04/15/2023
Companion Planting? Get your companions at The Herb Society of Nashville Herb and Plant Sale this coming Saturday!
COMPANION PLANTING WORKS!
(Part 1)
Plants that assist each other to grow well, plants that repel insects, even plants that repel other plantsâall are of great practical use. This is companion planting.
Think of companion planting this way⌠we all have friends and family that make us so happy at times to see! We just get that wonderful, happy, feel-good feeling that last way long after a visit! But, sometimes, we have those that we just donât get along with. Those feelings, things we talk about after their visit can linger on and on! Well, in a garden situation, there are plants that benefit from each other, plants that bring the right smell, the right beneficial insects, even the roots in the soil are benefitted! Then, there are the stand-alone plantsâŚthat just donât get along with the others! They are perfectly happy just being around a group of the very same plant, like a clan of the same. They can stand tall and happy just like that, preferring not to be with the others. They still hold their heads high! So, plants so to speak can be like people! So, let's move on with a garden plan. Plants that benefit from each other in so many ways!
Vegetable growers find that companion planting provides many benefits, one of which is protection from pests. A major enemy of the carrot is the carrot fly, whereas the leek suffers from the onion fly and leek moth. Yet when leek and carrot live together in companionship, the strong and strangely different smell of the partner plant repels the insects so much that they do not even attempt to lay their eggs on the neighbor plant. They take off speedily to get away from the smell. This is why mixed plantings give better insect control than a monoculture, where many plants of the same type are planted together row after row. Even when plants are affected by diseases, a mixed plant culture can usually alleviate the situation.
HERBS:
ABSINTHIUM (Artemisia absinthium)
Wormwood, this plant is grown as a border to keep animals out of the garden when used as a border. Itâs good repellent for months, flea beetles, and cabbage worm butterflies. It discourages slugs if sprayed on the ground. Fleas on cats and dogs may be dislodged with a bath of wormwood tea.
Many artemisias are of value as ornamentals, their cool, silvery beauty providing a fine contrast for flowers, such as red geraniums, of brilliant color. They do not attract honeybees, but small wasps seem to be frequent visitors. Keep wormwood out of the garden since most plants growing near it do not do well, particularly anise, caraway, fennel, and sage.
BASIL (Ocimum basilicum)
Basil helps tomatoes overcome both insects and disease, also improving growth and flavor. Since this is a small plant, 1 to 2 feet tall, grows parallel to the tomatoes rather than among the. It repels mosquitoes and flies, and when laid over tomatoes in a serving bowl will deter fruit flies.
Sweet basil has inch-long, dark green leaves and a clove-pepperish odor and taste. Pinch out the plant tops and they will grow into little bushes, and the dwarf varieties especially become beautifully compact. As a kitchen herb, basil is used in vinegar, soup, stew, salad, chopped meat, and sausage as well as in cottage cheese, egg, and tomato dishes; it may be sprinkled over vegetables. âDark Opalâ makes a very handsome-houseplant.
Though it is often said that herbs enhance everything except dessert, sweet basil is one that may be used to give a subtle, indefinable, but-delicious flavor to pound cake. It is also one of the culinary herbs that may be used in certain dishes to replace black pepper.
It has been known since ancient times that basil and rue dislike-each other intensely. Perhaps this is because basil is sweet and rue is very bitter.
BAY (Laurus nobilis)
Bay (or laurel) leaves put in stored grains such as wheat, rice, rye, beans, oats, and corn will eliminate weevils. The bay belongs to the same family as the cinnamon, camphor, avocado, and sassafras trees.
BEE BALM (Monarda spp.)
This plant improves both the growth and flavor of tomatoes.
BORAGE (Borago officinalis)
CATNIP (Nepeta cataria)
Catnip contains an insect-repellent oil, nepetalactone, and fresh catnip steeped in water and sprinkled on plants will send flea beetles scurrying.
The catnip compound is chemically allied to those found in certain insects. Two of these occur in ants and another in the walking stick insect, which ejects a spray against such predators as ants, beetles, spiders, birds, and even humans. Freshly picked catnip placed on infected shelves will drive away blank ants.
CHAMOMILE (Matricaria recutita)
The real plant, the German or wild chamomile (Matricaria recutita), recognizable by the hollow bottom of the blossom and its highly aromatic odor, is often confused with Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). This is an excellent companion to cabbages and onions, improving growth and flavor of both. But it should be grown sparingly, only one plant every 150 feet.
Chamomile flowers may be used in the dogâs bed against fleas. When using herbs in pet pillows, simply add the dried form to the stuffing, occasionally adding more to freshen up.
The blossoms soaked in cold water for a day or two can be used as a spray for treating many plant diseases and to control damping-off in greenhouses and cold frames.
A chamomile rinse is excellent for blond hair. Use 3 or 4 tablespoons of dried flowers to 1 pint of water. Boil for 20 to 30 minutes, straining when cool. Shampoo the hair before using, since it must be free of oil. Pour rinse over the hair several times and do not rinse with clear water after using it will leave the hair smelling like sweet clover.
Chamomile contains a hormone that stimulates the growth of yeast.
Grown with peppermint in very small quantities, it increases the essential oil.
CHERVIL (Anthriscus cerefolium)
This is one of the herbs that will grow well in partial shade, which can be provided by taller plants growing near it. It does not take kindly to transplanting. Chervil is a good companion to radishes, improving their growth and flavor.
CHIVE (Allium schoenoprasum)
Chives are a good companion to carrots, improving both growth and flavor. Planted in apple orchards they are of benefit in preventing apple scab, or made into chive tea may be used as a spray for apple scab or against powdery mildew on gooseberries and cucumbers.
COMFREY (Symphytum officinale)
Comfrey, also called knitbone or healing herb, is high in calcium, potassium, and phosphorus, and rich in vitamins A and C. It was an ancient belief that comfrey preparations taken internally or as a poultice bound to injured parts hastened the healing of broken bones.
It is possible that the nutrients present in comfrey actually do assist in the healing process, since we now know that the herb also contains a drug called allantoin, which promotes the strengthening of the lining of hollow internal organs. However, this herb also contain alkaloids that cause liver damage and is no longer considered safe for internal use.
Grow Comfrey next to your composter or compost pile, tossing in leaves to help enrich and breakdown your compost!
CORIANDER (Coriandrum sativum)
Coriander has a reputation for repelling aphids while being immune to them itself. It helps anise germinate but hinders the seed formation of fennel. In blossom, the herb is very attractive to bees.
Many people think the foliage and fresh seed of coriander have a disagreeable smell, but as the seeds ripen they gain a delicious fragrance that intensifies as they dry. The savory seeds, sometimes sugar-coated as a confection, are baked in breads or used to flavor meats.
Coriander has four times more carotene than parsley, three times as much calcium, more protein and minerals, more riboflavin, and more vitamin B1 and niacin. Coriander oil is used medicinally to correct nausea.
DILL (Anethum graveolens)
Dill is a good companion to cabbage, improving its growth and health. It does not do well by carrots and, if allowed to mature, will greatly reduce that crop, so pull it before it blooms.
Dill will do well if sowed in empty spaces where early beets have been harvested and light sowings may be made with lettuce, onions or cucumbers, Honeybees like to visit dill blossoms.
FENNEL (Foeniculum vulgare)
Most plants dislike fennel, and it is one herb that should be planted well away from the vegetable garden, since it has an inhibiting effect on bush beans, caraway, kohlrabi, and tomatoes, Fennel planted away from the garden is valuable for it masses of fringed foliage. At one time the fragrant seeds, which smell and taste like licorice, were made into a tea soothing to colicky babies. Mixed with peppermint leaves, it also makes delicious tea for adults. Fennel is inhibited by the presence of coriander and will not form seed. It also dislikes wormwood.
HOREHOUND (Marrubium vulgare)
In centuries past, virtues attributed to horehound included the power to cure snakebite and merit as a fly repellent, vermifuge, and an ointment for wounds and itches. The Hebrew name for the plant, marrob, means âa bitter juice.â It was one of the five bitter herbs required to be eaten at the Passover feast. The Romans considered it a good and sometimes magical herb. Horehoundâs real value is related to pulmonary ailments, and it is widely used as an ingredient in lozenges for coughs and colds.
HYSSOP (Hyssopus officinalis)
Itâs hard to find anything more delightful than a hyssop hedge in full sun. The blue, white and pink flowered hyssop makes an intriguing design grown with gray Roman wormwood.
LAVENDER (Lavandula angustifolia)
In a w percent emulsion spray for cotton pests, lavender kills somewhere between 50 and 80 percent within a period of 24 hours.
Few ticks are found in lavender plantations, although neighboring woods and shrubs may harbor many. It has been used effectively as a mouse repellent, and lavender sachets are often put in woolen clothing to repel moths, while leaves scattered under woolen carpets are helpful for the same purpose.
LEMON BALM (Melissa officinalis)
Lemon balm, often called the bee herb, has long been famous for its delightful, lemon-scented foliage and honeyed sweetness. Melissa, the generic name, is Greek for âhoneybee,â and there is a very old belief that bees will not leave the hive area if Melissa grows near it. Pliny wrote, âWhen bees have stayed away they do find their way back home by it.â In pastures this plant increases the flow of cowsâ milk.
