Here, I listed sweet potato companion plants that you can grow along with them for better yield. Planting sweet potatoes with suitable companion plants will give a better yield.
Sweet potato is considered a staple food because it is high in micronutrients and vitamins consumed by people suffering from vitamin deficiency.
Sweet potatoes and yams are close relatives. In fact, in North America sweet potatoes are considered to be yams even though they are genetically different.
Sweet potatoes are found in many colors ranging from purple to light orange. Sweet potatoes with dark skin color are higher in the concentration of beta-carotene.
What is Companion Planting
Companion planting is an old gardening technique where different types of plants grow together either to complement or enhance yield to repel pests and diseases.
Some other reasons, gardeners do companion planting include water conservation, nitrogen fixation, nutrient uptake, pest control, etc. suitable plants will increase productivity and utilize land in the best way.
Sweet Potato Companion Plants
Below are some of the sweet potato companion plants that you can grow along with them. These companion plants are grown for different purposes like pest control, nitrogen fix, water conservation, etc. select plants according to your priority.
- Horseradish
- Peas
- Radishes
- Garlic
- Yarrow
- Beans
- Corn
- Thyme
- Spinach
- Allium
- Basil
- Borage
- Alyssum
- Lettuce
Horseradish
Horseradish is a perennial root plant grown for its hot flavor. When this plant is grown with sweet potatoes, it increases the sweet potato’s resistance to pests.
It repels sweet potato pests like potato beetles, potato bugs and whiteflies, caterpillars, and aphids. Horseradish can resist pests due to the presence of a compound called Allyl isothiocyanate, which is also responsible for its hot taste.
There is less scientific evidence that horseradish helps in pest control. However, many gardeners and farmers claim that horseradish is repulsive to pests.
Some evidence also claims that adding horseradish’s organic matter to the sweet potato also repels pests.
Horseradish may be a great sweet potato companion but it’s not recommended to plant near some plants like broccoli, kale, and other members of the family.
Peas
Peas are a great companion plant for sweet potatoes. It helps to fix nitrogen in the soil. Sweet potatoes are usually in demand for more nitrogen, so both plants complement each other with nitrogen.
Besides nitrogen fix, many studies have found sweet potatoes and peas when planted together increase yield. Planting them together will only give you more sweet potatoes and peas in a season.
Peas also provide sweet potato shade in the hot summer that helps to retain water in the soil more. Sweet potatoes require more water to thrive well.
Peas also repel Colorado beetles that damage sweet potatoes. Growing them together will give you two vegetables at a time.
Radishes
Light-colored, crisp flesh with varying cover colors and an almost hot peppery flavor are the characteristics of radishes. A wide variety of colors may be seen on their skins, from black to white, red to yellow, and pink to purple.
Radishes are garden filler spaces, they have shallow roots that grow fast. So, if the sweet potatoes are looking to sprout and have nutrients, radishes are a good harvest. Radish repels flea beetles and protects sweet potatoes.
Garlic
Garlic is a great companion plant, it repels pests from primary plants like sweet potatoes. It distracts pests from its signature pungent aroma and protects companion plants from getting destroyed.
Garlic is also effective in the treatment of late blight, even more than fungicides. Small garlic cloves may take up to nine months to mature into a mature head of garlic.
Yarrow
Yarrow is a perennial herb that helps its companion by attracting beneficial insects. There are several varieties of yarrow, which may be found all throughout the globe. Medicine is made from the portions of the plant that are above ground. Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties may be found in yarrow.
It is a good companion plant for sweet potatoes and many others. This herb is cut into pieces and laid around the sweet potato plant to deliver the nutrients needed. Yarrow also helps to break down the soil, when sweet potatoes are planted in compacted soil.
Beans
Beans offer similar benefits as peas. Both plants work as nitrogen-fixing plants and give shade to sweet potatoes. Planting beans closer to sweet potatoes will also increase sweet potato production.
Peas, Beans, and lentils are all legumes, which are a group of plants that may be used in a variety of ways and provide a wealth of nutrients. Low in fat, cholesterol-free, and rich in folate, potassium, iron, and magnesium, legumes are a good source of these nutrients. Fats and fibers are also included in these vegetables.
