I really like the idea of companion planting; it makes sense to me that plants would interact with each other when planted in close proximity to other plants. Much like people, plants will do better or worse depending on the plants you surround them with. This is certainly not a new idea in organic gardening. The three sisters planting method has been around longer than the United States has been a country and I've heard that in China the practice dates back as far as 1000 years.
There are different reasons different plants get along well (or don't) - some have chemical interactions, others amend the soil in specific ways, or provide protection from the sun, wind or pests. I find that it is always helpful to know why some plants do better or worse together. Are they susceptible to the same diseases or are they both heavy feeders? The former should be avoided, but the latter can be worked with. Here's a pretty decent overview of some companion plants and their effects. It's not complete by any means, but a pretty good place to start.
My main issue in researching this topic has been determining spacing for antagonistic plants. They say not to plant brassica near tomatoes, but what is "near" exactly? 1 ft? Opposite ends of a plot? Different beds? I can't find ANY information at all on spacing, so I'm going to start compiling my own data, seeing what flourishes and what suffers due to possible antagonistic interactions. This is mostly because I don't really plan my gardens in advance and unfortunately have already sown a few sworn enemies next to each other. Fingers crossed they play nice. If not, at least I'll know better next year.
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