Plants in Harmony: How to Maintain Plants in Symbiosis

Hiring a gardener is one of the best ways to benefit from a beautiful garden without putting in all the hard work yourself. However, believe it or not, symbiosis is also another option for time-poor garden lovers who want their gardens to look after themselves.

Symbiosis, also known as mutualism, refers to anything that can live together and affect each other. An example of symbiosis would be planting a tomato plant and basil plant together. The tomato releases nutrients into the soil that the basil can use to grow, while the basil attracts pollinators to help the tomato plant grow.

However, if you’re new to symbiosis in the plant world, you may not know how to maintain this mutually beneficial relationship. We’ve included some top tips below.

Grow Mycorrhizal Fungi

If you’ve always struggled to provide your plants with the nutrients they need, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, consider growing mycorrhizal fungi. This fungi wraps itself around the roots of your plants and enhances nutrient uptake.

The plants release carbohydrates as sugar in return for the fungi’s help, which the fungi then consumes. Many different vegetable plants can benefit from this relationship, such as lettuces, carrots, cucumbers, and corn.

If you’re unsure where to get mycorrhizal fungi from, you’ll be pleased to know you can grow it yourself. Collect grassy species like oats, wheat, and maize and mix them with legumes like alfalfa, peas, beans, and lentils. If you don’t have grass species, you can use an allium like a leek or onion.

The combination will become a healthy foundation for mycorrhizal fungus, which can then multiply in your garden. Alternatively, many New Zealand plant nutrient businesses sell this fungus ready to use. 

Attract Wildlife

Many homeowners love attracting wildlife to their properties just so they can admire them. After all, who doesn’t love waking up to birdsong? However, attracting wildlife can be essential for maintaining plants in symbiosis.

Birds, bees, and even butterflies might allow your garden to thrive far more than you anticipated. Birds help eliminate grasshoppers, slugs, caterpillars, aphids, and much more. They are essentially a natural form of pesticide that save you from having to use toxic products that have the potential to harm wildlife and even your pets.

They are also reasonably easy to attract with birdbaths, feeders, and birdhouses in your trees. While you’re luring the birds in, you can also be welcoming bees and butterflies to assist your plants. Plants that require pollination make up 35% of the crop production volume worldwide, and bees and butterflies are excellent pollinators. Without them, we’d likely be headed for a global food shortage.

Ask the Experts

The more your plants can help themselves, the less you have to do, which can certainly be a motivating factor to make sure your garden promotes symbiosis. However, if you’re unsure how to begin, asking gardening experts for help could be in your best interests.

They can assist with helping you know which plants to buy and which ones work together to help each other. The sooner you get the process underway, the sooner you might experience the benefits.

Best Plants for Symbiosis

We detail some of the best plants for symbiosis here, but there’s no harm in running through a few of the most popular options, especially if you need help getting started.

Lavender

Not only is lavender a beautifully aromatic plant that can’t help but put a smile on your face, but it’s also a powerful symbiotic plant. If you have particularly vulnerable plants, consider planting them near lavender to keep the insects at bay. Essentially, lavender works as an insect barrier.

Rosemary

A sprig of rosemary on your roast dinner is the perfect garnish, but there’s more to rosemary than meets the eye. Anyone battling with flies, beetles, and cabbage moths might see its value for keeping them away from your carrots, cabbage, and sage.

You might also notice that it enhances the flavours of your other vegetables while giving your broccoli the best chance of growth. However, it’s important to note that rosemary and potatoes don’t grow well together.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a versatile fruit/vegetable that can be the star of the show in many dishes, which is perhaps why so many people plant them each year. However, they also have profound symbiosis benefits.

Carrots, celery, parsley, asparagus, basil, and onion all love being neighbours with these red delights. You may notice a difference in how healthy these vegetables grow when you choose to plant tomatoes next to them.

As challenging as it can be to find the time to tend to your plants and enjoy a well-maintained and healthy garden, you don’t have to do all the hard work yourself. Alongside hiring gardening experts to assist, you can also create a symbiotic garden that can work hard to take care of itself.