Corn
As a long cereal crop grass, corn is commonly planted for its long, sweet pods of grain. The grains, which are commonly known as maize, may be turned into a broad variety of valuable compounds as well as food and feed for animals and a source of biofuel.
Corn provides shade too sweet potatoes that help to lower the rate of water evaporation due to which soil remains moist for a longer duration. This leads to enough water supply to the soil, well growth, and eventually good taste.
Thyme
One of the most well-known herbs in the world is Thyme. Flowers, foliage, and oil from the plant are extensively used in cooking and medicine. Thyme has antibacterial and antifungal properties due to its chemical composition. Aside from easing coughing, it may also have anti-oxidant properties.
Thymes attract beneficial insects like Syrphidae or hoverflies that predate aphids and save sweet potatoes. It is considered a good companion for sweet potatoes on plates and in the garden. Aphids are plant-killer if your plant suffers from an aphid attack. learn how to get rid of aphids in detail.
Thyme also enhances the flavor of sweet potatoes after the harvest. For better taste sprinkle some of the thyme leaves on the roast sweet potatoes.
Spinach
Many vitamins and minerals may be found in spinach, including A, C, K, folate, iron, and potassium. Adding spinach to your diet is a great way to increase your intake of fiber.
Overconsumption of fiber may result in swelling, tightness, and discomfort in the lower stomach. Oxalate, a natural chemical present in almost all plants, is found abundantly in spinach because of its high concentration.
However, Spinach is a good companion plant for sweet potatoes. It has shallow roots that grow earlier than sweet potatoes. Spinach act like ground cover plants when planted along with sweet potatoes.
It retains water in the soil that keeps the soil moist and stops the growth of unwanted weeds around potatoes. These weeds compete with sweet potatoes which reduces their yield.
Allium
Australia and New Zealand are the only places where you won’t find any Allium species. The Chive, onion, garlic, and leek are among the most significant food crops, while others are used as aesthetic border plants.
Alliums such as scallions, green onions, spring onions, and chives are good companion plants. They take less space between sweet potato rows due to their small size.
Allium plants are good companion plants for sweet potatoes but they do not do well in legumes which are good companion plants for sweet potatoes as well.
So remember when you are growing plants around sweet potatoes for better yield do not plant allium and legumes side by side.
Basil
Mint is a family of herbs that includes basil. It enhances the taste of food, and its nutrients could have a positive effect on health. Sweet basil is a popular ingredient in Italian cuisines and the Mediterranean. Salads, spaghetti, pizza, and other foods all benefit from the flavorful addition of pesto, which is made from basil.
Grow Basil, it repels insects like hornworms, thrips, and flies, preventing sweet potatoes from getting damaged. It thrives in the moist condition underneath sweet potatoes.
Borage
Borage is a vegetable. All of the plant’s parts are utilized for medicinal purposes. As an anti-inflammatory and topical treatment for skin conditions such as eczema, seborrheic dermatitis, and neurodermatitis, the borage seed oil is popular.
Borage is good in annual vegetable plots, forest gardens, and fruit tree guilds. It grows along with many plants including sweet potatoes. Borage helps maintain fertility and retain moisture when cut into pieces and spread the sound to the plant. They are also helpful in attracting a range of insects.
Alyssum
Your garden or yard will be decorated with an eye-catching carpet of sweet alyssum blooms. Its low-growing leaves, which are native to Europe, spread swiftly and cover the soil with small cross-shaped, 4 blooms within 2 months after seed sowing. Alyssum is slightly hairy, and orbicular gray-green leaves are seen on this plant.
Alyssum when planted near sweet potatoes acts as a ground cover plant. This ground cover retains moisture and gives potatoes enough water. Alyssum is beautiful and improves the garden view. Plue attracts beneficial insects like wasps that predate harmful aphids that attract potatoes.
Lettuce
Asteraceae, which includes lettuce, is a daisy-family plant. Lettuce is an annual. As a leaf vegetable, it is most commonly produced, although it may also be used for its stems and seeds. In addition to salads, lettuce may be found in soups, wraps, and, sandwiches and it can even be grilled.
Lettuce does not directly help in sweet potato growth. But, many gardens and farmers say growing them along with sweet potatoes increases yield. It is a fast-growing plant that grows earlier than sweet potatoes providing them with space and nutrients.
Bad Sweet potatoes companion plants
Now, after we discussed all the good companion plants for sweet potatoes. Let some bad companion plant that you should never plant along with sweet potatoes.
