Thursday, April 28, 2011

Companion Gardening.

I heard a little bit about something along the lines of companion gardening from my mom the other day.  For example, you know how tomatoes go great with basil?  Turns even planting basil near your tomato plant will help enrich the flavor.  And well, since I love home grown tomatoes, and I want these to taste perfect, I found out of some other companion plants.  This is what I have narrowed it 
 down to based on my own preferences:
 
Basil: To repel insects and improve tomato flavor. 
  
Borage:  Repels the tomato hornworm.  Also said to improve taste, and attracts pollinating bees. 

Onion:  Said to be a companion, I was planning on growing green onion anyways, so I can’t imagine there being a huge different
Parsley:  Attracts many beneficial insects that feed on the bad, damaging insects. The foliage attracts worms that feed on the parsley leaves rather than attack your tomatoes. 

Also, these plants work very nicely with bell peppers in case you were w wondering. If there is anything that I'm missing out on, let me know. 
 
NOTE: When using companion herbs make sure they are compatible with everything else you’re growing.  Some plants are actually harmful to the health/taste of certain plants.  Click here  for a handy index of all plants and their companions.

So it looks like I'm going to plant some new seeds this weekend, along with getting bell pepper sprouts since they are apparently known for being finicky.

Thank you to everyone for the advice, comments and follows! I truly appreciate them all.  
Expect a new post by this weekend when I finally transport my plants.  Until then!

4 comments:

  1. Some great tips - companion planting is so beneficial. Just put some pics on my blog of marigolds I just planted.

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  2. Hi Anya. I have been trying to improve my companion gardening the past few years. I suggest reading Great Gardening Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham. It is a quick and helpful read. Another book I hear is good, but have not read it: Carrots love Tomatoes. Keep up the great work.

    Spencer

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  3. Thanks for stopping by and leaving the comments everyone, and sorry it took me forever to hop on.

    Spencer, I just may have to gives those a read: I think companion gardening is so beneficial and there's no reason to not do it!

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