Companion Planting by the Numbers: Breaking Down Yield Increases
By Jack Shaw, senior writer and editor at Modded
As more farmers and gardeners seek to reduce their environmental impact and move toward more sustainable agriculture practices, one traditional approach that’s making a comeback in green conversations is companion planting.
The idea of intentionally pairing certain plants together to leverage their natural symbiotic relationships has shown promising results in boosting overall yields. But just how much of a difference does it make? Here’s how this approach increases yield significantly.
What Is Companion Planting?
Companion planting involves growing certain plants together to boost their growth potential, deter pests or improve soil health. This method benefits farmers and business owners by reducing the need for synthetic inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, to increase yield — a win-win for sustainability and productivity.
Advantages of Companion Planting
Companion planting offers benefits that contribute to healthier crops and higher yields, specifically by:
- Improving Pest Management
Well-placed companion plants can naturally deter pests. Aromatic herbs like basil, garlic and marigold emit scents that act as natural defenses against destructive insects, while flowers like nasturtium and dill attract beneficial insects that prey on pests. This eliminates the need for chemical pesticides to protect crops from pest damage.
- Promoting Pollination
Flowering plants such as borage, lavender and sunflowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. These pollinators promote the fruit and seed production of nearby crops, resulting in higher yields and better-quality produce.
- Better Weed Control
Plants like squash or clover grow close to the ground. When incorporated as a cover crop, they shade the soil to prevent weed seeds from germinating. This natural suppression of weeds eliminates competition for nutrients and water, allowing primary crops to grow stronger.
- Optimizing Space Utilization
Companion planting allows farmers and gardeners to use available space better by pairing plants that thrive together instead of growing each in its allocated piece of land.
- Supporting Soil Health
While processes like adding organic manure and composting help maintain the soil’s health, diverse planting can support your efforts:
- Certain plants fix nitrogen in the soil to enhance its nutrient content.
- Different plants draw from different nutrient layers in the soil. This is because the roots of one variety grow to the same depth and use nourishment at that particular level. This increases the risk of depleting specific nutrients from the soil.
- Deep-rooted plants like carrots can also break up compact soil, enhancing soil aeration and drainage.
- Upholding Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health
Growing diverse plant varieties in the same space creates a more resilient mini-ecosystem. They attract beneficial insects, lower the likelihood of disease outbreaks and improve soil microbiome diversity — biodiverse systems that are generally more stable and require fewer inputs to maintain.
- Higher Yields and Crop Quality
With better pest management, pollination and nutrient availability, companion planting is often guaranteed to increase overall yields. Certain pairings are even said to enhance the flavor and quality of the crops they accompany, as is with tomatoes and basil.
- Reducing the Need for Chemicals
Companion planting provides natural alternatives to fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, lowering the need for chemical inputs. This approach contributes to an environmentally friendly and sustainable system that benefits both growers and the surrounding ecosystem.
- Cost Savings
Companion planting can significantly reduce farmers’ and gardeners’ costs over time. Its use of fewer industrial inputs makes it appealing to those interested in sustainable and cost-effective practices.
Companion Planting Considerations
While companion planting offers many benefits, it’s essential to consider the possible challenges:
- Crop compatibility: Not all plants are compatible. Some plants compete for the same nutrients or root space, potentially reducing yields rather than enhancing them.
- Additional planning and management: Companion planting requires careful planning and knowledge about plant growth cycles, root structures and nutrient needs. For business owners, this means investing more time and labor in the initial stages.
- Trial and adaptation: Results may vary depending on local soil conditions, climate and crop types. Testing small sections of land before implementing companion planting on a larger scale can help determine which combinations work best in a specific environment.
Companion Planting Yields: What the Numbers Say
A group of professional scientists collaborated with volunteer citizen scientists to conduct a comprehensive study on companion planting. They compared the yields of strawberry crops grown in monoculture (single-species) versus polyculture (mixed-species) plots. The results were striking.
On average, the polyculture gardens saw a 32% increase in total yield by weight compared to the monoculture controls — attributed to 35% more fruit harvest. Using pollinator-attracting Borage blue as a companion plant also gave the strawberries a higher aesthetic quality.
Explaining the Yield Boosts
So why exactly does companion planting lead to such significant yield improvements? Fundamental mechanisms at play include:
- Resource partitioning: When plants with different growth habits and resource needs are grown together, they utilize the available space, water and nutrients more efficiently. Shallow-rooted plants take advantage of surface-level moisture and nutrients, while the deeper-rooted species benefit from resources further down in the soil profile.
