Herb of the Week - Companion Planting

In keeping with National Herb Week, I wanted to focus on not just one herb, but many, so I chose

Companion Planting as the Herb of the Week.

Companion planting is placing complementary plants together so they help each other.  When I first started gardening, I understood this concept from books and lectures I’d heard, but I do not think I was convinced it would really work.  However my first garden was only 10 by 7 feet so if I wanted to put in everything I wanted herbs and vegetables had to be interspersed, so I tried a few companion planting ideas to craft my pairings and to my surprise, what I had read about really worked!

The reason this concept actually results in better gardens and plants is simple science:

• Some plants give off odors or chemicals that repel insects
• Some plants attract beneficial insects
• Some pants attract insect that will pollinate other pants.
• And some plants lure harmful insects away from valued plants

Here are some herbs that have companionship properties:

• Nasturtium repels aphids, squash bugs and striped pumpkin beetles, meaning it is great in a vegetable garden and mice in containers to keep other plants healthy.
• Catnip repels ants and flea beetles.  I like it out in large garden patches that are away from the house in sandy soil which ants love.
• Chives is another plant that discourages aphids.  It is also good at suppressing fungus.  Perfect addition to containers.
• Feverfew will attract aphids, so you can place it near flowering plants aphids normally enjoy so they bother it instead.
• Yarrow attracts hoverflies lady bugs and wasps, all of which prey on aphids.

Experimentation is the only way to find the best companion herbs for your gardening needs, but here are some general guidelines to get you started.

          Plant                          Goes well with                    Harmful to                     Benefited by

Basil	Petunias, tomatoes, asparagus, peppers, oregano	Common rue, sage & rosemary (deadly to rosemary)	Chamomile or anise
Borage	Tomatoes, cabbage (repels tomato hornworms & cabbage worms) strawberries, squash, fruits	nothing
Chamomile	Basil, wheat, onions, cabbage, cucumber
Chives	Tomatoes, carrots, apple trees, roses, mums, sunflowers (repel aphids)
Cilantro	Anise, caraway, spinach, dill (repels spider mites, you can even make a tea with the seed for a treatment)
Dill	Lettuce, cabbage, sweet corn, cucumbers,	Carrots, caraway, lavender, tomatoes (attracts hornworm) will cross pollinate with fennel
Garlic	Deters rabbits and Japanese beetles fruits trees (apple pear and peach), roses, cucumbers, lettuce, celery
Mints	Cuttings and mulch made from mint are great around turnips, cabbage, broccoli, and mustard.  Even works with mice.	parsley
Rosemary	Sage, cabbage, beans, carrots by deterring cabbage moths and bean beetles	basil
Sage	Beans, broccoli, cauliflower,  cabbage and carrots	Rue, cucumbers, onions	rosemary
Tarragon	Especially eggplant, but good anywhere in the garden for it repelling qualities
Chervil	carrots
Gopher Purge	Spread 20 feet of roots whose smell repels moles and gophers.
Lovage	Health improver for almost all plants
Rue	Deters Japanese beetles in roses and raspberries	sage
Tansy	Deters flying insect especially those attacking fruit trees, roses and raspberries
Wormwood	Dogs and other animals avoid this and stay away from your garden
Marigolds	Nematodes in the ground around any plants
Hyssop	Cabbage, grapes	radishes
Catnip	cucumber
Summer Savory	Bean plants

This is a bit of information to get you thinking about Companion planting as you plan your garden for 2011.  And if you want to learn more here are some of the places I used when doing my research.

Resources:
Companion Plants by Professor Stuart B. Hill Department of Entomology Macdonald College
Down Garden Services: Companion Planting
Gardening Know-How: Companion Planting in your Herb Garden

Great Garden Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham (Rodale Press, 1998)
Rodale’s Successful Organic Gardening: Companion Planting by Susan McClure and Sally Roth (Rodale Press, 1994)
Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte (Storey Publishing, 1998

Your Backyard Herb Garden by Miranda Smith (Rodale Press, 1997)

The Ultimate Book of Herbs and Herb Gardening by Jessica Houdret (Hermes House, 2002)

~Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh

copyright 2011

Keeping an Herb Notebook

One of my first herb books was Phyllis Shaudys The Pleasure of Herbs: A Month-by-Month Guide to Growing, Using and Enjoying Herbs (Storey Communications, 1986).

