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Companion Planting
Many vegetables grow well with other plants in the garden and, using a few basic principles, organic gardeners can really have nature on their side in the biological control of pests.
The most commonly documented companion plants repel pests when planted alongside vegetables. Other plants attract pest predators to the vegetable patch. Some plant roots secrete substances that repel pests or provide nutrients to the plants around them. These plant interactions can work in specific ways between two or three types of plants or species.
Peas and Beans add nitrogen to the soil.
For example, legumes (peas, beans, etc.) trap nitrogen from the air with nodules on their roots. When these crops have finished producing you can dig them into the soil so that the nitrogen is available to the next crop. Being leafy vegetables, the brassica family (cabbages, broccoli, etc.) require a lot of nitrogen to grow, so it makes sense to follow summer pea crops with winter cabbages that can use this free nitrogen source.
The ecosystem approach
Many of these relationships are fairly general. The best results come from an
ecosystem approach to gardening, using a wide variety of herbs and
ornamental plants alongside the edible crops planted in the garden.
Some companionable plants:
Basil helps repel flies and mosquitoes. Birch dead leaves encourage compost fermentation. Borage in the strawberry patch will increase the yield. Catnip repels fleas, ants and rodents. Caraway helps breakdown heavy soils. Chamomile deters flies and mosquitoes and gives strength to any plant growing nearby. Chives grown beneath apple trees will help to prevent apple scab; beneath roses will keep away aphids and blackspot. 
Elderberry a general insecticide, the leaves encourage compost fermentation, the flowers and berries make lovely wine! Fennel (not F. vulgare or F.officionale) repels flies, fleas and ants. French Marigold root secretions kill nematodes in the soil. Will repel white fly amongst tomatoes. Garlic helps keep aphids away from roses. Hyssop attracts cabbage white moth keeping brassicas free from infestation. Mint repels cabbage white moth. Dried and placed with clothes will repel clothes moth. Nasturtium secrete a mustard oil, which many insects find attractive and will seek out, particularly the cabbage white moth. Alternatively, the flowers repel aphids and the cucumber beetle. The climbing variety grown up apple trees will repel codling moth. Pyrethrum will repel bugs if grown around the vegetable garden. Rosemary repels carrot fly. Rue (Rutus, not Peganum) keeps cats and dogs off garden beds if planted round the borders. Sage protects cabbages from cabbage white moth. Tansy (Tanacetum, not Senecio) repels moths, flies and ants. Plant beneath peach trees to
repel harmful flying insects. Tansy leaves assist compost fermentation. Wormwood (Artemesia, not Ambrosia) although it can inhibit the growth of plants near it, wormwood does repel moths, flies and fleas and keeps animals off the garden.
Some compatible vegetables are:
Beetroot: Onions, Lettuce, Cabbage, Silverbeet Cabbages: Beans, Celery, Beetroot, Onions, Potatoes Cauliflower: Celery Celery & Celeriac: Chives, Leeks, Tomatoes, Dwarf Beans Carrots: Lettuce, Peas, Leeks, Chives, Onions, Cucumbers, Beans Broadbeans: Potatoes, Peas, Beans Tomatoes: Asparagus, Parsley, Broccoli, Sweet Basil Sweet Corn: Potatoes, Peas, Beans
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