Companion Planting Benefits
The world of gardening just fascinates me, when you take a step back and see how far we have come, there were many things our former generation thought us. Since then we have improved greatly by the many discoveries that have been made and are being made continuously
I believe these new discoveries brought more excitement as garden enthusiasts and weekend worries spend time outdoors connecting with nature by working hand in hand to assist where ever they can which in my opinion is a great trade-off. We can go on and on with the many areas in gardening with how this works.
But what I want us to do is dive into this discussion of the beauty and benefits of not just companion planting which is a broad topic but companion planting with herbs.
Companion Planting With Herbs
The art of companion planting is just simply amazing because what this technique involves is using plants that complement each other to bring about the desired results in a natural way that is environmentally safe along with promoting our ecosystem.
The Advantages of Companion Planting
- Soil improvements
- Companion saves space
- Improvers flavors
- Provides a living trellis
- Helps to keep weeds down
- Improves soil fertility
- Companion planting encourages plant production
- Helps prevent soil erosion
- Companion planting attracts beneficial insects
- No need to use harmful chemicals
- Companion planting improves aesthetics
- Attracts beneficial insects such as bees that help with pollination
- Larger plants shelter small plants from the elements such as strong winds and too much sun
- Helps to keep the soil moist
Examples of Companion Planting
1. Garlic
Garlic repels snails, Japanese beetles, aphids, and loppers. Garlic can be planted with most plants.
2. Chives
Chives-repels aphids and carrot flies. Chives can be planted with dill, tomatoes, most herbs, and carrots.
3. Basil
Basil repels mosquitoes and flies. Basil can be planted with oregano, peppers, tomatoes, and asparagus. Do not plant near rue.
4. Rosemary
Rosemary repels a variety of pests. Rosemary can be planted with broccoli, cabbage, beans, sage, and peppers.
5. Chamomile
Chamomile-attracts pollinators and beneficial insects. Chamomile can be planted with onion, cucumber, and cabbage, chamomile can also improve the flavors of herbs. Basil will improve the flavors of herbs
6. Lavender
Lavender-attracts butterflies and repels garden insect pests. Lavender can be planted with cauliflower.
7. Dill
Dill repels aphids, tomato hornworms, squash bugs, cabbage loopers, and spider mites. Dill can be planted with cucumbers, onions, lettuce, and corn. Do not plant near tomatoes, carrots, and sage.
8. Catnip
Catnip attracts bees but will repel garden insect pests. Catnip can be planted with beets, hyssop, squash, and Pumpkins.
9. Mint
Mint attracts bees but repels mosquitoes, aphids, and ants. Mint can be planted with tomatoes and most plants, mint however is considered to be an invasive plant that grows and spreads rapidly.
10. Cilantro
Cilantro repels aphids and spider mites. Cilantro can be planted with rosemary, spinach, dill, rose, and caraway.
11. Coriander
Coriander enhances the flavors of many vegetables, and can be planted with radishes and peppers but will repel potato beetles, aphids, and spider mites.
12. Tarragon
Tarragon-tarragon is a good companion to most plants.
13. Thyme
Thyme attracts beneficial insects but will repel carrot flies and cabbage worms. Thyme can be planted with carrots, marigold onion, lima beans, parsley, nasturtium, and asparagus
14. Summer savory
Summer savory repels bean beetles and cabbage moths. Summer savory can be planted with onions and beans.
15. Tansy
Tansy attracts honey bees but will repel sugar ants, striped cucumber beetles, fleas, Japanese beetles, moths, mites, and squash bugs. Tansy can be planted with corn, cucumbers, beans, peppers, squash, potato, raspberries, cabbage, and rose.
16. Parsley
Parsley will attract parasitic wasp which is a beneficial insect and the swallowtail butterfly. Parsley repels asparagus beetles, plant parsley with asparagus, corn, and tomatoes
17. Lemon balm
Lemon balm repels squash bugs and mosquitoes, ” rubbing the leaves of lemon balm on your skin will repel mosquitoes.” Plant lemon balm with squash.
18. Marjoram
Marjoram increases vigor and improves the flavors of vegetables, repels the cabbage moths. Plant marjoram with tomatoes and carrots.
The final word on companion planting with herbs
Companion planting is pretty amazing isn’t it this method of grouping plants together that complement each other is so cool. If you have not thought as yet of giving companion planting a try then I encourage you to do so. You will be so happy as you reap the many benefits companion planting offers. Go for it and see for yourself, I believe that companion planting is here to stay so join the many weekend warriors and garden enthusiasts and introduce companion planting in your garden.
About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
Can it also attract stink bugs or are they only for vegetable plants?
Would it create to be a problem that bugs would be everywhere?
Until today, I did not know that companion planting with herbs existed and how also it gives you benefits for taking care of it. Soil improvement seems like an important one to have because it’ll improve the soil where plants grow and make the plants even healthier and better because of how rich and good their soil is.
I know it creates such a vibe and takes up every empty space there is, just to fill your empty spaces with something you like to see and get a mood out of it. Gives good energy flowing around your house and fills up that space within you to give you something new to do.
It’s cool how it can also attract insects with these plants because when bees are attracted they do the job of pollinating the plants which gives plants a boost too during their growth. So many great benefits that are listed that can improve your overall self, home, and space.
Not to worry this method of planting is beneficial to your garden, beneficial insects, and the ecosystem.