On page 20 just at the beginning of the book, she suggested keeping an herbal notebook, in which you put your herb wish list and things to try and other information gleaned from books and seed catalogs.  I took her notebook advice and wrote down herb lists, growth information and then sketched in my garden and what I want to plant here and there.  This started me on quest for information about herbs that has only multiplied over time.  I began with one notebook that exploded into another and another and a garden journal and then another and soon I had hundreds maybe thousands of pages of information.

After 20 years I can’t use just ONE notebook anymore.  I have multiple books I carry around with me to jot down ideas, plants to try, books to read and uses for herbs that books, people, blogs, and other places suggest.  These notebooks sit on the shelves my grandfather made (with a few cookbooks).  When they started to number into the hundreds I realized they were impossible to sort through to find what I wanted so I had to take them apart and place them in folders.  This information expanded into file folders of ideas, plant and gardening lists and craft ideas.  Those folders now fill two filing cabinets.

The reason I share this is to let you know that no matter how you begin saving or collecting information about herbs it’s perfect!  Organization can always come later!

I now collect notebooks with herby and garden themes so I love pulling them out and writing things in them.  My new favorite is the wire bound book with the elastic band and the period plant sketches on the cover which I picked up at Target!

While I was taking all these pictures I found an herb chart from Clark’s Greenouse of San Juan, Illinois (which unfortunately closed back in 2007) that gave some great information on the cooking uses of 9 basic herbs.  Here is the information I discovered:

       Herb                   Soups               Meats/ Poultry     Cheese/eggs/fish      Vegetables

Basil	Vegetables, tomato (seafood dips)	Beef, pork, veal, lamb, meatloaf, liver, stews	All egg rice and cheese dishes, all fish and shellfish	Tomatoes, salads, squash, beans, carrots, beets, peas
Dill	Tomato, pea beef soup, borsch	Lamb, corned beef, creamed chicken	Any cheese dip, egg and cheese, tartar sauce	Potatoes, Peas, Cauliflower, sour cream dressing
Marjoram	Clam chowder, minestrone, onion soup	Beef , veal, stews, chicken, pork, sausage, stuffings	Cheese and egg dishes, creamed fish, gravies	All vegetables, tossed green salads
Oregano	Bean or tomato soups	Pizza, spaghetti, meatloaf, all game	Fish sauce, poached eggs or omelets	Seafood salads, all mushroom dishes, onions
Rosemary	Rea, chicken or turtle soup	Stews, veal, lamb, chicken, pot roast	Baked or fried fish, omelets, scrambled eggs	Cabbage, broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts
Sage	Chowders and soup stock	Dressings, stews, pork sausage	Egg dishes, and baked fish, cheese	Beans, tomatoes and onions
Savory	Chowders, bean, onion or lentil soup	Pork, veal, lamb, chicken dressings, stews	Egg sauces, cream cheese	String beans, lentils, vegetable or potato salad
Tarragon	Vegetable, tomato and any chowder	Chicken, chops or steaks, beef or ham, beef or lamb stew	All egg dishes, fish or lobster, tartar sauce	Peas, beans, asparagus, tomato seafood salad
Thyme	Onion soup, fish or clam chowder	Beef stew, lamb, veal, game, pot roast, meatloaf	Cheese dishes or sandwiches, fish, scrambled eggs, lobster or shrimp	Salads, peas, tomatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage slaw

If you like the idea of cooking with herbs, but are not sure, even with a chart like this how to begin, we have made it easier.  Just use one of the herb seasoning blends created by the Backyard Patch.  We have a blend ofr poultry, one for meat and seafood, as well as blends for salads, soups and more.  See them all here: