Herbal Rescue

Companion planting helps with maintenance in a garden. Certain plants grow well together and will get along happily without you having to do much.

Herbs deter many pests because of their strong scent, and other useful components. Here are a few examples of herbs with their good and bad companions…

Basil:

-Good with tomatoes, peppers and asparagus
-Avoid growing near sage
-Repels many insects, including mosquitoes and flies
-Attracts butterflies
-Grown with chamomile, the essential oil will be stronger

Borage:

-Good with almost anything, especially strawberries and squash plants
-A magic herb. Welcome everywhere in the garden.
-Repels insects
-Attracts honeybees

Chives:

-Good with apples, brassicas (cabbage, broccoli etc;) and carrots
-Avoid growing near peas and beans
-Repels carrot fly and aphids

Dill:

-Good with cabbages, lettuce and cucumbers
-Avoid growing with carrots and tomatoes
-Repels spider mite and aphids
-Attracts wasps and honeybees
-Same family as fennel and is one of the few plants that will grow with fennel. Fennel should be planted away from most other plants in the garden, although it does attract ladybirds.

Garlic:

-Good with cucumbers, apples and pears, lettuce and peas
-Will grow happily with most plants
-Repels aphids, ants and rabbits

Lovage:

-Another magic herb, good to grow with almost anything
-Lovage doesn’t like to grow too close to rhubarb
-Attracts wasps and ground beetles (good bugs)
-Lovage, like borage, is said to improve the health of most plants.

Oregano:

-Good to grow alongside many plants, including tomatoes and peppers
-Repels aphids
-Allow to spread around pepper plants for extra humidity

Mint:

-Good to grow with brassicas (including all kale varieties and cabbages.)
-Repels cabbage fly and ants
-All mint varieties have similar properties

Nasturtium:

-Good to grow with many plants including squashes, tomatoes, beans and some brassicas,
-Avoid planting near cauliflower or radish
-Said to be one of the best herbs for attracting predatory insects
-Repels aphids, cucumber beetle and white fly

Rosemary:

-Particularly good to grow with beans, as well as carrots, cabbage and sage
-Repels the bean beetle
-Perfect companion herb for deterring many bean bugs

Sage:

-Similar to rosemary, good with beans, carrots and cabbage
-Avoid growing basil near to sage. The basil probably won’t thrive.
-Attracts honeybees
-Repels black flea beetle, carrot fly and cabbage fly