Hey there. I hope you're doing great today and that this episode finds you in the middle of garden

planning and maybe even some garden research. Let me ask you, have you ever begun researching

companion planting? You head into it hopeful, excited to discover new and unique fun possibilities.

Maybe you want to get more crops in the same space,

or you want to repel bad insects or attract good ones. But soon, if you've had a similar experience

as I have, you can't keep all the information straight. How much of it is based on good science

and proven experience, and how much of it can

be chalked up to old wives tales? And what about when you find a certain companion combination

that's listed on one site as good and on another side as bad? It's enough to make your head spin.

In my garden, I've been testing different

companion combinations since my first year. Some of those listed as bad combinations

rarely seem to be all that bad for me, honestly. And then some of them that were considered

as good combinations, I really couldn't tell a difference like other

gardeners could. It's likely you've had the same experience if you've delved into companion

planting at all. I certainly don't want to add to your confusion. I think for all of us,

we need to research trusted sources. The best one I've found so far is Jessica Walliser's book,

Plant Partners. I devoured that book in a weekend. It was so good. But then after we find those

resources that we trust, we need to test them in our own gardens. Only then can we start to draw

some conclusions about what might work for our gardens and what really isn't worth the time.

Thankfully, most companion planting information out there shows good companions and you rarely can

go wrong testing those. That said, I have experienced a few companion planting disasters.

They're probably not what you think, actually. In this episode,

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