right|thumb|300px|companion planting of carrots and onions.companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial creatures, maximizing use of space, and to otherwise increase crop productivity. companion planting is a form of polyculture. companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons. many of the modern principles of companion planting were present many centuries ago in cottage gardens in england and home gardens in asia, and thousands of years ago in mesoamerica. ==history== in china, mosquito ferns (azolla spp.) have been used for at least a thousand years as companion plants for rice crops. they host a cyanobacterium that fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere, and they block light from plants that would compete with the rice.nitrogen in rice companion planting was practiced in various forms by the indigenous peoples of the americas prior to the arrival of europeans. these peoples domesticated squash 8,000 to 10,000 years ago,smith, b. d. (1997). the initial domestication of cucurbita pepo in the americas 10,000 years ago. science 276 932-34. then maize, then common beans, forming the three sisters agricultural technique. the cornstalk served as a trellis for the beans to climb, and the beans fixed nitrogen, benefitting the maize.{{cite journal|last=bushnell|first=g. h. s.|tit
Biological_pest_control Crops Organic_farming Organic_gardening Permaculture Sustainable_agriculture Sustainable_gardening Sustainable_technologies