Customer Reviews

Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden

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Although GREAT GARDEN COMPANIONS appears to be about what to plant with what, Sally Cunningham's book is about much more. Cunningham is a 'Master Gardener' associated with the Cornell Cooperative Extension in upstate New York (growing zone 6) and has spent many hours practicing what she preaches in her nearby garden. Her garden (as shown in diagrams and photographs) reminds me somewhat of those shown on National Public Television's long-running Victory Gardens (raised beds, yummy soil), but Cunningham's advice and ideas are 100 percent organic.

While many people understand organic gardening involves the use of raised beds, mulch, compost, and cover plants that enhance soil friability, retain moisture, and restore soil, few books discuss the ecosystem within which gardens exist. Cunningham works a large garden at the edge of fallow farmland (where the glaciers left very nice black soil), however, many of her ideas will work in a smaller and/or less fertile places.

Some of the more interesting sections of Cunningham's book cover "old-time" notions such as how to build row hedges that attract birds and act as wind breaks; how to identify insect friends and foes and cultivate the former while repelling the latter; why toads, moles, birds, dogs, cats and horses can be great garden companions. For example, Cunningham says moles have been given a bum rap and dogs and cats can actually help you ward off the bunny rabbits and other critters who might make a meal of your lettuce. Horses are a fabulous source of organic fertilizer-should you be so lucky to own one.

Cunningham uses virtually everything that is biodegradable to make compost. She stops by the side of the road to sweep up leaves and pine needles discarded by others. She rips newspapers into long strips and mixes them into compost piles. She buries composted material directly in the garden under straw and other coverings to decompose over the winter. These practices work. I have buried half-digested material next to my roses in fall and by spring produced fabulous flowers on 3/4 canes ordinarily measuring a third of an inch.

Regarding companion planting, Cunningham suggests mixing the members of "families (i.e. tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) in the same bed along with companion herbs and perennials. She suggests members of the same family have similar growing requirements and by combining like with like you will save work. This might be so, but many garden writers suggest the opposist--combining plants from different families as companions. These writers believe the pests and diseases that attack one member of a family are likely to attack another member of the same family and by separating them you confuse the enemy. In addition, authors like Riotte (CARROTS LOVE TOMATOES) suggest certain combinations produce synergistic results. I tend to agree with Riotte, but like much else in life, you will have to experiment with various combinations to find the answer for your garden.

Which plants enhance other plants, attract good bugs, repel bad bugs. Vegetables that are compatible and incompatible. Each section is comprehensive, easy to follow. Great tips, especially the home-made Tomato cages. The paperback version is very nice, lots of pictures and illustrations and large, I also have the hardback. There is information about diseases, ways of planting (container, etc.)This should be in every gardner's library, from beginner to professional.

This is what gardening is all about! This text approaches gardening in a sustainable, "natural-chaos", good for you and the earth manner. The illustrations are clear, the diagrams simple, new/unfamiliar terms well explained. Very clear, concise, imaginative, and inspiring. The author deserves a BIG thank-you for writing this book. It takes the guess work and mystery out of organic gardening and companion plants. Her methods are simple and effective.

This being my first year gardening other than one other attempt 30 years ago, I had no idea really about how to proceed. What I did know was that I wanted to have a chemical free garden, and not have too much weeding to do.
My previous garden, 30 years ago, used manure as fertilizer, and I was constantly pulling out grass shoots and weeds.
"Great Garden Companions", with its many diagrams, beautiful pictures and easy to understand instructions and layout has made my first raised garden a success! Despite the rain we've been getting, with the drainage I haven't had to replant. The flowers look great in with the romaine lettuce and other leafy veggies, and the helichrysum is doing a great job of keeping the broccoli leaves free of pests.
If I had to have just one gardening book, this would be it.

Sally may have a "messy" garden, but the photos prove how beautiful (and effective) her methods are. I love how thorough the book is. Not only does it provide companion gardening techniques, but she provides a lot of tips and tricks that work for her. This is a great read with tons of advice on growing a healthy garden the organic way.

I really like this book and will be applying its advice this year in my garden. It's an easy read, with enough detail to be informative and satisfying, while not overwhelming. The line drawings and the author's actual garden pictures really help to cement the concepts -- you can see what she does outside, not just what she says.

The evidence-based information is something I appreciate; I like when content like that found in this book has scientific backing. While there is certainly anecdotal evidence based on her own (plentiful) experience, she cites studies which made certain companion planting, insect findings, etc. It's a great combination that suggests I'll be really successful because I can tailor the fact-based information to my situation.

A friend of mine borriwed this book often, so I bought them a copy for their birthday. It showed me many ways to reduce pests in my garden, using companion planting, and without using pesticides. I love the mix of pretty flowers and herbs among my vegetable plants. It also offered great ideas for plant spacing within the garden.

This book was great. It's an easy to understand book with good pictures and a really useful chart of beneficial plants. It gave me a new perspective on the often complicated world of companion planting. This book isn't about folklore, it's about what's worked for one master gardener over many years. It's broken down into manageable chunks. I love the idea of plant families living in plant neighborhoods, surrounded by plants that help growth and beneficial insects and confuse or lure away the bad ones.

As a beginner gardner, this book is helping me to, hopefully, put my garden in order. 'Great Garden Companions' is written in a conversational style and is nicely organized. Ms. Cunningham's experience in gardening shines through with helpful hints and sound advice based on years of working with her companion system. She outlines which vegetables, herbs and flowers work best together to repel pests naturally, covers many basic gardening skills (which I need to develop), and her enthusiasm is evident on every page. I think this book would be an excellent choice for any new gardner or for someone interested in gardening organically.

Great Garden Companions, I bought this for someone else and she likes it. She must, she keeps quoting from it.