Friday Tips, Tricks, and Tools

If your anything like me, your thinking about a garden this time of year. Here are some tips on what to plant and what NOT to plant together for best results. GOOD LUCK!

Common Garden Vegetables
Their Companions and Their Antagonists

COMMON NAME	COMPANIONS	ANTAGONISTS
Alliums	Fruit trees, Nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, etc), Brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, etc) Carrots	Beans, Peas, Parsley
Asparagus	Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil	Onion, Garlic, Potatoes
Beans	Potatoes, Carrots, Cucumbers, Radishes, Rosemary, Peas, Corn, Cucumbers, Brassicas, Summer Savory, most other vegetables and herbs	Tomatoes, chili peppers, sunflowers, alliums (onions, garlic, etc), kales (cabbage, broccoli, etc) Gladiola
Pole Beans	Corn (see Three Sisters, Summer Savory, Sunflowers	Onions, Beets, Kohlrabi, Cabbage
Bush Beans	Potatoes, Cucumbers, Corn,Strawberries, Celery, Summer Savory	Onions
Beets	Lettuce, Onions, Brassicas, Kohlrabi	Pole beans
Brassicas (Cabbage, Cauliflower,Kale, Kohlrabi, Broccoli)	Aromatic Herbs, Potatoes, Celery, Chamomile, Dill Peppermint, Sage, Rosemary, Beets, Onions, Spinach	Pole beans, strawberries, tomatoes
Carrots	Chives, Rosemary, Sage, Radishes, Lettuce, Peas, Onions, Leeks, Tomatoes	Dill
Celery	Leeks, Tomatoes, Bush Beans, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Cosmos, Daisies, Snapdragons	corn, Aster flowers, these can transmit the aster yellows disease
Chives	Carrots, tomatoes	Peas, beans
Corn	Sunflowers, Pumpkins, Beans, Potatoes, Peas, Cucumbers, Pumpkin, Squash	Tomatoes, Celery
Cucumber	Beans, Carrots, Beets, Onions, Radishes, Corn, Peas, Lettuce, Dill, Sunflowers, Nasturniums, Marigolds	Potatoes, aromatic herbs
Dill	Cabbage, Onions, Cucumbers	Tomato
Eggplant	Beans, Peppers, Potatoes
Leek	Onions, celery, carrots	Legumes (beans, peas, etc)
Lettuce	Carrots with radishes, Strawberries, Cucumbers, Onions
Marigold	Plant throughout the garden
Oregano	Good to all Vegetables
Onion (and garlic)	Beets, Strawberries, Tomatoes,Lettuce, Summer Savory, Chamomile, Leeks, Parsley	Peas, Beans, Parsley
Parsley	Tomatoes, Asparagus
Peas	Carrots, Turnips, Radishes, Cucumbers, Corn, Beans, Lettuce, most vegetables and herbs	Onions, Garlic, Chives, Gladiola, Potatoes
Roses	Garlic
Potato	Beans, Corn, Cabbage, Horseradish,Marigold, Eggplant (as a lure for the Colorado potato beetle)	Pumpkin Squash, Cucumber, Sunflowers, Tomatoes, Raspberry
Pumpkin	Corn, Beans	Potato
Radish	Peas, Nasturtium, Lettuce, Cucumber
Sage	Broccoli, Cauliflower, Rosemary, Cabbage, Carrots	Kohlrabi, Corn, Potatoes, Fennel, Cabbage
Soybeans	Grows/helps with everything
Spinach	Strawberries
Squash	Nasturtiums, Corn	Potatoes
Strawberries	BUSH Bean, Spinach, Borage, Lettuce (as a border), Onions	Cabbage
Sunflower	Cucumbers	Potato
Tomatoes	Basil, Chives, Onions, Parsley, Asparagus,Marigold, Nasturtiums, Carrots	Black Walnut, Kohlrabi, Corn, Potatoes, Fennel, Brassicas
Turnip	Peas

Companion Planting Chart for Herbs

A list of herbs, their companions and uses, including some beneficial weeds and flowers.

