Companion Plants for Pot

From: Deon
Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa! I love the podcast, the cultivation sections are amazing! I especially enjoy the rare info and insight on growing sativas and growing organically; the perspectives provided by you and the growers you talk to are comprehensive and inspiring!

I’d love to hear if you have any ideas about using Permaculture guilds or other forms of companion planting that see other plants (besides beneficial fungi) provide cannabis with pest repellent, beneficial insect attractant or other beneficial qualities. It’s a topic that is frustratingly scarcely covered in Permaculture literature. Also can citronella plants help keep bugs away?

Dear Deon,
Thanks for the kind words about the Free Weed podcast! Permaculture is a great way to grow outdoor marijuana. What Permaculture means is simply that you are improving the quality of your soil each year by using compost, beneficial bacteria and organic additives. All of these practices increase the microbial activity in your soil as well as helping to loosen clay soils and firm up sandy ones.

As for companion plants, marigolds will help keep away whiteflies while peppermint deters aphid populations, and dill discourages spider mites. Beneficial insects such as ladybugs, predator mites and praying mantises can all be a part of a Permaculture approach to cannabis farming. Unfortunately, the only bugs that citronella plants, a type of geranium, actively repel are mosquitoes and they don’t eat plants, only us. Fortunately, if you have an issue with mosquitoes biting you in your outdoor garden, you can use these plants to keep them away.