How does tobacco benefit companion plants?

[littlechikchik]

Ok, so I noticed there's a feed on companion plants for tobacco, but my question is the opposite. I've been searching the web looking for info on the benefits that tobacco provides to any other garden plants that are planted along side it. I know it can be used to make a powdered or liquid pesticide, but I can't find anything relating to benefits it provides while it is still alive. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

[Knucklehead]

I can't. Hope this helps.
LOL Seriously welcome to the forum and your first hazing.

 

[indianjoe]

It makes an excellent attractive plant for hornworms, they seem to perfer tobacco over tomatoes.

 

[deluxestogie]

I'm afraid that tobacco is the ugly step-child of the "Companion Planting" universe. If any free-range organic sustainable person has experience with tobacco companion planting, they're not talking.

I would agree with indianjoe, although this depends on whether or not your local hornworm is a tobacco hornworm or a tomato hornworm. I don't know of any data on whether or not tobacco roots release any alkaloids into the soil.

This 2013 season will be my first attempt at growing eggplant with a yard full of tobacco. Flea beetles had always devoured the eggplants before they produced. I won't have eggplant and tobacco rubbing shoulders, but there still may be an effect.

Bob

 

[Boboro]

Put a little seiven dust in the hole when you plant the egg plant. It works dont know why but it does.

 

[BarG]

I'm afraid that tobacco is the ugly step-child of the "Companion Planting" universe. If any free-range organic sustainable person has experience with tobacco companion planting, they're not talking.

I would agree with indianjoe, although this depends on whether or not your local hornworm is a tobacco hornworm or a tomato hornworm. I don't know of any data on whether or not tobacco roots release any alkaloids into the soil.

This 2013 season will be my first attempt at growing eggplant with a yard full of tobacco. Flea beetles had always devoured the eggplants before they produced. I won't have eggplant and tobacco rubbing shoulders, but there still may be an effect.

Bob

Helps as Flea beetle repellant, and [technical term] signals to other plants to boost defense against pests. I didn't save any sites to post about it but they are out there from different studies.

 

[DGBAMA]

maybe SHADE for smaller plants that cant tolerate full sun.

 

[Chicken]

maybe SHADE for smaller plants that cant tolerate full sun.

id have to go with this one,

i use mine for shade, for my tomatoes, and other not so sun friendlly veggies,

 

[BarG]

I spent an hour last night doing different plays on tobaccos benefit as the companion plant searches, because my curiosity was aroused, Some of them were quite contradictary so I kept searching to find some consistancy on the positive or negative effects and found that it helps repel flea beetles and triggers an odor or some sort when attacked by pests that some plants pick up on and they respond to. How these studys are conducted or proven are beyond me.

On a different note the nicotiana Sylvestris has mucho uses as companion plant, but none for cigars. I only got through a fraction of the possible searches.

 

[littlechikchik]

Darn. I suppose I'll just experiment a little then with this year.

 

[Chicken]

i guess the only thing i can come up with,,,,

is to use the bacca plant as a trellis, and let your POLE BEANS climb the plant,???????

you'll end up with beans that taste like a cigg. butt,,,,,,,lol

 

[jekylnz]

Ive heard info.that it's good to repel insects from your veg. etc.but they still eat it wen it's young
Nicotine is supposed to be one of the most poisonous substances there is..5 mg pure nicotine is enough to kill
a sperm whale

 

[Knucklehead]

i guess the only thing i can come up with,,,,

is to use the bacca plant as a trellis, and let your POLE BEANS climb the plant,???????

you'll end up with beans that taste like a cigg. butt,,,,,,,lol

Damn Chicken that's genius. You can have a bean fart and get a nicotine hit at the same time!!!

 

[Muggs]

seeing how tobacco plants are a member of the Night Shade family.you would plant companion plants the same as you would for Tomatoes,are peppers.

 

[deluxestogie]

There is virtually no reliable data on such a practice. My own experience is that tobacco doesn't particularly like competition in the same bed. (You just get smaller tobacco.) Also, any veggies that are typically ravaged by bug etc. that also eat tobacco (flea beetles and hornworms) have shown no improvement from the presence of tobacco in the same bed or nearby.

