Using Ground Covers in Vegetable Gardens

Strawberries

A lot of space-limited gardeners have a problem with where to plant a strawberry bed. How about under a row of eggplants? They will still get plenty of sun under there, and they’ll even help keep the eggplants propped up and standing tall when they are heavy with fruits. This also solves the problem of thinning out the plants in your strawberry bed, since you’ll need to remove a few the next year to plant a new vegetable, such as kale, in the row.

Nasturtiums

There are never enough flowers in the vegetable garden. Flowers do more than dress up the garden—they attract more pollinating insects, which is crucial in a productive vegetable garden. Nasturtiums are a common sight in many edible gardens and their floppy, trailing nature makes them a great choice as a ground cover. Plus they are edible, so once again you’re getting two crops in the space of one. You can even make Poor Man's Capers from the seeds.

Oregano

Of all the creeping herbs, oregano is probably the easiest to keep in check. Yes, it spreads, but it is very forgiving of having its roots disturbed. Oregano does need a lot of sun and prefers well-drained soil, so it would work best under plants such as peppers that would not shade them and that do not need excessive water while fruiting. Regularly cutting the oregano to use in the kitchen will keep the plants bushy and low. Once your oregano plants flower, expect to see them covered in buzzing bees.

Squash, Melon, and Cucumbers

This one is a no brainer if you have ever heard of the Indigenous tradition of the Three Sisters, where corn, squash, and pole beans are interplanted. The corn serves as a trellis, the beans add nitrogen to the soil, and the squash serves as the ground cover. Any vegetable that grows as a vine, but does not climb and adhere on its own can be left to sprawl on the ground and serve as cover.

Once again, space-challenged gardeners tend to shy away from this approach, because it uses too much precious real estate. But if you let them sprawl under tomatoes or around Brussels sprouts, you won’t lose much. This can be a bit tricky with really enthusiastic vines, so your best bet would be to stick with cucumbers or melons that have smaller leaves and shorter vines. You don’t want them to spread so much that you can’t reach the other vegetables in order to harvest them. And you will need to make sure they don’t try to climb your tomatoes, smother them, or pull them down.

Sage

Sage isn’t a great choice for all climates, but in cooler climates where its height and spread are kept in check by cold winters, it would work fine. It tends to grow to a low eight to 12 inches in height and spread out by 12 to 18 inches. Since the branches grow somewhat horizontally, they will shade the soil and keep it cool. They also do a decent job of suppressing weeds. They are perennial and evergreen, so you may need to do some thinning in future years. But sage tends to be a short-lived perennial and very amenable about being transplanted.