Is there a model out there for companion planting

Question

I've been looking at companion planting and it's very confusing. People say "plant cucumber with beans, peas, lettuce or corn", but then somewhere else they say "don't plant beans and peas together". So what I'd really like to find is not a list of or grid of plants but someone who has figured out already which ones can grow together and made a model.

So far I've organized one bed with tomatoes, peppers, garlic and basil, my Italian plot. Another with carrot, parsnip, onions, celery and parsley; my stew pot plot. And I need to figure out where to put the spinach, radish, beans, peas, fruit bushes, rhubarb, squash and cucumber....never mind the herbs! and medicinal herbs. Ok I'm being over ambitious this year.

Also I have a walled garden so only one half will have full sun and only one quarter full sun all day so I'm hoping some of these plants will like a little shade in the evening as I'm running out of wall space for the trailing plants. Anyone who can direct me to a useful website please do as I'm over confused at this point.

Answer 1

Yep, there's more than one, particularly in encyclopaedic or book form, but also some on line, so take your pick. Suggest you Google this specific term:- "definitive guide to companion planting" - should throw up the most useful and reliable ones.

As for differing advice, that's usually either because no one's tested it scientifically, or its just word of mouth/anecdotal, and word of mouth differs depending on the perception of the speaker.