315 books
—
132 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening” as Want to Read:
Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
by
If you want to know whether it is kosher to plant onions between cabbage plants, this is the place to look.
-- Oklahoma Today
First published in 1975, this classic companion planting guide has taught a generation of gardeners how to use plants' natural partnerships to produce bigger and better harvests.
Over 500,000 in Print!
-- Oklahoma Today
First published in 1975, this classic companion planting guide has taught a generation of gardeners how to use plants' natural partnerships to produce bigger and better harvests.
Over 500,000 in Print!
Get A Copy
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
January 2nd 1998
by Storey Publishing, LLC
(first published 1975)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Carrots Love Tomatoes,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Carrots Love Tomatoes
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening
Jan 17, 2009
Andrea
marked it as to-read
Because someday I will have a garden; Oh yes, it will be mine.
While the folksy tone of this book is kind of charming, I found it to be a frustrating read, particularly as a new and inexperienced gardener. I found myself LONGING for a table or chart that would summarize all the information together. The book seemed a bit riddled with inconsistencies - like for example mentioning carrots as good companions in the "tomatoes" section but then not mentioning tomatoes in the "carrots" section. I ended up trying to cobble together my own spreadsheet just to try
...more
I was kind of disappointed in this book at first. I started out using it as a reference for companion planting in my garden, focusing only on the first few chapters about vegetables and herbs. And if that is all you plan to use it for, you may be disappointed as well. The information in some of the entries is lacking at times, and I had to search out a vegetable or herb in the index, only to find it did not have its own entry but was only mentioned in another plant's entry. However, I decided to
...more
This book has a lot of helpful tips and pieces of advice, but they are all buried throughout sometimes random articles in the encyclopedic format. The information is also sometimes confusing and seemingly contradictory. Watermelons do well with potatoes, but don't plant potatoes with any melons. (Inferring from a few vague comments and reading the Latin names, this might be because watermelons aren't in the same family as other melons, cukes and squashes? It's not explained well.) There are a
...more
I never tire of this book. I read it most days, all year, every year since I've owned it.
This handy reference gets pulled out and reviewed nearly every time I plant another batch of veggies in my gardens. For those of us who have never seen where a carrot would prefer to grow in the wilds, this book allows us to plant companion plants that help each other out.
I really don't like the idea of adding any sort of sprays or fertilizers to my gardens, especially the vegetable and herb beds. So, compost and companion planting are my personal solutions for most "problems" encountered in the ...more
I really don't like the idea of adding any sort of sprays or fertilizers to my gardens, especially the vegetable and herb beds. So, compost and companion planting are my personal solutions for most "problems" encountered in the ...more
After years of wanting to have a garden, I finally dove in and attempted to do some container gardening since I didn't officially have a backyard. And I made it one of my goals for the year to read more gardening books to learn the Do's and Don'ts. Well, this little book is certainly a must-have to learn the good and the bad. It is packed full of useful information on companion planing, an ancient technique where you plant certain plants together that are beneficial to each other. The author
...more
I picked this up at the library years ago and actually tried the principles of companion planting. Lots of them worked great! I now always plant marigolds by my potatoes because the scent keeps yucky bugs away.
Some other plant companions I enjoyed were carrots and tomatoes because carrots are a root plant and tomatoes grow above ground; pumpkins planted around the corn--to prevent racoons from wanting to traipse through the stickery vines to eat the corn; and peas, spinach, and onions, since ...more
Some other plant companions I enjoyed were carrots and tomatoes because carrots are a root plant and tomatoes grow above ground; pumpkins planted around the corn--to prevent racoons from wanting to traipse through the stickery vines to eat the corn; and peas, spinach, and onions, since ...more
This book was in such high demand at the library, I had to wait six weeks to check out a copy. It is an interesting philosophy of which plants do well together, and which plants you should plant far away from everything else (fennel does not love anything, apparently). It is hard to give the book a rating without having tested out its advice, but I plan to put dill where I harvested radishes, and next year will try some of their suggestions to keep cabbages healthy. A lot of things love
...more
This book is a bit higgeldy piggeldy organizationally but the information is excellent. I find myself opening it every spring to remind myself which plants like /dislike eachother. I agree with another reviewer who suggested that this book would be wonderful with a chart or two. It would save so much fumbling around.
The author is a woman in her twilight years with many decades of experience.*
*just found out she passed away in 1998 at age 89
The author is a woman in her twilight years with many decades of experience.*
*just found out she passed away in 1998 at age 89
Will probably want to have this book nearby when planning the plot layout. A little less useful than I had hoped because while it says what to plant nearby and avoid planting together, there's not a ton of explanation of why. So I can follow the directions, but I won't really understand why it works.
