Companion Planting Series: Part Six - The Nightshades

           Here we are at the sixth and final installment of the companion planting series and today the topic focuses on the Nightshade Family. The Nightshade family is scientifically known as the Solanaceae family and it’s not a small family as about 2,700 plants are within it. Although the family originated in South America members of this family now inhabit just about every continent on Earth except for Antarctica.  This diversification started after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago and saw the mass extinction of about 75% of all life on our planet. As such Nightshades diversified over time becoming adapted to thriving in an assortment of land types but also taking on a variety of forms ranging from epiphytes to trees. A number of species developed a chemical defense in the form of high concentrations of Alkaloid compounds; examples of this are the Nicotine in Tobacco or the Capsaicin in Peppers. The name Solanaceae has some uncertain origins, it is clear that it comes from the Latin word Solanum, but it may come from the shape of many Nightshade plant’s flowers resembling a sun. Take a close look at an Eggplant or Tomato flower and you can kind of see how perhaps given the Latin word for the sun is Sol and the yellow flowers of a tomato are very star-like in shape. Eggplants have a more noticeable and similar shape but often is white or purple but they are still shaped similar to a simplistically drawn sun. Some sources suggest Solanum came from the Latin verb ‘Solare’ which means “to soothe” and given the medicinal uses of some nightshades this may have merit. Regardless of the origins of the name, it is clear what role the most common nightshades in cultivation play in the garden when it comes to companion planting. Without further delay here is a look at the most commonly found nightshades in the garden trade and how they fit into companion planting.

 

Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia species)

 

          Angel’s Trumpet when in full bloom is quite the sight to behold since the flowers have scent and are large and dramatic in presentation. However unlike its annual cousin Brugmansia prefers partial shade areas and pairs well with Marigolds and Basil.

 

 

 

Bed of Nails (S. quitoense) & Porcupine Tomato (S. pyracanthum)

 

          These strange Nightshade relatives do double duty in the garden. The Bed of Nails has purple spines while the Porcupine Tomato has bright orange-red spines and due to this they both have a role as an annual part of defensive landscaping as most animals and people will not mess with these plants. Only the Bed of Nails bears edible fruit and both can be used to hold soil in place and are considered short-lived perennials if brought in for the winter.

 

Devil’s Trumpet (Datura metel)

 

          Devil’s Trumpet is sometimes called Jimsonweed, and these days it’s a very cultivated garden annual that comes with double flowers but also has some needs to get the best effect. Datura much like a Tomato needs a lot of organic matter in the soil, regular fertilization and regular irrigation to do its best. Datura pairs well with herbs such as Yarrow, Hyssop, Sage, and flowers such as Marigolds and Verbena.

 

 

 

Eggplant (S. melongena)

 

          Eggplant comes in many shapes, sizes and colors ranging from the traditional Black Beauty to the Turkish Orange Eggplant. According to a few references Eggplant pairs well with Amaranth, and gains protection when planted near beans from Potato Beetles. The one thing most people do not know about eggplant is that they are very drought resistant once established and make excellent candidates for xeric gardening.

 

Garden Huckleberry & Sunberry (S. melanocerasum) (S. retroflexum)

 

          While the berries themselves are unsafe to eat until fully colored up, this plant adds a critical bit of value to your garden in terms of companion planting. In trials it was found that this plant was the preferred nesting site for Assassin bugs which are insatiable hunters of other insects. If grown in large pots that are moved about the garden as pest problems appear These plants help handle it by being a home to even hungrier insects.

 

Ground Cherry (Physalis pruinosa)

 

          Ground Cherries are grown a lot like a Tomato but have the physical structure that is similar to Peppers in that they aren’t a vine, and they have this unique ‘V’ stem and branching structure. Ground cherries are easy to grow and you can tell the fruit is ripe when you gently jiggle the plant and the fruits fall off. Companion planting options for Ground Cherries include Basil, Thyme, Carrots, Marigolds and Peppers.

