Cannabis plants benefit from crop underplanting, a permaculture design technique that promotes plant health and yield. It also improves the soil’s quality by feeding the earth with nutrients and enhancing it with biodiversity.
In addition to boosting crop yield, companion plants can deter pests and attract beneficial insects. They can also act as a natural barrier against burrowing animals.
Lavender
Lavender is an easy to grow herb that makes an excellent crop underplanting. The scented flowers attract beneficial insects and deter pests like fleas, ticks, and moths. They also discourage rabbits and deer from nibbling on the lavender, keeping your crop safe and protected from damage.
The herb is a great addition to any garden because it grows well in full sun and doesn’t mind dry soil as long as it’s free-draining. It can be grown as a perennial, and lavender plants can live for years on end.
Another common companion plant for lavender is yarrow, which thrives in full sun and loves moist but well-drained sandy soils. This drought-tolerant flower is an attractive alternative to the evergreen leaves and dangling blooms of lavender.
Marigolds are a popular flower that combines beautifully with lavender, and they’re also very easy to care for. They’re great for attracting bees and other beneficial insects and deterring harmful ones like aphids and spider mites. They’re a good addition to compost and can help infuse your cannabis with minerals that are essential for growing healthy plants.
Zinnias are another pretty floral option that’s sure to complement your lavender plantings. They love full sun and soils on the dry side, and are very low maintenance.
They look especially pretty when paired with a variety of other lavenders. Their dandelion-like leaves are a nice addition to the mix, and their bright colors bring life to the subdued hues of your lavenders.
Oleander is another ornamental allium that pairs nicely with lavender. It’s an easy-to-grow shrub that thrives in full sun and can even withstand cold temperatures in certain zones, although it will die back to the ground in winter.
Yarrow
Yarrow is one of the best plants to use as a crop underplanting for cannabis cultivation. Its fine root system draws water into the cannabis root zone, improving drought resilience and soil texture. It also increases soil microbes and nutrients in the area, promoting healthy growth of your plants.
Its flowering buds release essential oils, which attract a range of insects that help keep pests at bay and promote healthy growth. Coriander is another herb that produces a scent that attracts beneficial insects like parasitic wasps and repels unwanted guests, such as aphids and spider mites.
Yarrow’s flowers are an attractive addition to any garden, in a variety of shades including soft pinks, lavenders, bright yellows and rich reds. They’re also excellent for dried flower arrangements.
A weedy perennial, yarrow has a broad circumboreal distribution in North America and Europe. It’s known by a wide variety of other names, including thousand-leaf milfoil, green arrow, wound wort and nosebleed plant.
The leaves are feathery and flattened. They have a pleasant odor when bruised. Yarrow is a popular edging plant in butterfly gardens and rock gardens, and it can also be used as a cut flower.
In addition to its beautiful blooms, yarrow can be used as a medicinal tea, a natural anti-inflammatory and a general pain reliever. Its medicinal properties are attributed to the presence of thujone and coumarin in its leaves and stems.
The leaves, flowers and stems of yarrow can be dried and consumed as a tea. They contain a variety of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that are beneficial for your health. If you choose to consume yarrow, it’s important to consult with a healthcare provider to determine the appropriate dosage for your needs. It’s also advisable to avoid using yarrow with prescription blood thinners or supplements that may reduce the absorption of yarrow.
Marigold
Marigolds, which are members of the genus Tagetes, are herbaceous annuals with cheery, pom-pom, anemone or daisy-shaped inflorescences. They are grown for mass planting, edging, borders, and cut flowers.
These plants grow best in well-drained soil with full sun. They can be sown directly in the garden after danger of frost has passed, or started indoors in seed trays 4 weeks before the last frost date and transplanted into the garden.
Most varieties are available in shades of yellow, orange, and gold; some unique cultivars have striped or bicolor blooms. They grow in a wide range of heights, from low-edging plants to tall bushes.
Besides being useful as a companion plant for cannabis, marigolds are also good for attracting beneficial insects to your farm. Their distinctive aromas repel spider mites and aphids while helping to attract other beneficial insects, including parasitic wasps.
They are also very helpful in suppressing outbreaks of vegetable-hungry nematodes, which attack the roots of many vegetable crops. They are a great crop underplanting for any garden, but especially in the vegetable garden.
If you want to make the most of your marigolds, add a few other plants close to them for additional benefit. For example, clover (Microclover, Dutch White, Red, and Crimson) provides nutrients, works as a living mulch, and improves water distribution.
Another useful herb is Coriander, which attracts and repels pests and has a pleasant scent. It is a member of the mint family and can be added to salads, drinks, and other dishes for flavor or garnish.
Marigolds can also be used in dessert recipes, blending their bright colors with chocolate, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and soft cheeses for added texture and flavor.
Fennel
Often overlooked in gardens, crop underplanting can help you make the most of your garden space and keep pests away from your cannabis plants. It increases biodiversity, improves soil quality, and offers a fresh supply of kitchen herbs for you to use in your meals.
Planting a variety of different herbs and flowers together creates a complex, self-sustaining ecosystem in which you aren’t dependent on external influences. Many of these plants attract beneficial insects to your garden that are helpful to your weeds, as well as improving soil health in the long run.
Fennel has many benefits as a cannabis companion plant, including repelling bugs and deterring weeds from growing in your garden. It also attracts pollinators and beneficial wasps to your garden.
Another great benefit of fennel as a crop underplanting is its ability to fix nitrogen in the soil. The roots of the plant are very deep, and they work with bacteria to draw in nitrogen from the air. This helps your plants grow and thrive.
Clover (Microclover, Dutch White, Red, and Crimson): This perennial herb provides additional nutrients to the soil around your marijuana plants. Its roots bring up nitrogen from the soil and improves soil drainage.
This plant can be grown indoors in small containers, but you should also consider planting it outdoors in your garden beds or around your outdoor pots. It also acts as a living mulch, feeding the soil and keeping it hydrated.
Yarrow is a useful companion for any garden, especially if you have problems with greenfly and whitefly during the summer months. Its flowering stalks attract numerous predator insects, such as ladybugs and aphid lions.
Comfrey
As a crop underplanting, comfrey provides a range of benefits for cannabis plants. It helps prevent pests and fungus, nourishes the soil, and adds flavour to your herb garden or kitchen.
Comfrey, also known as symphytum, is a perennial plant that grows in moist grasslands and riverbanks throughout Europe and Asia. It produces clusters of tiny bell-shaped flowers on drooping stems that attract bees and other pollinators in spring.
It has long been used as a medicinal herb and can be used for a variety of ailments, such as arthritis, gout, and sprains. Topical comfrey preparations, such as ointments and creams, contain chemical substances like allantoin and rosmarinic acid that boost the growth of new skin cells and relieve pain and inflammation.
Several randomized clinical trials have shown that topical comfrey preparations reduce pain and inflammation, accelerate healing of muscle and joint injuries, and promote callus formation in patients with degenerative arthritis, acute myalgia in the back, and sprains and strains after accidents or sports injuries.
Many people use comfrey as an all-purpose natural fertilizer in their gardens. The leaves can be layered into leaf mould heaps to add nutrient-rich liquid to the compost, and the roots break up compacted soils. It’s particularly good for growing potatoes and runner beans in shallow trenches, as their root systems will access the fertiliser from the comfrey mulch.
In addition, comfrey is an excellent soil conditioner. It’s a hardy plant that tolerates most growing conditions, and it can be propagated by cuttings or crown division.
Companion planting is a great way to get a jump on your harvest and keep your garden organic and healthy. You’ll be surprised how much it will boost your yields and provide other benefits, such as pest control.