Many recommended companion plants for tomatoes and peppers (garlic, various herbs) exude compounds into the soil, and may affect the flavor of tobacco adversely.

Why are you asking?

Bob

 

[Traveling Piper]

seeing how tobacco plants are a member of the Night Shade family.you would plant companion plants the same as you would for Tomatoes,are peppers.

I plan to plant sacrificial "trap" plants for my garden. These are plants that aren't designed to deter the insects. Rather, their intention is to be more appealing than your crop so the insects will attack them first and foremost.
This planting will be a bed of it's own that consists of three layers. The three layers will be of plants ranging from shortest to tallest (shortest facing South).
The first layer is designed to attract aphids, I plan to implement a beautiful plant called Nasturtium at this level. It's low growing with a bushy tendency. The particular variety I have (empress of India) bears red blossoms. The entire plant is edible and very tasty.
The second row is intended to target horn worms, I plan to sow dill seeds in this row. It grows much taller and is allegedly very attractive and beneficial as a trap crop for the caterpillars. It's also very tasty for humans.
The third and final (tallest) row will be pollinator forage flowers. The reason for this is several-fold.
I feel that flowers are underutilized in the garden for several reasons. First, they attract beneficial pollinators (obviously). Secondly, they attract beneficial predators. I am hopeful that they'll attract hornworm predatory braconid wasps (which might forage in close proximity to the dill--presenting an easy opportunity to lay eggs on the caterpillars)
Additionally, the scary ass hummingbird moths that lay hornworm eggs forage on flower nectar the same as other pollinators. Therefore, if I give them a nice dill plant next to some flowers--it's prime real estate for egg layment as well (so they think)
Finally, flowers are nice to look at and make me happy. The flowers I will be planting is Purpletop Vervain--a highly attractive forage flower.
I don't know if this will work all that well, but it is worth a try. I encourage myself to do it.
Don't be discouraged about companion plantings... It is a very valid (and great) question that's relative to what we are doing here.
I like where your head's at--keep asking questions and thinking like you do.

 

[deluxestogie]

flowers are nice to look at and make me happy

I agree. Please keep us posted on your results of the "sacrificial plants".

The Manduca sexta moths have a poboscis that is over 1-1/2" long, for dipping into the nectar of a tobacco plant. I would love a photo of one sipping on the microblossoms of dill.

Manduca moth (~4" wingspan) feeding on a huge datura blossom.

Speaking of dill, it took be maybe 7 years to rid my garden beds of volunteer dill, after growing it one year.

Bob

 

[Charly]

It will be interesting to know if your experience is worth it.
That's something I wanted to try too, but I have never found enough time to search for the good informations on which plants to use.

I hope it will work.

 

[deluxestogie]

I believe it was about 8 or 9 years ago that one of the Oliva sons attempted an "organically grown" tobacco field in Nicaragua. No pesticides. He surrounded the plot with "sacrificial" species of plants. Within the rows, he stationed stakes with a container of crushed garlic at the top of each. There were some other efforts also outlined in the article I read about it.

Alas, the entire notion, as well as Oliva's results from that trial faded from the "news". BigBonner also did trials of "organically grown" tobacco. His result was fine for filler, but a little too buggy for binder and wrapper. (Maybe @BigBonner could chime in here.)

In general, a monoculture of tobacco is a huge, difficult to mask attractant for pest species. I think that outcomes for individual tobacco plants would be more favorable if most of the field were non-tobacco, with only a few tobacco plants scattered here and there. So long as the goal is tobacco productivity per acre, the prospect of a significant impact from companion planting is marginal.

Bob

 

[LeftyRighty]

I've planted a couple tomato plants in the corner of my tobacco plot for years.

I should note that I spray my tobacco regularly with acephate, to prevent damage from hornworms, aphids, etc. But, to prevent this systemic insecticide from drifting onto my tomato plants, I always cover the tomato temporarily with a plastic drop sheet. I don't use any other insecticides on my tomato plants, thus, my tomato is totally unprotected.

My experience, insects are much more attracted to the tobacco, and totally ignore the tomato. I've never had any insect problems on the tomato plants, in about 10 years of growing tobacco. For a few years, I planted the tomato about 15 feet separated from the tobacco plants, still no insects on the tomato. This is my experience with 'companion' planting.