As the growing season winds down, most gardeners focus on harvesting and preparing beds for winter. But one of the most valuable tasks you can do before closing out the year is a companion planting audit. This process helps you evaluate which crop pairings worked, which failed, and how to refine your garden plan for next season. By assessing the performance of your companions at the season’s end, you gain insights that lead to better soil health, higher yields, and fewer pest issues in the future.
Why Conduct a Companion Planting Audit?
Companion planting is both an art and a science. Theories about plant interactions are useful, but each garden has its own unique microclimate, soil conditions, and pest populations. An audit ensures that you are not just relying on general advice but are learning from your own observations. Recording successes and failures makes it easier to refine strategies instead of repeating mistakes year after year. Over time, your garden becomes a personalized ecosystem that works in harmony.
Key Elements to Track
A successful audit goes beyond simply noting which plants “looked good” together. Consider these essential factors:
- Growth and Vigor: Did the companion plantings result in stronger, healthier growth compared to solo plantings?
- Pest Pressure: Were certain pairings more resistant to insects, or did one plant shield another from damage?
- Yield and Quality: Did companions improve flavor, size, or overall harvest quantity?
- Competition Issues: Did one plant overshadow or stunt the other by taking too much water, nutrients, or sunlight?
- Soil and Moisture Effects: Did companions help with moisture retention, soil structure, or weed suppression?
By documenting these categories, you build a clear record of what worked and why.
Examples of Positive Pairings to Audit
During your audit, pay attention to classic companion relationships and how they performed in your beds:
- Tomatoes and Basil: Many gardeners report improved tomato flavor and fewer pests when paired with basil. Did this combination live up to expectations in your garden?
- Carrots and Onions: These two often help deter each other’s common pests, such as carrot fly and onion fly. Did you notice reduced damage?
- Corn, Beans, and Squash (Three Sisters): This ancient method provides shade, nitrogen fixation, and weed control. Did all three crops thrive equally, or did one dominate?
- Marigolds with Vegetables: These flowers are said to deter nematodes and attract pollinators. Was the effect noticeable in your soil or yields?
Checking these well-known pairings against your personal results helps determine if you should continue using them or make adjustments.
Identifying Problem Pairings
Not every companion strategy is successful. Some combinations can compete rather than cooperate. During your audit, note situations such as:
- Shading Issues: Tall crops like sunflowers or corn may have stunted nearby smaller plants.
- Nutrient Competition: Heavy feeders like tomatoes may have reduced the growth of neighboring crops if soil fertility was limited.
- Allelopathy: Certain plants, like fennel or black walnut, release compounds that suppress the growth of others. If you noticed poor results in their vicinity, record it clearly.
Understanding these problem spots helps avoid repeating them next year.
How to Record Your Audit
Documentation is the most important part of a season-end audit. Consider these approaches:
- Garden Journal: Keep a notebook dedicated to seasonal records, with pages organized by bed or crop family.
- Bed Maps: Draw a simple map of your garden, labeling what was planted where. Annotate each area with notes on performance.
- Digital Records: Use spreadsheets or garden planning apps to track results and easily compare from year to year.
Whichever method you choose, consistency is key. Detailed notes provide a reliable guide for rotation and future planning.
Using Audit Results for Next Season
The ultimate purpose of the audit is improvement. Once you’ve gathered notes, use them to shape your next planting plan. Some steps include:
- Reinforce Successes: Keep pairings that clearly improved yields or reduced pest pressure.
- Modify or Replace Failures: Drop combinations that consistently caused problems, or try them with altered spacing.
- Plan Rotations: Use your audit records to rotate crop families and companions strategically to maintain soil fertility and reduce disease carryover.
- Experiment with New Trials: Each season, introduce one or two new companion pairings based on research or curiosity, and track them in the next audit.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When conducting a companion planting audit, watch out for these pitfalls:
- Relying on Memory Alone: By spring, it’s easy to forget which pairings caused problems. Write everything down while it’s fresh.
- Ignoring Soil Factors: Sometimes issues attributed to companions are actually due to poor fertility, watering, or weather conditions.
- Recording Too Broadly: Instead of saying “beans did well with everything,” be specific about which bed, variety, and spacing worked.
Accuracy ensures your audit is a reliable guide.
Long-Term Benefits of Auditing Companions
Over time, conducting yearly audits builds a personalized playbook of what works in your unique garden. Instead of relying only on general guides, you create a system that is fine-tuned to your conditions. This leads to healthier soil, fewer pest outbreaks, more abundant harvests, and a garden that feels easier to manage season after season.
Conclusion
A companion planting audit at season’s end is one of the most practical habits a gardener can develop. By recording successes, failures, and observations, you create a roadmap for future improvements. Each year’s notes build on the last, allowing you to refine your approach and design a garden that truly thrives. It’s a simple step with powerful long-term rewards.
FAQs on Companion Planting Audits
Q: When should I do a companion planting audit?
A: The best time is right after the main harvest season, while observations are still fresh. Before clearing beds for winter, take notes on performance.
Q: Do I need to track every plant pairing?
A: Focus on significant or new combinations. If a classic pairing always works for you, a brief confirmation note is enough. Save detail for experiments or problem spots.
Q: Can small gardens benefit from audits?
A: Yes. Even in tiny plots or raised beds, recording how companions interact helps optimize space and improve yields over time.
Q: What if results differ from companion planting guides?
A: Trust your own observations. Guides are general, but your soil, climate, and pest populations are unique. Use your audit to refine strategies that work for you.
Q: How long should I keep audit records?
A: Keep them for at least three to four years. This covers a full rotation cycle and gives you a long-term picture of your garden’s patterns.