Bok choy has a mild cabbage-like taste and a loose head of brilliant green leaves. The plants are simple to cultivate and taste great either raw in salads or after a brief period of cooking in dishes such as soups and stews. Find out in this post about several bok choy companion plants that can assist you in cultivating the most successful crop of bok choy you’ve ever had.
In gardening companion planting is used as a design approach to take advantage of the positive interactions that may occur between different types of plants. This approach helps to cultivate a garden environment that is both wholesome and participatory.
Many plants invite pollinators and insects that feed on them, while others are effective at warding off a variety of unwanted garden visitors. There are several plant combinations that have a beneficial effect on one another’s overall development and are said to provide food with a superior flavor when grown in close proximity to one another. Continue reading to find out what companion plants you can grow with bok choy to make gardening a breeze.
Good Bok Choy Companion plants
Controlling pests is an absolute need while cultivating bok choy if you want your harvest to succeed. The use of companion plants may be helpful in the management of these pests. You may plant crops alongside Bok Choy that will help keep pests away from your garden and the crops that you choose to grow if you use the companion planting technique. Below are plants that make excellent companions for bok choy.
Chamomile
Beneficial insects such as hoverflies, lacewings, and ladybugs are drawn to chamomile because of its pleasant aroma. In addition, chamomile has natural properties that inhibit the growth of germs and fungi. When cultivated in close proximity to other plants, it makes them more disease-resistant.
In order to protect plants from disease, use chamomile tea as a foliar spray. Mites, Aphids, whiteflies, and thrips are just some of the soft-bodied insects that may be killed by direct contact with this pesticide. Read companion plants for Chamomile.
Cilantro
For several reasons, cilantro makes for a great companion plant. It provides an egg-laying site for predatory insects that are helpful to the environment. The larvae of these insects feed on Aphids, worms, and whiteflies.
Pollinators will be drawn to your garden thanks to the delicate white blossoms. The pungent aroma of cilantro is effective in warding off pests like aphids in the garden. Read companion plants for Cilantro.
Parsely
Parsley is wonderful for attracting insect hunters like the ladybug and parasitic wasps, which means that your bok choy will have a legion of small guards ready to go when it’s time to protect it. Combining celery with bok choy increases the likelihood that your crop will be visited by a large number of pollinators.
Due to the fact that deer like eating celery and the other nearby veggies, you should steer clear of planting celery and bok choy if you do not have a second or third line of defense. Think about using scented plants or alliums to keep deer away by planting a perimeter around your property.
Garlic and Onions
When it comes to keeping pests away from your brassicas, nothing beats the protection provided by allium plants. Particularly effective for deterring aphids and slugs, garlic and onion will confound most pests likely to munch through your bok choy. In addition, the pungent odor of alliums will discourage deer from eating on your less aromatic crops.
It’s important to keep in mind that onions, in particular, need a lot of room to spread their roots out, which might cause them to out-compete your bok choy for available nutrients. If you want to keep reaping the bug-repelling benefits of this allium, it would be wise to plant it at a respectful distance.
Borage
The use of borage as a companion plant in a vegetable garden is highly recommended. It prevents cabbage worms from infesting the plant, and the leaves provide a nesting ground for parasitic wasps, hoverflies, and lacewings, all of which are carnivorous insects. The blue blossoms are very attractive to pollinators.
Borage strengthens the ability of the plants around it to withstand the effects of environmental stress. Both the blooms and the leaves may be eaten, and they have a taste that is similar to that of cucumbers. The huge leaves are great for use as mulch, and as they break down, they provide the soil with important nitrogen as well as other nutrients.
Borage is a plant that can easily propagate itself by sending out its own seeds and growing to be very enormous. When selecting a planting spot, be sure to prevent having too many plants in close proximity to one another by taking into consideration the eventual size of the plant. If you do not want volunteer seedlings the next year, you should remove the wasted blossoms.
