When growing tomatoes in greenhouses, gardeners try to rationally use every centimeter of land. But before planting a greenhouse, it is important to consider which crops go well with tomatoes, and which will be bad neighbors. The quantity and quality of the harvest directly depends on this.
Cucumbers and tomatoes
Opinions are divided on whether tomatoes can be planted together with cucumbers: some gardeners do not recommend such a neighborhood. Others believe that it is possible to grow in the same greenhouse, but you need to follow several recommendations. The reason is not that cucumbers and tomatoes are incompatible with each other, so you can't plant them together. They just need different microclimates for good growth.
Tomatoes prefer to grow in a ventilated, but warm room with low humidity. Therefore, in greenhouses, even at night, the window is opened. Cucumbers need a warm room with a lot of moisture. In such a microclimate, tomatoes begin to rot, diseases appear, flowers are poorly pollinated. This leads to low yields, and the fruits become bitter.
If it is not possible to grow separately, then you can divide the greenhouse with a piece of film or roofing material and thus create two different microclimates. It is better to place tomatoes on the south side.
Undesirable neighborhood
When choosing which crops to plant together with tomatoes, it is important to know whether they will interfere with each other's growth. For example, peppers and eggplants get along very well with tomatoes, as they are nightshades. But they have the same pests and common diseases that will migrate from one crop to another.
In addition, eggplant needs more light, heat and moisture. And peppers need the greenhouse to be stuffy, while tomatoes need air circulation. To solve this problem, you can divide the greenhouse and provide each crop with the necessary conditions.
The neighborhood of tomatoes with pumpkins, watermelons, melons and zucchini can be called neutral. But as these crops grow, they can push them aside, so you need a sufficient area of the bed and distance between the bushes.
Bad neighbors
There are crops that have a negative impact, and growing them with tomatoes is extremely undesirable. These include:
- potatoes – infects with the Colorado potato beetle and late blight, suppresses the growth of tomato bushes;
- corn – shades tomatoes, infects them with the cotton bollworm pest;
- dill - takes away microelements, depriving them of necessary nutrition;
- fennel, wormwood and kohlrabi - synthesize substances harmful to nightshade crops;
- peas - twine around tomato bushes, preventing them from growing, shading them, depriving them of the necessary lighting;
- cauliflower and broccoli have a depressing effect on tomatoes.
As an exception, if early dill is grown for greens, and it is collected before setting tomatoes, then such proximity will not harm.
Even before the arrival of spring, it is advisable to distribute planting sites, where and what crop will grow. This will help to avoid a bad neighborhood, and if necessary, it is better to divide the greenhouse into zones. Thanks to proper planning, you will be able to reap a rich harvest.
Tomatoes are the only crop that requires ventilation