- Pest and disease suppression: Some pairings have a synergistic effect on warding off pests and diseases. The strong scent of herbs and flowers can deter many common garden insects, while the physical presence of one plant may obstruct pathogens’ ability to spread between individuals.
- Soil enrichment: Some plants, particularly legumes, absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere and fix it in the soil. This benefits any nearby heavy-feeding plants that require lots of nitrogen to thrive.
- Microclimate moderation: Diversified plantings can create more favorable microclimates, providing shade, wind protection or humidity regulation that improves growing conditions for sensitive plants.
It’s worth noting that specific yield increases will depend on factors like climate, soil type, pest pressure and growing techniques.
Calculating the Financial Benefits
Of course, the ultimate goal for many farmers and gardeners is to boost their bottom line. So, how do the yield increases from companion planting translate to financial gains?
Let’s run the numbers for a hypothetical 1-acre vegetable farm. Based on the research, we can estimate that switching from monoculture to polyculture production could result in a 32% increase in total yields.
Assuming an average wholesale vegetable price of $2 per pound and a baseline yield of 20,000 lbs per acre, that would equate to:
Monoculture Scenario:
20,000 lbs x $2/lb = $40,000 gross revenue per acre
Polyculture Scenario:
(20,000 lbs + 32% increase) x $2/lb
26,400 lbs x $2/lb = $52,800 gross revenue per acre
That’s an additional $12,800 in revenue per acre — a significant boost that could make a real difference for a small- to medium-sized farming operation.
And the benefits don’t stop there.
Companion planting has been shown to support by 35% on average compared to monoculture production. Some key reasons for these yield increases include:
Whether it’s the action of planting a co-flowering species next to the crop that attracts pollinators or the increase in soil nitrogen content that boosts growth, companion planting promotes higher-quality yields. Aesthetically pleasing produce attracts better prices in the market, adding to the financial benefits of intercropping.
Companion Planting Strategies for Yield Optimization
Wondering how to get started? Here are viable strategies to grow your yield using this conventional agricultural practice:
Three Sisters Method
One of the oldest and most effective companion planting techniques is the “Three Sisters” method, which involves growing corn, beans and squash together. This age-old combination produces a higher yield than when each crop is grown separately.
Corn offers structural support to beans, which fixes nitrogen in the soil. Squash provides ground cover, reducing moisture loss and weed growth.
Border Cropping for Pest Control
Using pest-repellent plants like garlic, chives or marigolds along the borders of fields can reduce pest movement across crops. This method effectively protects high-yield crops from pests. It decreases the risk of infestation across larger areas, making it an efficient approach for business owners looking to scale up while maintaining crop health naturally.
Tomato and Basil Pairing
Tomato and basil are more than a culinary match on your Caprese salad — they are a tried-and-tested, high-yielding pair in the garden, too.
Basil’s aromatic properties repel insects, while tomato roots create a healthier, more stable soil for basil to grow. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that tomatoes grown in close proximity to basil taste better.
Row Intercropping for Larger Spaces
In larger farming spaces, row intercropping, where two crops are grown in alternate rows, is a proven method for advancing production.
A recent study revealed that intercropping equal numbers of corn and beans in semi-arid environments enriches the soil by up to 22% — thanks to the nitrogen-fixing properties of beans. This setup allows each plant to access its own nutrients and minimizes competition for sunlight, resulting in 13% more grain yields and a 42% higher economic return.
Companion Planting as a Path to Sustainable Yield Growth
The metrics speak for themselves — when implemented strategically, companion planting takes intercropping to the next level.
This time-tested method significantly increases crop yield and resilience to support sustainable business growth. It benefits the environment and creates a tangible return on investment.
Whether you’re new to companion planting or looking to optimize your current methods, the practice offers measurable advantages that make it an essential consideration for any sustainability-focused enterprise.
Author Bio
Jack Shaw, the senior writer and editor at Modded, specializes in weaving together the threads of health and wellness with greater concerns about sustainability best practices and industry developments. With a commitment to providing actionable insights and empowering readers, Through his writing, Jack seeks to educate and inspire individuals on their journey toward more eco-friendly decisions. Feel free to connect with him via LinkedIn.