Along with space utilization and enhanced pollination, companion planting improves soil health and helps to maintain nutritional balance.
Horseradish companion plants like potatoes, carrots, chives, peppers, radishes, strawberries and tomatoes can help to pay off your gardening efforts with exceptional yield.
This root vegetable is known to release isothiocyanate oil that can curtail fungal movement in your garden. So, companion plants of horseradish can benefit to limit microbial and fungal movement.
Apart from benefiting its plants, horseradish is known to exhibit antibacterial and antifungal properties. When consumed it improves digestion, strengthens immune system and aids weight loss.
Know Your Plant – Horseradish
It might be boring to read history of horseradish, but I can assure not many knew about these interesting facts of this vegetable.
Condiment use of horseradish dates back to 1500 BC. It has been used as a bitter herb for Passover seders, treatment for rheumatism and as a condiment along with meat.
Horseradish was used to rub on joints to relieve inflammation by early Europeans. Medicinal properties of this root vegetable are backed by scientific studies today.
This root vegetable that has medicinal properties is brought to North America in colonial days by Europeans in mid 1800s.
Horseradish in its fresh form is absolutely delicious and very easy to grow. It has a pungent smell and taste. It’s a root vegetable.
Due to the multiple compounds present in the root, it provides various health benefits including antibacterial and anticancer effects.
Hence along with using it as a condiment for thousands of years, it has been used for its medicinal benefits too.
Horseradish is a cruciferous vegetable alongside wasabi, mustard, broccoli, cabbage and kale. It has been believed to have originated in Eastern Europe. It has green leaves and long white roots.
Mustard oil is formed when the root is cut and an enzyme breaks down a compound called Sinigrin. The oil is called allyl isothiocyanate, it gives horseradish telltale odor with taste and it may irritate your nose, eyes and throat.
Horseradish is eaten in a small quantity, since the serving in small it is low in calories but contains a lot of minerals and plant compounds. In this article let’s see what all plants can be grown alongside with horseradish.
Scientifically Backed Benefits of Companion Planting
A simple logic behind companion planting is, let’s say every person in a company has similar job role. Does it even make sense? Having diverse roles is what makes company run.
Similarly, a garden should have diverse plant and nutritional needs, which can be compensated by other neighboring plants.
This concept isn’t new; farmers have been using this method since 1800s.
Let me list benefits of companion gardening.
- Attracts predators that can help to get rid of common bugs from the garden. (1)
- In some cases some companion plants releases odor that helps to deter pests. (2)
- Companion planting is also used as trap cropping. For instance, saving your vegetable plants by planting flowering around it.
- It control weeds, improves water retaining ability of the soil, can provide shade to some plants, share nutrients in the soil and obviously the space.
In case of horseradish, it contributes to limit the growth of fungal infection in the garden.
Companion planting in agriculture and gardening is a way of planting different plants within the same proximity to aid various growth benefits including pollination, pest control, providing beneficial insect’s habitats, space management and to increase the crop productivity.
As we know that horseradish has many beneficial properties including antibacterial effects it is a boon for other plants to have companion planting alongside horseradish.
The oil release from the plant curtails infection and controls fungal and microbial development.
7 Best Companion Plants for Horseradish
Growing horseradish along with them can prevent this misfortune and will help the rodents and insects to be away from the plant allowing the plant to attain their full growth easily.
Below listed are companion plants that you can grow along with horseradish. You can also grow few of them in containers and place beside horseradish plant. However, I prefer growing in the garden.
1. Potatoes
Due to its excellent insect repellent properties, horseradish can ward off many diseases in the plants.
For this reason, potatoes grow very well along with horseradish.
When horseradish is grown along with potatoes it helps to ward off many insects and bugs from potatoes which could have affected the growth of potatoes.
Growth of insects like caterpillars, potato bugs, potato beetles, blister beetles can be completely curbed with the help of horseradish.
Just like potatoes sweet potatoes gets the same benefits from horseradish’s companionship.
Similarly, herbs like asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb are tiny and fragile plants that are easily infected by insects and rodents spoiling the full grown cultivation.
2. Sweet Potatoes
Similar to potatoes, planting horseradish along with sweet potatoes will deter pests and beetles.
3. Tomatoes
Though tomato planting may not directly benefit horseradish, planting horseradish along with tomatoes can deter pests to some extent, thus increasing your yield.
4. Strawberry
With vibrant color strawberries attracts pest that can ruin your hard work. Thankfully, planting horseradish will make them difficult. Pungent and strong smell of this root vegetable can guard strawberries.
Apart from this, other benefits like space usage, weed suppression and aesthetic appeal are need to be considered.
Check this out: How to grow strawberries in hanging baskets?
5. Rhubarb
Similarly, Rhubarb is protected from pests by horseradish. Though this plant doesn’t return back the favor, it won’t fight with horseradish for nutrients in the soil. So, these two plants can be grown in your backyard without any difficulty.
6. Chives
Chives are known to deter aphids and other pests, similar to horseradish. Both of them together work on to limit pests from your backyard.
7. Carrots
Carrot is known to break the soil and make it easy for horseradish to grow. On other side, pest deterring ability of horseradish can keep both plants safe.
Not only shrubs and undergrounds, horseradish also make a good pair with fruit trees.
Fruits trees which usually get attacked by rodents and bugs can be saved by growing horseradish as their companions.
The amazing antifungal and antibacterial properties of horseradish along with its oil release act as an amazing insect repellent. It deters birds and small rodents like mice and moles. Hence the fruits are saved from being eaten up!
Not just as a companion even as a standalone horseradish is very beneficial for humans too. Its anticancer property can be a boon for us.
Due to the fast and packaged food lifestyle cancer is rapidly growing and using horseradish in our diet can help us to keep cancer away.
It is low in calories and rich in other minerals and hence it’s not even going to affect the health conscious people’s diet. So when are you considering to grow horseradish in your garden?
Bad Companion Plants for Horseradish
It is very important to know about the plants that don’t grow well together. Else, you may end-up ruining your hard work.
Avoid these plants with horseradish, beans, cabbage, celery, cucumber, kale, lettuce, turnips and Broccoli.
Conclusion
Since horseradish grows rapidly one must take care to plant it on the corner of the patch as it can even spread from the tiniest root left in the ground and can easily cover the entire area leaving very less space for the companion plant to flourish.
Gardening isn’t just about growing, you need to try, test and confirm. I personally recommend you to choose 2 companion plants of horseradish and try them.
Sometimes, what works for me won’t show great impact for you.