LOVAGE (Levisticum officinale)
Lovage planted here and there will improve the health and flavor of other plants. It is one of the herbs that may be used to reduce the amount of salt used for seasoning and is delicious sprinkled on salads or used in cheese biscuits. In dishes that need strengthening, it can replace meat stock and is excellent in soups and casseroles.
Lovage will winter well, but in colder climates the roots should have some protection.
MARJORAM ((Origanum spp.)
This small, easily grown plant is probably one of the oldest herbs in use. âMarjoramâ really covers three very different kinds of marjoram, all of which belong to the Labiatae family
The sweet marjoram, an annual, is the most popular for flavoring, especially in sausages. It was used extensively by the Greeks, who gave it the name, which means âjoy of the mountains.â Its disinfectant and preserving qualities made it an invaluable culinary herb in the Middle Ages.
Pot marjoram is a perennial with a bit less flavor but more easily grown.
Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare) is a wild as well as a cultivated variety with a strong flavor, the pungency varying according to where it grows. This herb, also known as oregano, is used the world over in Italian, Mexican, and Spanish dishes, and is believed to have both stimulating and medical properties, since it contains thymol, a powerful antiseptic when used internally or externally. The whole plant of oregano is covered with hairy oil glands. The pleasant aromatic scent, reminiscent of thyme, is very lastingâeven the dead leaves and stems retain it during the winter or when dried for culinary use.
In the garden all the majorams have a beneficial effect on nearby plants, improving both growth and flavor.
MINT (Mentha)
Mint is a good companion to cabbage and tomatoes, improving their health and flavor. Both mint and tomatoes are strengthened in the vicinity of stinging nettle. Mints such as apple, orange, and pineapple will thrive under English walnut trees, in part because of the filtered sunlight.
RUE (Ruta graveolens)
Rue doesnât like basil. But an authority as ancient as Pliny tells us that ârue and the fig tree are in great league and amitie together.â
Rue planted near roses or raspberries will deter the Japanese beetle. It can be clipped and made into an attractive hedge, but first be sure you are not allergic to it, since the foliage can cause dermatitis as severe as that from poison ivy when the plant is coming into flower.
Rue may be grown among flowers as well as vegetables, where its good looks will add to the planting. It is protective of many trees and shrubs. It is good near manure piles and around barns for discouraging both house and stable flies.
The ancient Schola Salernitans wrote that âRue putteth fleas to flight.â However, it should be used only for dog pillows or beds, for cats do not like it. Anything rubbed with the leaves of rue will be free from catsâ depredations.
SAGE (Salvia officinalis)
Sage is protective to cabbages and all their relatives against the white cabbage butterfly, and it also makes the cabbage plants more succulent and tasty.
The herb also is good to grow with carrots, protecting them against the carrot fly and is mutually beneficial with rosemary. Do not plant sage with cucumber, which does not like aromatic herbs in general and sage in particular.
SANTOLINA (Santolina chamaecyparissus)
This European plant, sometimes called lavender cotton, is a good moth repellent. The name is from sanctum linum, meaning âholy flax.â The plants are improved by being pruned as soon as the blossoms fall.
SAVORY, SUMMER (Satureja hortensis)
In Germany, savory is called the bean herb because itâs good to grow with beans and also to cook with them. It goes with onions as well, improving both growth and flavor.
SAVORY, WINTER (Satureja montana)
Winter savory is a subshrub, about 15 inches tall. Its leaves, though not as delicate as summer savory, may be used in cooking. It is useful as an insect repellent, too.
TARRAGON, FRENCH (Artemisia dracunculus)
Used potato fertilizer as a side dressing for tarragon in spring and again right after the first cutting to increase the vitality of the plant. To reset tarragon successfully, the roots must be carefully untangled. Each section of root eased apart from the clump may be reset to form another plant. This is best done every third year in March or early April. As a cooking herb tarragon is something very special, and it is particularly good for flavoring vinegar.
THYME (Thymus vulgaris)
Thyme has an ancient history as a medicinal and culinary herb. The oil is still used as the basis of patent cough medicine, while thymol has antibacterial powers of considerable importance. But thyme is of value mainly in cooking, being very good for poultry seasoning and dressing. Leon tyme makes a delicious herbal tea.
The herb deters the cabbageworm and is well planted anywhere in the garden.
Medical Disclaimer
It is the policy of The Herb Society of Nashville not to advise or recommend herbs for medicinal or health use. This information is intended for educational purposes only and should not be considered as a recommendation or an endorsement of any particular medical or health treatment.
Source:
Rhonda Galligan &
Carrots love tomatoes & roses love Garlic
