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30+ years ago when I had space, time, and Colorado sunshine, I followed a Rodale suggestion (as I vaguely recall) and planted tomatoes and potatoes in the same plot. Tomatoes grew up; potatoes grew down. Probably works in Rockford, too.
Yes, I've done so as well. Works good when all the stars are aligned. However here in MN I can only plant spuds once every 3 years otherwise I'd be tending to Colorado potato beetles full time.
Rock Island. Davenport, actually. (I teach in the former, garden in the other.)
I suspect I could grow them simultaneously in the same patch. The question, as Mark suggests, is what happens if I try to grow them consecutively there? I haven't spent much time yet looking into biological controls (Rodale and the folks at Gardens Alive! offer a lot of options) but the general wisdom seems to be that two years is risky and three years is disastrous because you become infested, above ground and below, with wee beasties.
Companion Gardening makes a lot of sense. Mother Earth suggest keeping potatoes away from tomatoes...something about stepping on each others "toes". Actually Burpee is quoted as saying, "Potatoes and tomatoes are attacked by the same blight."
I've found that crop rotation is must unless you're willing to deploy a nuclear arsenal of chemicals containing who knows what which I am not. I tried various biological control strategies for all manner of plants but the results generally run miss-miss-hit-miss-miss-miss. YMMV
We always do potatoes in containers and using layering (instead of hilling, just start low and add dirt as they come up; you always want to have layers in your portfolio for bigger gains):
Comments
I suspect I could grow them simultaneously in the same patch. The question, as Mark suggests, is what happens if I try to grow them consecutively there? I haven't spent much time yet looking into biological controls (Rodale and the folks at Gardens Alive! offer a lot of options) but the general wisdom seems to be that two years is risky and three years is disastrous because you become infested, above ground and below, with wee beasties.
But I'll check.
And thanks!
David
Potatoes
Plant near: basil, beans, cabbage family, corn, eggplant, flax, hemp, marigolds, peas, squash
Keep away from: apples, birch, cherries, cucumbers, pumpkins, raspberries, sunflowers, tomatoes, walnuts
Some companion growing guides:
Mother Earth News
motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/companion-planting-guide-zmaz81mjzraw?pageid=1#PageContent1
Burpee
burpee.com/gardenadvicecenter/areas-of-interest/flower-gardening/companion-planting-guide/article10888.html
Organic Life
rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/26-plants-you-should-always-grow-side-by-side/slide/4
Quick Chart:
https://usda.gov/documents/Companion_Planting_and_Harvesting_Workshop_Handout.pdf
Urban Farmer
ufseeds.com/Vegetable-Companion-Planting-Chart.html