 

Nightshade Greens (S. macrocarpon) (S. scabrum)

 

          The two species of Nightshade greens are best known for their edible leaf greens. While they both produce fruits the edibility of the fruit is not quite clear. Nightshade greens are a bitter green akin in flavor to something like Broccoli Rabe, and they are a bit rare in the United States. In growing trials last year (S. scabrum) produced four feet tall plants with large leaves that needed no support and seemed to help everything around them grow. The other Nightshade green (S. macrocarpon) which is actually a type of Eggplant, seemed to follow normal growing practices for an domesticated eggplant, but had far better heat and drought tolerance.

 

 

 

Peppers (Capsicum annuum) (C. frutescens) (C. chinense)

         

          While there is no consensus on exactly how many varieties of cultivated peppers there are the range estimates upwards of 50,000 or more cultivated types.  In general peppers grow well with a number of leaf greens such as Dandelion, Chicory and Lettuce but Sweet peppers are known to grow well with Basil and Okra.

 

Petunia (Petunia x atkinsiana)

 

          Petunias are a fairly common annual flower available in a wide range of bloom colors and come in double and triple bloom forms. A smaller flowered cousin the Calibrachoa, a short-lived perennial fills in if you desire smaller more delicate but also more numerous flowers. Petunias in general are known to attract Hummingbirds and also protect Beans against Beetles.

 

Potato, White (Solanum tuberosum)

 

          Potatoes are something that many gardeners try to grow but find varied degrees of success because they require certain things to be productive.  Deep soil that is heavily enhanced with organic matter increases the chances of tubers, but also regular irrigation and fertilizer helps too. The aforementioned practically means that in the home garden growing potatoes in deep containers is the best way to go. In the view of Companion Planting Potatoes do better when planted near Beans, Corn, Cabbages, Marigolds and Eggplants. It is also suggested that planting Flax between rows of Potatoes can help protect against Bean Beetles and Blister beetles.

 

 

 

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon)

 

          Tomatoes are a garden staple that many gardeners grow but can have trouble with in the North Carolina climate. The main issues tomatoes face in NC are Blossom End Rot and nutrient deficiencies. The former be cured with lime (or an antacid dissolved in water) and the latter with Epsom Salt. Both are less likely to happen if Tomatoes are paired with Marigolds, Carrots and/or Garlic. Some sources suggest planting Borage which has edible flowers and edible young leaves.

 

Tomatillo (Physalis philidelphica)

 

          Tomatillos are the larger form of Ground Cherry but also are not nearly as sweet in flavor. Generally at the supermarket you will see the green fruit, but there are also purple fruited types. Tomatillos pair with the same things as Ground cherries but know that the plants get larger and may need more space.

 

Goji Berry (Lycium barbarum)

 

          Goji Berry is a member of the Nightshade family that is rapidly gaining interest in the United States and for good reason. Goji Berries are full of antioxidants, vitamin A and C as well as fiver and iron. It’s noted that low growing plants like Ajuga, Sweet Woodruff or Creeping Jenny will happily grow near this plant and suppress weeds. In a container it is noted that annuals like Nasturtium and Sweet Alyssum are good companions. What you should not plant near a Goji Berry, is any other member of the Nightshade family or anything from the cabbage family. Goji Berries need space to do their best and the plants around them should not be competitive for nutrients.

 

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) (Nicotiana rustica)

 

          True smoking Tobacco can get very large, as individual plants can grow up to six feet tall. If you decide to grow this know that it will need space, and that it will be targeted by every hornworm within a few miles. If you’re not dead set on growing a crop of leaves for smoking tobacco can make for a excellent trap crop for things that otherwise would pillage your other Nightshades.

 

Tobacco, Flowering (Nicotiana alata) (Nicotiana syvestris)

 

          Flowering Tobacco is the form of Tobacco that is not used for smoking, its main feature is its beautiful flowers which bring in pollinators. Flowering Tobacco does have a secondary use as a trap crop for Tobacco Horn Worms as they will often go after it before they attack Tomatoes. In terms of companion planting, Flowering Tobacco pairs well with Marigolds, Basil and Borage. You should never plant Flowering Tobacco near other nightshades as it shares pests and diseases with them and this can amplify your problems.

 

          So, this completes the 2026 discussion about companion planting. I hope all of you out there found it interesting and if you have any questions please post them in reply to this post.

