Many gardeners need help finding the best tomatillo companion plants to maximize space usage and boost their yields. Tomatillo is an annual plant in the nightshade family that most people know for its health benefits. They provide vitamins A and C and potassium, with a high antioxidant level.
When growing tomatillos in a garden, experts recommend planting them in full sun and avoiding over-fertilizing them. Also, it’s wise to find the best tomatillo companion plants to ensure mutual benefits for the crops.
However, companion planting can be tricky because you should intercrop tomatillos with beneficial plants. Therefore, you should know what to plant with tomatillos. Gardenterprise lists the best tomatillo companion plants you can grow in your garden. But first, let’s understand why you should practice tomatillo companion planting. Here are the top reasons.
- To attract pollinators
- To repel insect pests
- To avail some minerals or nutrients
- To keep disease-causing pathogens away
- To enhance biodiversity in your garden
- To fill in bare spaces in your garden and prevent weed growth
While there are many benefits of companion-planting tomatillo, you must find the best tomatillo companion plant for your garden to maximize the advantages.
The 8 Best Tomatillo Companion Plants
Companion planting tomatillo is an effective way to maximize your yields and get the most out of your garden. Essentially, this practice helps you get food from your garden. But what is a good companion plant for tomatillos?
A good companion plant for tomatillo should grow and thrive nicely in well-drained. Since tomatillos are prone to bests, an ideal companion plant should help keep some of them away. Here’s a list of what to plant near tomatillos.
1. Peas
Peas are nitrogen-fixing legumes and some of the best tomatillo companion plants. That’s because they are ideal companions for heavy-feeding crops like tomatillos. Some sugar snap peas can vine through a tomatillos trellis. However, the pea varieties with a bush habit make the best tomatillo companion plants because they remain small and are low-growing and compact. Also, peas form a symbiosis in the soil. Therefore, they make nitrogen more available to tomatillos. Additionally, their flowers attract pollinators like bees that love the smell of their nectar. And crisp pods produce a great snack while weeding the tomatillo patch.
2. Borage
Borage helps prevent tomato hornworms and other caterpillars. Vibrant flowers on borage attract pollinators, and you can use the leaves to improve the soil or add to your compost. Some people plant borage with tomatillos as it is deer proof. But borage plants can be pretty big. Therefore, plant borage on the end of your tomatillo rows rather than in between them.
3. Onions
Most people know onions for their pungent aroma that helps keep many pests away. Onions are low-growing, shallow-rooted, and easy to tuck while intercropping with tomatillos. Additionally, onions scare away insects, mites, and ants in the garden. And this makes onions some of the best tomatillo companion plants.
4. Yarrow
Yarrow is a lovely white flower with numerous benefits when intercropped with tomatillos. This plant has medicinal and ornamental blossoms with a beautiful honey-like aroma that encapsulates their creamy white umbel blossoms and frilly fern-like leaves. Yarrow attracts pollinators while adding a splash of beauty to a garden. Moreover, yarrow can grow quite tall and wide under the right conditions. Hence, it’s best to plant it toward the margins of your tomatillo beds to avoid shading the main crop.
5. Basil
Basil is also among the best tomatillo companion plants due to its aroma that repels some pests. For instance, its sweet aroma can keep hornworms away. Also, basil is low-growing. Hence, it can help you maximize your garden usage. When intercropping basil with tomatillo, plant them directly or transplant baby basil along the trellised areas. Nevertheless, give your tomatillos 8-12″ space from the basil.
6. Garlic
Garlic is another plant with a strong smell that makes it stand out among the best tomatillo companion plants. Garlic’s strong smell keeps aphids away from a tomatillo garden. You could plant one raw garlic bulb close to the tomatillos to fend off sap-sucking pests. Like onions, garlic is shallow-rooted with a thin stalk. Therefore, it won’t interfere with the tomatillo’s root zone or access to the sun.
7. Marigolds
Marigolds are gorgeous and the best option for a good tomatillo companion plant. This plant gets along with most vegetables in a garden. In addition to repelling mosquitoes and beetles, marigolds attract pollinators. However, this plant also attracts flies and parasitic wasps, which will hang near your tomatillos, ready to eliminate the annoying aphids. Moreover, marigolds add a pop of color to a garden.
8. Asparagus
Asparagus is also among the best tomatillo companion plants. It’s among the best perennial vegetables to grow in your garden. However, establishing asparagus beds can be challenging. Most people harvest asparagus in spring, leaving the bed idle for the rest of the year. So, plant tomatillos in the garden instead of letting the asparagus beds remain empty between harvests.
