>Plants are definitely resilient. I like experimenting with high densities/small pots on the very unlikely chance I find some plants with synergy (or just lack of space).
>In 2017 this resulted in tiny (but tasty!) jalapenos (about a quarter of the normal size) growing off a plant that had sat on the windowsill doing nothing for 2 years.
Very interesting. Must try that out some time.
>If anyone has advice on plant pairings/symbiosis I would love to hear it!
You probably know this, but nitrogen fixation via legumes is one such symbiosis, of a kind. You can plant non-legumes interspersed with legumes. The native North American "Three Sisters" concept [1] is an example of that - they discovered that corn, beans and squash work well in symbiosis - beans being the legume.
Edit: In fact, with the Three Sisters, it is not a two-way symbiosis - it is three-way:
>The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants use, and the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight, helping prevent the establishment of weeds. The squash leaves also act as a "living mulch", creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests. Corn, beans, and squash contain complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and all nine essential amino acids, allowing most Native American tribes to thrive on a plant-based diet.[7]
Just to add to what has been said here. The three sisters is not the only form of companion planting you can do. There are many. My favorite other examples also include: Strawberries planted next to blueberries and carrots planted next to lettuce. These may not provide as complete nutritional value as the three sisters but they are easy other options.
I was aware of nitrogen fixing in theory but was wholly unaware of the maize/beans/squash combo. That's 100% the sort of thing I'm after although I would prefer it on a container friendly scale.
Good point. Not sure if it would work at that small a scale. You might have to look around more (on and off the Net); it could help. Some searching through organic gardening sites, Rodale Press mags/sites, permaculture sites, etc., may help.
Vaguely remember seeing some such points mentioned (about companion planting, plant-plant symbiosis examples for gardening, etc.) a while ago, but did not save those particular ones, unfortunately, although I do often save web pages of interest to my PC.
Just remembered / thought of another point: Just because beans and corn may not work at your small scale (tiny pots), does not mean that nitrogen fixation may not work at all (or other forms of symbiosis). I remember reading somewhere that there are many plants and trees in the legume family ( Fabaceae (or Leguminosae)) [1], and they range from small herbs to trees. So some googling for small leguminous plants may help. For example, clover (which can be small) is probably a legume. Also, a person I know - and who has a background in farming - once told me that there are many wild species that are legumes, and one way (not guaranteed to work always) to detect them, is that they have trifoliate leaves.
Just googled:
legumes have trifoliate leaves
and it seems to indicate that what he said is partly right, at least.
>In 2017 this resulted in tiny (but tasty!) jalapenos (about a quarter of the normal size) growing off a plant that had sat on the windowsill doing nothing for 2 years.
Very interesting. Must try that out some time.
>If anyone has advice on plant pairings/symbiosis I would love to hear it!
You probably know this, but nitrogen fixation via legumes is one such symbiosis, of a kind. You can plant non-legumes interspersed with legumes. The native North American "Three Sisters" concept [1] is an example of that - they discovered that corn, beans and squash work well in symbiosis - beans being the legume.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Sisters_(agriculture)
Edit: In fact, with the Three Sisters, it is not a two-way symbiosis - it is three-way:
>The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants use, and the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight, helping prevent the establishment of weeds. The squash leaves also act as a "living mulch", creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests. Corn, beans, and squash contain complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids and all nine essential amino acids, allowing most Native American tribes to thrive on a plant-based diet.[7]