Squash
Squashes are vegetables that arrived in the New World in the beginning. Gourds and squashes belong to the same genus. Squashes include pumpkins and eggplants. Food preparation considers squash to be a vegetable even if its botanical categorization suggests otherwise.
Never plant squash with sweet potatoes or any other potato variety. This vegetable competes with potatoes for space, nutrients, and water that regulate growth and do not let them grow to their full potential.
Pumpkins and Gourds
Just like squash, the same thing happens when planted with low-grown plants like pumpkins and gourds. These plants inhabit each other’s growth and compete for space.
Tomatoes
Lycopene, an antioxidant found in high concentrations in tomatoes, protects the body from sun damage. Both the brilliant red color and the UV protection are a result of this pigment. In a similar manner, it may help prevent your cells from oxidative stress. vitamins B and E, Potassium, and a host of other minerals may be found in tomatoes, as can phytochemicals.
However, growing this vegetable with sweet potatoes is not a good idea. When tomatoes and potatoes are grown with each other, there is a greater chance of contracting diseases that harm both plants.
Sunflowers
Unlike any other plant, sunflowers are capable of providing energy in form of nutrition and brightness, qualities that are similar to those offered by the sun, with its light and heat as the source of all life-giving energy. To brighten someone’s or your own day, a bouquet of sunflowers is a wonderful choice.
When planted with potatoes, it increases the chance of contracting a fatal disease called potato blight.
Flowers companion plants for sweet potatoes
I have discussed many vegetables and herbs that are suitable to grow with sweet potatoes. Now, let’s see some flower companion plants for sweet potatoes.
- Marigold: Marigold is a beautiful flowering plant. However, it is also used as a crop companion. Marigolds repel pests that get into the roots of the plant and destroy them. It acts like bait for pests and insects distracting from primary plants like sweet potatoes. Marigold is one of the best companion plants for many plants and vegetables. learn how to grow marigolds.
- Nasturtium: This flower also repels pests like Colorado Potato Beetle.
- Sweet Alyssum: the flower attracts beneficial insects like wasps that predate on aphids.
How many sweet potatoes do you get off of one plant?
The number of sweet potatoes that you can expect to harvest from a single plant will depend on a variety of factors, including the specific variety of sweet potatoes that you are growing, the growing conditions, and the care that the plants receive.
In general, sweet potato plants are productive and can produce a large number of tubers over the course of the growing season. Some varieties are more productive than others, with some capable of producing up to 50 or more tubers per plant.
However, most sweet potato plants will produce between 5 and 15 tubers per plant, depending on the growing conditions and the care that the plants receive.
To maximize the number of sweet potatoes that you can harvest from a single plant, it is important to provide the plants with well-draining, fertile soil, plenty of sunlight, and adequate moisture. Sweet potatoes also benefit from regular fertilization with a balanced fertilizer, as well as proper pest and disease management.
Do sweet potatoes deplete the soil?
Like all plants, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) can remove nutrients from the soil as they grow, which can potentially lead to soil depletion over time if the nutrients are not replaced.
However, sweet potatoes are not generally considered to be particularly heavy feeders, and they typically do not deplete the soil to the same extent as some other crops.
To maintain soil fertility and prevent soil depletion when growing sweet potatoes, it is important to follow good soil management practices. This includes regularly adding organic matter, such as compost or well-rotted manure, to the soil to help build and maintain its fertility.
Regular fertilization with a balanced fertilizer can also help to maintain soil fertility, as can crop rotation, which helps to prevent the build-up of pests and diseases in the soil and helps to keep the soil balanced nutritionally.
It is also a good idea to test the soil regularly to determine its nutrient levels and to determine what, if any, additional nutrients may be needed. This can help to ensure that the soil remains healthy and productive for sweet potatoes and other crops.
Crop rotation of sweet potatoes
Can you plant peppers with sweet potatoes?
Yes, the best companion plants for sweet potatoes are those that can grow vertically like Tomatoes and peppers.
Did I Miss Anything?
Now I’d like to hear from you: which sweet potato companion plant from today’s post are you going to try first? Or maybe, I didn’t mention your favorite plant. Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
Before going if you want to grow beautiful flowers in your garden? Then click on these articles also.
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.