I would use this mainly as a reference book. I has information for vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees, fruit, and herbs. I like that it seems to have quite a bit of information on natural pest control.
Though not completely applicable to my region, there are tons of great tips for using companion planting. I read another book focused on what thrives in my region and then this one to help plan out what I should plant together. I think that even gardeners who are way more experienced than I am will be able to find helpful information. I'll keep this in my library as a resource to refer back to when necessary.
I actually ended up purchasing this book after borrowing it from the library. While it is a wealth of information on companion planting and what plants are mutualistic/commensalist with each other, it also has some good general gardening tips. There are various section that even include wild and poisonous plants, and it serves as a nice reference.
Very comprehensive. Better as a reference guide than to read. A little difficult to use in regards to some of the more unique herbs and plants because it is difficult to learn to identify them without pictures.
I use this book every time I plan my vegetable garden for the year. I do wish it were just a little bigger, with information about a few more herbs and vegetables, but it has been so helpful. I recommend this to any gardener!
Informative.
The first book I read about companion planting, it is one I go back to.. time and time again. Would tell any gardener to have this book in their collection.
I liked why planting this near that was helpful. I took notes in my gardening journal. Even some critter help.
Lena loves allopathy. Allopathy loves plants. Plants love allopathy. And so on.
Extremely helpful - I planted my garden, for the first time, based off the information from this book. Informative and very well organized.
Very good guide to companion planting for growing vegetables.
Really enjoyed this and will use it as a reference book for all my gardening questions.
This is an excellent book with great advice and explanations.
Gardening is my passion. That being said, if I had only one gardening book this would have to be it. I had been growing my own food for decades and when I read this book many mysteries were solved and my gardens started to flourish at their fullest potential. Happy growing!
I've had this book for a few years, not really sure why I haven't rated or reviewed. The other reviews here are about spot-on with its strengths and flaws. It's really designed as a reference, organized by types of plants and then individuals plants alphabetically. Riotte's style is personable, folksy, and unfussy, like your grandmother telling you what to plant in your garden and where. While I would regard the tone as one of the book's strengths, those seeking a more straightforward, practical
...more
Written originally in 1975 and updated in 1998, this classic gardening book is a must-have. Many books start aging and this one shows its roots of the 1975 in the lack of color pictures. But not having dozens of pictures taking up every page means even more room for actual information. Likely some books out there may have more up-to-date information including scientific feedback as more and more people study companion planting, but that doesn't make the information here any less valid. (I would
...more
How have I gone so long without such a must-have, classic book? This rare treasure among a sea of gardening guides? Written originally in 1975 and updated in 1998, Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening, published by the well-respected Storey Publishing, should be the bible which we all refer to when deciding where to thoughtfully place each plant in our garden. Who knew that beans and onions would hinder the growth of one another? And how did Louise Riotte
...more
A great little reference book from which I learned quite a bit to apply to this gardening season alone. We had a bumper crop of little tomatoes and I planted bee balm and nasturtium throughout. I dug out any offending grass from among the blueberry plants that apparently hate it (and they produced better than usual). I also really went to town in using and remembering to care for the couple of comfrey bushes (?) our son planted a few years ago and put leaves in a pail to break down and be used
...more
This is the seminal work on companion planting, a must for anyone interested in organic gardening or for anyone who wants to be a more efficient, more knowledgeable gardener. Using the book as a guideline, with companion planting you are able to let the plants do the work of soil improvement, insect repellent, bolstering disease resistance, and improving crop yields and flavor. This book also includes recommendations for planning a companion garden and instructions for making your own soil
...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Beloved Storey author and life-long gardener Louise Riotte passed away in 1998 at the age of 89. She wrote 12 books on gardening, companion planting, and garden lore, among them the ever-popular Carrots Love Tomatoes, which has sold approximately 515,000 copies. Her father taught her to believe in and practice astrology, while her mother was a practicing herbalist. Together they inevitably
...more
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Planted in apple orchards they are of benefit in preventing apple scab,”
—
0 likes
“A camomile rinse is excellent for blond hair. Use three or four tablespoons of dried flowers to a pint of water. Boil twenty to thirty minutes, straining when cool. Shampoo the hair before using, since it must be free of oil. Pour rinse over the hair several times and do not rinse with clear water after using. It will leave the hair smelling like sweet clover.”
—
0 likes
More quotes…
