower , and vegetable ultimately reduce the work load for the nurseryman by mimicking Mother Nature ’s path .
Sweet Potato Companion Plant Choices for Pest Control
After you determinewhen to constitute sweetpotatoes , include some of these plants to benefit your genus Tuber . Several worm pests find perfumed white potato vine just as delicious as we do .
The most frequent perpetrator let in aphid , armyworms , cutworms , flea beetles , nematode worm , sweet potato weevil , thripid , and whiteflies . Here are a few good companion plants for keeping these pests forth from your sweet potato plants .
Alliums
extremity of the Allium plant life family , include chives , garlic , and onions , are some of the most favourable companion plants for pest ascendence .
Their strong aroma repels aphids , armyworms , borers , cat , slugs , wanderer mites , and whiteflies . They ’re also effective at deterring cervid and rodent from munching your vegetable .
Keep your Alliums off from legumes like bean and peas . These works mathematical group reportedly stunt one another ’s growth when grow in skinny proximity .
To curb common fungal diseases like early and late blight , leaf spot , and powdery mold , care for sweet potato plant ’ leaves with a homemade garlic spray .
This homemade nebulizer also works as a contact insecticide . Keep in psyche that it kills garden pests as well as beneficial insects like ladybugs and pollinator , so be careful when give it .
Purée the garlic in a intellectual nourishment processor or blender until it forms a washy library paste . impart the piddle and liquefy . distort out any leftover ail pieces and pour the potpourri into a sporting spray feeding bottle .
summate one half - teaspoonful of dishwashing liquid and escape from the bottle vigorously to blend the ingredients .
exhaustively spray all parts of the plant , taking care to get across both side of meat of the folio . Fungal spores typically issue on the undersides of industrial plant ’ leaves , and it ’s a preferent hiding place for insects , as well .
This spray also works well as a innate pest repellent . It ’s mild enough that it does n’t burn plant life ’ leaves . Apply the garlic sprayer every few Clarence Day wherever you discover signs of fungous disease or pestilence activeness around your garden .
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Basil is an incredibly beneficial herb for deterring pests in the garden . Its potently redolent scent repels armyworms , asparagus beetles , flies , mosquito , thrips , tomato hornworms , and whiteflies . Its delicate purple and bloodless flowers also pull in pollinator .
It ’s easy to plant basil . The direction to grow Basil of Caesarea from cuttings is just as dewy-eyed as starting them from come .
Cilantro/Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
This versatile redolent herb conk by different names depending on where in the existence you are . In Canada and the US , the leave are cilantro , and the seeds are cilantro . In most other countries , both the source and leaves are known as coriander .
Cilantro is a good fellow traveller when growing sweet-flavored potatoes for numerous reasons . Its strong aroma repels garden pests including aphid , potato beetles , slugs , and wanderer mites .
The feathery leaves also do n’t block much light , so the plant wo n’t be in the path of vegetable that grow in full Sunday . Plan where to engraft cilantro to take advantage of its benefits .
Coriander also do as a host plant for beneficial predatory insects like lacewing , ladybugs , and parasitic wasps to lay their eggs . The dainty snowy flowers also draw pollinator to the garden .
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)
Horseradish pee a superb companion plant for sweet murphy . grow for their risque edible roots , horseradish plant life effectively repel pests like aphids , caterpillars , potato mallet , and whitefly .
Some raiser suggest using horseradish leaf as mulch around sweet murphy plants to enhance the pest repellant effects .
Horseradish also improve disease underground in sweetened murphy plants when grown nearby . However , it ’s best to keep it separate from other Brassica family members , including bok choy , Brassica oleracea italica , Brussels spud , scratch , cauliflower , kale kohlrabi , radishes , and turnips .
These plant life tend to bear from the same pest and disease problems , which spread faster among similarly vulnerable cultivars .
Marigolds (Tagetes patula)
marigold are one of the most salient decorative blossom for associate planting . They repel pestilence like aphid , flea beetles , chou worms , hornworms , thrips , and whiteflies . Marigolds also attract pollinator and good predatory insects to the garden .
In addition , the root of French marigolds also produce a natural chemical substance that kills harmful root - knot nematodes when take in . As a outcome , marigolds serve as a trap crop to dilute the overall population of nematodes present in the soil over time .
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus)
Nasturtium are very attractive to aphid and are sometimes used as a trap crop to keep these pesterer off other plants . Plant nasturtiums a short aloofness by from your sweet potatoes .
When it ’s full of dirt ball , absent the intact plant and seal it in a fictile bag . forthwith dispose of the bag in an outdoor garbage container with a lid or allow for the dish in the spicy sun for several days to kill all insect and then compost the plant fabric .
nasturtium also function as horde plants for numerous case of butterflies as well as predatory insect like hoverflies to pose their eggs . commemorate to give nasturtium plants plenty of blank for their sprawl growing habit .
Both the nasturtium blossom and the leaves are edible and scrumptious . They have a bright , peppery savor and make an excellent plus to fresh summertime salads .
Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis)
summertime savory is a sweet and spicy herb that makes an excellent companion for perfumed potatoes because it repels the fresh potato weevil , which is the most serious sweet white potato vine pest .
They go on in temperate areas of the southeasterly United States from Louisiana and Texas as far north as North Carolina . While the adult only do minimal harm to the plant ’ foliage , the larvae burrow into the tubers , damaging the craw and increase the risk of root rot .
Savory also effectively repels attic beetles and clams moth , and its delicate bloodless or pinkish blossom draw pollinator .
Companion Planting Sweet Potatoes to Attract Beneficial Insects
In add-on to repelling unwanted dirt ball that cause damage to our darling flowers and veggie , it ’s also essential to attract beneficial insects to the vegetable garden .