Heritage vs Heirloom: Terms of Confusion

Welcome back to another episode of Lost in the Farmers Market.  This week we have some follow-up photography and some horticultural information to cover but before we get into that something does need a clarification. At the last two Sustainable Neighbors meetings we got to discussing what the difference between a ‘Heritage’ plant and a ‘Heirloom’ plant is and the nature of ‘gmo-free’ and organic labelling on plants and food. Let me start with the latter as it is a much more simplistic explanation. When you buy food at the store and it says Organic on it, this does not necessarily mean it is GMO-free. Depending on which set of guidelines the producer is using, the food could be GMO crops that are raised under a set of organic guidelines that make no effective mention of excluding GMO plants. Likewise, if it says GMO-Free this does not inherently mean that the food you are looking at was raised under organic standards. Your best bet is to buy products with both GMO-Free and Organic on the label but make sure to scrutinize what the company making the product’s means and methods are. Only you can make those final informed decisions that can bit by bit alter larger spending practices and halt the proliferation of things you don’t want to see on the shelves at the market.

Now the terms Heritage and Heirloom when it comes to plants and seed are tricky. This fact is unfortunately intentional because less-scrupulous agribusiness knows that you may not know what the terms mean and they know they can charge more for stuff with that term on it. Typically, an Heirloom variety originates from open-pollinated plants that have been around for a while. The amount of time needed to declare a plant variety Heirloom is the subject of debate, but I tend to stick the limitation that the variety would had have to originated at least a hundred years ago (1919-ish) or older. The term Heirloom only refers to the originating date of the variety and its genetic heritage, but not it’s growing standard. The term Heirloom does not at all guarantee that the plants or seed were grown organically; so, you should check those labels to make sure. A famous example of an heirloom variety is ‘Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter’ tomato, which is often shortened to ‘Mortgage Lifter’. This tomato was bred around 1922, and was bred by William Estler of Barboursville in West Virginia. He had no actual horticultural training and got the nickname Radiator Charlie because he worked on early automobiles. His breed of tomato allowed him to buy out his own mortgage during the Great Depression. The Variety would also save many small nursery businesses from bankruptcy as the plant was prolific and highly saleable. Indirectly the tomato may have saved many from malnutrition and starvation.

Abelmoschus esculentus 'Red Burgundy' - Red burgundy Okra

Gossypium hirsutum 'Mississippi Brown' Cotton

The same cotton boll as above (clockwise from lower left) separated into, lint, Locule (3), Barb/bract (center top) and, seeds (lower right darker brown things). Missippi brown is also a heritage variety. [Pre-1860. Once grown by slaves, this seed came from a plantation near Natchez, Mississippi via seed saver John Coykendall.]

The term Heritage in terms of plants is at its simplest merely denoting a variety is very old, often pre-1900’s. More often then not Heritage varieties have some history and culture attached to them which means they have a story to tell which can be compelling or shed light on a period of time that some want to forget. A good example of heritage varieties is Nankeen Cotton, Red Burgundy Okra, Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad tomato. All three varieties are considered African-American Heritage plants because they had a meaningful historical place during slavery.  During slavery, in all but South Carolina slaves were allowed to grow some of their own food, there was a catch though. The varieties of plants they grew due to color were considered unfit for use by the plantation and possibly unfit for human consumption. Remember, slaves were not considered full people at the time, the math on that changes from source to source but it’s usually 3/5^th of a person. So, the colored lint cottons were cultivated by slaves for their own use in clothing and Red Burgundy okra was cultivated by them for food along with the precursor for Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad Tomato…except in South Carolina. Nankeen cotton also played a role in the Civil war via a nankeen cotton shirt with a specific set of braids indicating to confederate forces where the Union troops were moving. Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad as we know it today got its name because it was carried to the north by runaway slaves on the actual underground railroad and it became tied to abolition as a result. With all that said, the reason those three varieties of plant are Heritage varieties is because they are all directly and indirectly tied to part of American history that some would happily white wash or have us forget. They all pre-date 1900, their place in history can be absolutely verified which solidifies their status as Heritage varieties.

 

Storm Damage, this was after some cleanup.

