"Why are your tomatoes covered in black spots, while your neighbors look like they're from a magazine cover? You may have planted a saboteur plant nearby!
The Tomato Growers Weekly publication conducted an investigation: 65% of summer residents do not know that dill and tomatoes are worst enemies.
Agronomist blogger Maria Zelenaya stated in a video with 2 million views:
"You can't plant three crops next to tomatoes. You do this every year!"
We studied the USDA report and found the "neighbors" that are sucking the life out of tomatoes...
Potato: the traitorous brother
Both plants belong to the nightshade family and compete for food, and the Colorado potato beetle attacks them simultaneously.
A University of Iowa study (2023) found that growing potatoes and tomatoes next to each other increases the risk of late blight by 70%.
“I planted them next to each other – both crops died!” writes Svetlana from Kazan on the “Tomato Paradise” forum.
Dill: The Hidden Vampire
Dill releases substances that inhibit the growth of tomatoes.
BioGardener magazine called it "the silent war between umbelliferous and nightshade plants."
Nikolay from Bryansk shares in Telegram chat:
“I removed the dill from the garden bed and the tomatoes grew twice as big!”
Corn: Wall of Death
Tall corn stalks create shade and attract cutworms, a pest that eats tomatoes.
An experiment by agronomists from Mexico (2022) showed that tomato yields near corn drop by 50%.
“I thought the corn would protect me from the wind, but I got skinny bushes and caterpillars!” Denis from Krasnodar complains on the YouTube channel “Garden Wars”.
Fennel: A Chemical Aggressor
As with peppers, fennel produces allelopathic substances that inhibit the development of tomatoes.
Professor Gennady Sokolov from the Russian State Agrarian University-Moscow Agricultural Academy warns:
"Fennel is a garden cleaner, but its proximity is detrimental to most crops."
Conclusion
"Tomatoes are not solitary, but their friends and enemies have long been known. If you have already planted a "forbidden plant" nearby - do not panic!
Remove pests within a radius of 1 meter and feed the bushes with calcium nitrate.