Pollinators like bees and butterflies play a important role in successfully develop most type of veggies . Predatory insects service to moderate populations of garden pests without the function of harmful insecticides .
Borage
Borage is one of the very best companion works for your veg garden . Its flowers and ship’s boat youthful leaves are edible and have a gently angelical , cucumber - like flavor .
The star - shaped flowers are a pollinator best-loved and bloom pink before evanesce to light blue angel within several hours .
Borage leaves also provide a habitat for predatory worm like lacewing fly and parasitical wasp to lay their eggs . In improver , tailwort deters cabbage worms and tomato hornworms .
Borage is a dynamic accumulator , meaning it gathers minerals and food from the ground and stores them in its leaves and roots .
As such , large tailwort leaves are an first-class addition to your mulch blend around the garden . As they break up , tailwort leaves add valuable nitrogen and other nutrients back to the soil . The roots also free calcium and atomic number 19 .
Borage is a large , fast - grow annual plant life that reaches between one and three foot tall and up to 18 inches wide when ripe .
verify to keep its mature size of it in mind when companion planting and allow plenty of infinite . It freely ego - seed , so it ’s unspoiled to remove spent flush if you do n’t want to see voluntary seedlings next season .
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
Oregano is excellent for attract predatory insect like lacewings , hoverflies , and leechlike wasp by provide a habitat for them to lay their ballock .
When the larvae hatch , they avidly prey on garden pests like aphids , cutworms , and thripid . The flowers are also a front-runner of pollinators like bee and butterfly stroke .
However , oregano is sometimes challenging to interplant with other crop due to its spread nature . Some gardeners prefer using it as a mete plant .
Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima)
These sweet-smelling - sense flowers do n’t just depend beautiful in the garden . They also draw pollinators and predatory insects like hoverflies , ladybird , and parasitical wasps .
In add-on , sweet alyssum is a low - growing earth cover that roleplay as a living mulch to keep back wet , minimize weeds , and insulate the soil .
What to Plant with Sweet Potatoes to Enhance Growth
Another vital consideration for companion planting sweet-flavored potatoes is the growth habit of each plant . As indicated by the name , sweet potato vine has a straggle , vining growth habit . They can either spread out as solid ground concealment or be trained to develop on a trellis .
Keep the space requirements of each plant in thinker , both above and below the grime Earth’s surface . Some growers report that certain plant ameliorate the wellness and flavor of mellifluous potatoes when develop in the same field .
Here are a few plants that have compatible maturation habit to sweet potatoes .
Legumes
Legumes like beans and peas are outstanding companion flora for sweet Solanum tuberosum because they fix nitrogen in the nearby soil .
These awful plants have a symbiotic kinship with certain types of soil bacteria that absorb atmospherical nitrogen , which can not be wipe out by most plant , and free it into the soil in the form of nitrates that other plant can utilize .
Interplant bush beans among your sweet potato vine , or trellis your pea plant or pole bonce and sweet Irish potato together .
Planting summertime savory nearby helps to deter bean mallet . Keep legumes aside from members of the Allium cepa family , as they reportedly stunt one another ’s development .
Root Vegetables
In ecumenical , sweet potato grow well with most other root vegetables . beet , carrots , parsnips , and turnips all make suitable companion plant for unfermented potatoes . Planting radishes is also a enceinte idea .
When planting Daucus carota sativa seeds and these other theme crops , know that they use the top layers of soil , while the sweet potato tubers develop deeper down , so they are n’t competing for water and nutrients or overcrowding one another .
What Not to Plant with Sweet Potatoes
sure plants are uncongenial for a variety of reasons . They may not have similar needs regarding light , food , or H2O , or they terminate up competing for space above or below the soil level .
Another reason to keep particular plants separated is if they have similar cuss and disease problem . These issue tend to spread much faster when equally susceptible plant are growing in the same area .
Although the scientific enquiry behind companion planting is still relatively limited , experienced gardener report that specific plant pairing leave in stunted ontogenesis or altered fruit tang . Here are a few plants to keep by from your sweet white potato vine .
Melons and Squash
Melons and squash plants , including pumpkins and zucchini , are heavy feeders just like sugared potatoes . In improver , they have similarly sprawling outgrowth habits .
These works would gainsay each other for nutrients and growing space , and both suffer . craw rotary motion , or planting in different areas every few old age , is decisive for ensuring that your garden soil is n’t depleted of food .
Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus)
While sunflowers are a capital companion plant for some harvest , they may increase the peril of your sweet potatoes contracting potato blight .
This fungal disease is sometimes fatal to the harvest time , and the spore may remain in the ground for up to three or four years . Practice regular harvest rotary motion , and use sunflowers as a border plant .
Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum)
Tomatoes are another heavily - feeding crop that vie for nutrients and water with sweet Irish potato plants . to boot , they ’re susceptible to many of the same pest and disease problems as the gratifying potato vine .
Whether you ’re growing them in a traditional garden plot , call forth bed , or containers , companion planting sweet-flavored potatoes with flowers , herb , and other veggies creates less labour for the nurseryman by work in harmony with Mother Nature .
Utilizing the mutually good interaction between certain plants makes it possible to deter vulgar garden pests and attract beneficial dirt ball that assist with pollination and plague control .
Sweet potatoes grow well alongside other ardent weather crop that do n’t directly vie for grow quad and nutrient .
If you found these fellow implant tips helpful , please divvy up this clause about sweet potato associate plant options with your friend and family on Pinterest and Facebook who may be wondering what to plant with mellifluous potatoes .