 

Anolis carolinensis - Green Anole Lizard

The critter cam strikes again, Green Anoles are a native lizard that eats a lot of bugs, although this one was more brown than green, these reptiles may or may not be able to alter their skin color to blend in. I've seen them in shades of yellow, brown, green and black, these differences may be due to pigment absorbed from insect's camouflage when they eat them.

Hyla cinera - Green Tree Frog

The same green tree frog as before, it apparently takes refuge in my spare recycling container during the day.

 Talk about adaptation to urban environments, this is one of several green tree frogs that live on the property, but this one is always near the driveway and tends to hangout in the fig bushes at night especially when it's rainy. I suspect it's taken to hiding in the recycling can because insects go in there and birds definitely cannot get in there.

 

Eupatorium coelestinum - Hardy Ageratum

I have this plant in numerous sections of the garden and it may still be in bloom for the tour, it is a native and the sky blue blooms late in summer if not in early fall are a sign of cool days to come. It can be weedy so  if you grow this treat it like a mint except without the heavy water requirements.

Helenium sp. - Sneezeweed

 Sneezeweed is a common late summer 'weed' that appears in dry sandy soils near roadsides and brightens a drab area with it's cheery yellow blooms that resemble Chamomile. You will find cultivated versions of it in nurseries where it's been bred to have blooms in a side range of reds oranges and of course yellows.

Lilium formosanum - Formosa Lily

Remember these? No? Well at the market this year I took a risk and offered a limited number of these lilies for sale and got a lukewarm response. The left overs were planted in the crescent bed and all of them bloomed, there is no telling what these little beauties will do next year, but I'm looking forward to it.

Before we move on to the bit where I talk about what I have available at the market and what garden goodies you can snag for your self at the market I would like to take a moment to talk about the Fall Garden Tour. This year I decided to return to an old tradition where I run a late garden tour in October so that those who missed the spring one get a second chance to see where the magic happens.  The fall tour is on October 20^th, 2019, between 2 and 5 pm and you can RSVP at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/events/265074204/

Yup that's my table at the market all right.

With all that garden goodness covered this is the part of the blog where I have to advertise for the Fayetteville City Market. Now I know you readers probably don’t much like advertisements, but by booth at the City Market helps to cover the costs of running the test garden and literally maintains the Research & Development budget that is used to bring you the information that has made up the backbone of this blog. Also, as of the start of 2019, my booth can now process credit or debit cards thanks to the acquisition of s a Square reader so your payment options have doubled. With that said, if you want to get some GMO-free, Organic vegetables, herbs and fruiting shrubs come on down to the Fayetteville City Market on 325 Maxwell Street in downtown Fayetteville between the Hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays. Even in bad weather the market goes on though you might have to look for me under the ‘arches’ of the Transportation Museum’s front entryway.

Plants & Stuff Available Now:

Vegetables:

Collards, Green Glaze: 3” - $3.00

Mustard, Japanese Red Giant: 3” - $3.00

Kale, Scotch Blue Curled: 3” - $3.00

Herbs:

Rue, Marbled 3” - $3.00

Sage, Common 3”: - $3.00

Santolina, Etruscan: 5” - $6.00

Santolina, Etruscan: 3” - $3.00

Flowers:

Coneflower, Pow Wow White: 3” – $3.00

Coneflower ‘Green Twister’: 3” – $3.00

Coral Bells, ‘Marvelous Marble’ 4.5” - $5.00

Salvia, New Dimension Blue: 5” - $6.00

Houseplants & Annuals:

Polka-Dot Plants: 6” - $5.00

Coming Soon:

Sparkling Blue Kale

Dinosaur Kale

Cilantro/Coriander

Swiss Chard

These days I am generally at Leclair’s General Store once a week, for the weekly Sustainable Neighbors meeting at 5:30pm through 7:00 pm. If you have questions then I will be there to answer your questions. Since our meetings have an open-door policy you don’t need to sign up for anything or join anything, you can come on in ask for us and join the meetings. If not, you can always send me questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.

https://www.meetup.com/SustainableNeighbors/

                        This brings to a close the nineteenth LITFM post of the year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted on the 4^th of October. There will be more garden updates and other cool stuff.