Common Name	Companions and Effects
Basil	Is said to make tomatoes taste better; dislikes rue intensely. Improves growth and flavor repels flies and mosquitoes.
Beebalm	Companion to tomatoes; improves growth and flavor.
Borage	The "Magic Bullet" of companion plants. Good with tomatoes, squash and strawberries; deters tomato worm; improves growth and flavor.
Caraway	Attracts parasitic wasps and flies. Plant here and there; loosens soil. Good with strawberries.
Catnip	Plant in borders; deters flea beetle.
Chamomile	Companion to cabbages and onions; improves growth and flavor
Chervil	Loves shade, fortunately it grows well with shade-tolerant food plants; will make radishes grown near it taste spicier
Chives	Companion to carrots; improves growth and flavor; avoid beans and peas
Dead nettle	Companion to potatoes; deters potatobug; improves growth and flavor
Dill	Companion to cabbage; dislikes carrots and tomato; improves growth and health of cabbage. Careful! Attracts tomato hornworm!
Fennel	Plant away from gardens. Fennel is allelopathic to most garden plants, inhibiting growth, causing to bolt, or actually killing many plants
Flax	Companion to carrots, potatoes, deterspotato bug; improves growth and flavor
Garlic	Plant near roses and raspberries; deters Japanese beetle; improves growth and flavor
Horseradish	Plant at corners of potato patch todeter potato bug
Henbit	General insect repellant
Hyssop	Deters cabbage moth; companion to cabbage and grapes. Keep away from radishes. Attracts honey bees and butterflies!
Lamb�s-quarters	This edible weed should be allowed to grow in moderate amounts in the garden, especially in corn.
Lemon Balm	Sprinkle throughout garden.
Lovage	Is thought to improve the health of almost all plants, like borage and geraniums, is considered a "magic bullet" of companion planting
Marigolds	The workhorse of the pest deterrents. Plant throughout garden; it discourages Mexican bean beetles, nematodes,and other insects. French marigolds produce a pesticidal chemical from their roots, so strong it lasts years after they are gone
Mint	Companion to cabbage and tomatoes; improves health and flavor; Peppermint particularly deters white cabbage moth. Spearmint for ants and aphids.
Marjoram	Plant here and there in garden; improves flavors
Mole plant	Deters moles and mice if planted hereand there
Nasturtium	Companion to radishes, cabbage, and curcubits; plant under fruit trees. Deters aphids, squash bugs, striped pumpkin beetles; improves growth and flavor. A trap crop
Petunia	Protects beans,cucurbits (squash, pumpkins, cucumbers), asparagus. A trap crop almost identical to geraniums in function
Pot marigold	Companion to tomatoes, but plant elsewhere in garden too. Deters asparagus beetle, tomato worm, and general garden pests.
Purslane	This edible weed makes good ground cover in the corn.
Pigweed	One of the best weeds for pumping nutrients from the subsoil, it is especially beneficial to potatoes, onions, and corn. Keep weeds thinned.
Peppermint	Planted among cabbages, it repels the white cabbage butterfly.
Rosemary	Companion to cabbage, bean, carrots, and sage; deters cabbage moth, many bean beetles, and carrot fly. Don't plant with Basil.
Rue	Keep it far away from sweet basil; plant near roses and raspberries; deters Japanese beetle.
Sage	Plant with rosemary, cabbage, beans and carrots; keep away from cucumbers. Deters cabbage moth, many bean beetles, carrot fly.
Southernwood	Plant here and there in garden; companion to cabbage, improves growth and flavor; deters cabbage moth.
Sowthistle	This weed in moderate amounts can help tomatoes, onions and corn.
Summer savory	Plant with green beans and onions; improves growth and flavor. Deters bean beetle and delays germination of certain foul herbs
Tansy	Plant under fruit trees; companion to roses and raspberries. Deters flying insects, Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs, ants.
Tarragon	Good throughout garden. Its scent is disliked by most pests, and this plant is also thought to have Nurse Plant properties, enhancing the growth and flavor of crops grown with it.
Thyme	Plant here and there in garden. Deters cabbage worm.
Valerian	Good anywhere in garden.
Wild morning glory	Allow it to grow in corn.
Wormwood	As a border, it keeps animals from the garden.
Yarrow	Plant along borders, paths, neararomatic herbs; enhances essential oil production.
Geranium	A trap crop, attracting pests away from roses and grape vines, distracts beet leafhoppers, carrier of the curly top virus, away from Solanaceous plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and tobacco