Mint
Mint is well-known for having a strong and refreshing aroma, both of which have the ability to readily deceive typical garden pests that are prone to chew on your bok choy. If you grow this herb in the same soil as your brassica crop, you may find that it helps enhance the taste of the crop when it is harvested.
The advantages, on the other hand, are likely to stop there due to the fact that most species of mint are likely to fight strongly with one another for soil space. It is possible that it would be a good idea to cultivate a clutch of mint (catmint is often an excellent option) in its own pot or container just outside the reach of your bok choy. In this approach, not only will your brassicas profit from the defense against the pests, but they will also avoid any adverse effects from the competition.
Marigold
Marigolds are an excellent choice for warding off whiteflies, slugs, and aphids in addition to being wonderful for attracting butterflies, which helps to ensure that your bok choy garden receives enough pollination.
The French marigold species, in particular, provides for an excellent mulch, which will naturally repel the very destructive nematode that may otherwise be a problem for bok choy crops.
Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are effective in warding off cabbage loopers, whiteflies, and squash pests. In addition, nasturtiums are known to attract predatory insects such as hoverflies.
Gardeners may often grow nasturtiums a little distance away from their favorite variety of plants so that the flowers can act as a trap crop for pests such as aphids, flea beetles, and cabbage worms. Nasturtiums are often the insects’ first choice, and as a result, they do far less harm to the other plants. The nasturtium plant should be plucked and disposed of in a plastic bag when it has been infested with unwanted insects.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a herb that benefits from strong-scented protection, it is a great partner for most alliums. Bok choy is only one vegetable that benefits from this herb’s ability to enhance the taste of other crops. You can also plant sage with bak Choy.
Bad Bok choy companion plants
Nightshade family
Planting bok choy next to nightshade plants like tomatoes almost always results in the plant’s demise. This is mostly due to a soil fungus known as verticillium wilt, which will have a devastating effect on bok choy and other types of brassicas. Even if you plant chamomile next to your vegetables to ward against disease, it’s possible that it won’t be enough. You should also avoid cultivating peppers, potatoes, and eggplant along with bok choy because they are all members of the nightshade family.
Dills
If you decide to grow dill in your garden, you should place it at a distance from your bok choy because it attracts cabbage worms, as this will encourage insects and other pests to go in a different direction. Read Companion plants for Dills.
Brassicas
In general, different varieties of brassicas (like Cauliflowers, Brussel sprout, cabbage, and broccoli) do not get along well with one another, not only due to the rivalry for root space but also due to the fact that they share common pests. If you do not cultivate a robust boundary of herbs and/or alliums around your bok choy patch, some companion plant species, such as cabbage and broccoli, may cause your crop to produce a lower yield. If you don’t take precautions, you may anticipate an invasion of insects that will devour your bok choy.
Strawberries
Both strawberries and bok choy are chemically out of whack, which means that eating one will negatively impact the health of the other. When planted in the same soil, they will stifle each other’s development, which means that you should almost always anticipate a lower yield from both plants when growing them in the same medium. If you have the opportunity, it is best to cultivate strawberries in a different container whenever possible since the fruit may still attract wasps, which are very beneficial for the protection of bok choy.
Conclusion
If you want a robust and healthy crop of veggies, grow companion plants with bok choy.
Planting bok choy alongside other plants or herbs that complement it may result in larger, more flavorful harvests, and it just so happens that there are quite a few such species. Keep your distance while growing mint and other brassicas, and never take the chance of bringing nightshades into the mix due to the possibility of fungal infection.
I really do hope that this post was informative for you. Please share this article with your gardening friends. Also, tell me what you plan to grow beside your bay Choy in the comment box.
Thank you for visiting.
Happy Gardening 🙂
Hey! I’m Madhuresh, a passionate content creator, and a Plant lover. I created Shiny Plant to explore and learn about new plants. The purpose is to provide simple and effective Gardening Tips. Hope you’ll find this informative.