What Not to Plant with Tomatillos
Generally, tomatillos do well with most plants. However, there are plants you should avoid intercropping with tomatillos. So, what can you not plant near tomatillos? Here’s a list of plants to avoid in your tomatillo garden.
1. Corn
Con is not among the best tomatillo companion plants because of specific reasons. For instance, it’s tall and can shade tomatillo. Additionally, corn attracts aphids and other pests to tomatillos.
2. Potatoes
Potato is another plant to avoid planting with tomatillo. Potatoes are in the same nightshade family as tomatillos, meaning they attract the same pests. Also, they attract potato beetles that can wreak havoc on your tomatillos. Therefore, it is excellent to avoid intercropping tomatillos and potatoes. And if you must, rotate tomatillos and potatoes regularly.
3. Dill and Fennel
Dill and fennel are also not good companion plants tomatillos farmers should consider. These plants are umbel-family herbs. While they are delicious in the kitchen and beautiful in the garden, they secrete and release harmful substances into the soil. This substance is a growth inhibitor for other plants. Therefore, planting dill and fennel in your tomatillo garden can inhibit the main crop’s growth. Hence dill and fennel are not among the best tomatillo companion plants.
How to Choose the Best Tomatillo Companion Plant
Selecting the best companion plant for tomatillos requires more than considering your desired garden appearance. For instance, what are the growth requirements for tomatillos and the plant with which you want to intercrop them? Luckily, several plants and herbs are among the best tomatillo companion plants.
Therefore, select a companion plant that won’t compete for nutrients with your tomatillos. Also, consider the sun and water requirements of tomatillos and the crop you wish to add to your garden. Additionally, find out whether plants attract or repel destructive pests and insects and if they will negatively affect each other.
Another crucial consideration is the timing for planting tomatillos as the annual plants in your garden. Pay attention to when the frost in your soil goes away. That’s because ice can damage tomatillos. Therefore, plant tomatillos when the frost disappears.
Final Word
At this point, you’re no longer asking, what are the best companion plants for tomatoes? That’s because this article has listed the best tomatillo companion plants and answered your question. If you plan to establish a tomatillo garden, ensure the companion plant you chose will benefit the main crop. And you can consider the best tomatillo companion plants highlighted in this article.
FAQs
What should you not plant with tomatillos?
You can intercrop tomatillos with several crops. However, avoid some plants in your tomatillo garden. For instance, don’t plant tomatillos with corn because it attracts aphids which can destroy tomatillos. Also, cucumber beetles lay eggs on corn. So, if you grow tomatillos near corn, cucumber beetles will feast on them. Also, dill and fennel may keep some pests away. However, they release some substances into the soil that can damage tomatillos.
Can you plant tomatillos near tomatoes?
Tomatoes and tomatillos need similar spacing, about two to three feet. Hence, this gives each plant room to spread without crowding. However, they require an adequate water supply for better growth and fruit production. Both plants don’t tolerate drought. So, if you plant tomatillos near tomatoes, ensure proper irrigation.
Do you have to plant tomatillos in pairs?
Experts recommend planting tomatillos in pairs, especially during spring after frost. Planting tomatillos in pairs ensures proper bloom pollination. The yellow blossom attracts bees and other pollinators to tomatillos. Thus, you may not even need the best companion plants for tomatillos in your garden.
Will tomatillos cross-pollinate with tomatoes?
Tomatillos can’t cross-pollinate with tomatoes. That’s because while they are close relatives, each has its genus. Hence these plants can’t cross-pollinate no matter how close they grow to each other.
Can you plant tomatillos with pepper?
Peppers can prevent root rot in tomatillos and tomatoes. Also, peppers repel some pests because of their spicy scent. Habanero or cayenne peppers are among the best tomatillo companion plants since they don’t compete with them. So, you can plant tomatillos with pepper, among the best companion plants for tomatillos.
Can you plant tomatillos with tomatoes?
Tomatoes are among the best companion plants for tomatillos. That’s because they are so similar to tomatillos. Both plants belong to the nightshade family and hence cannot cross-pollinate. Tomatoes will not keep any pests away, but they require the same type of soil and nutrients. Therefore, planting them in your tomatillo garden will increase yield. Thus, you can grow tomatillos with tomatoes if you want to add variety to your harvest.
