vmicheal6x的部落格

Herbs are such an asset to the garden, the household and the medicine cabinet that I just don't understand why gardens everywhere aren't bursting with them. Most herbs have multiple uses. Many are excellent companion plants, that are just as gorgeous in your vegetable patch as your flower beds. Most herbs are very pretty, are easy to grow and demand little attention.

With companion planting it is widely held that certain plants do better when grown together. Some plants keep harmful insects away from another, or confuse insects with scent or shape. -Anise- deters pests from Brassicas by camouflaging their odour and also improves the vigour of plants grown nearby. It can deter aphids, fleas and reduce cabbage worms.

Some plants attract useful insects to help pollinate the flowers of another. -Basil- attracts bees, which will pollinate your tomatoes. In this way they make good companions. I have also found that planting basil and tomatoes together gives my tomatoes delicious flavour and the basil is very pungent - this makes the best pesto!

-Borage- is fantastic grown with strawberries. I always find the strawberries tastier and larger planted near borage. Let borage go to seed in your strawberry patch. The borage flowers are a pretty blue star shape, make an interesting addition to salad and you can steam the young leaves for something different. If I have too many borage volunteers, pull a few and give them to the chooks. Borage accumulates silica and potassium, great for flowering and fruiting plants such as Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Pumpkin, Tansy, Tomatoes, Rose, Squash and Strawberries.

Growing a decoy crop can protect the valuable yield of a desired crop. Try growing -garlic chives- to attract aphids away from roses. French marigold kills harmful nematodes - grow them alongside your tomatoes.

Here are a few more gems that you can try:

- -Basil- should not be planted near -rue- as they inhibit each other's growth.

- -Chervil- grows well with -dill- and -coriander-.

- -Chives- and -parsley- grow better when planted together.

- -Dill- and -fennel- like each other, but have a tendency to cross-fertilize.

- -Rosemary- and -sage- grow well together.

- -Rue-, as well as not being planted near -basil-, should also not be planted near -sage-.

- -Fennel- should not be planted near -caraway- or -coriander-.

- -Coriander- and -anise- seeds sown together will germinate more quickly.

- -Chillies- help plants which are affected by root rot.

- -Horehound- improves the fruiting of tomatoes.

-Yarrow- is one of the so-called "physician plants" or all-rounder. Grown near a sick plant, it helps it to recover. -Thyme- is also a physician plant, as is -marjoram/oregano-.

Some herbs such as -comfrey, lemon grass- and -arrowroot-, will help prevent grass and weeds. You can create a thick barrier with -lemon grass- which will even deter Kikuya grass.

-Comfrey- makes an excellent companion plant because it has long tap roots that keeps soil rich and moist, accumulates calcium, phosphorus, silica, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, and iron. It also acts as a trap for slugs and the rotting leaves make good fertiliser.

-Fennel- has the reputation for being the overall worst companion plant of all - it should be grown well away from other plants. It seems to inhibit the growth of many plants. However, as with most herbs it has multiple benefits. There's an old saying, "plant fennel near your kennel." It is good for keeping away fleas and the dried leaves can be put in the kennel itself. Medicinally it is said to help with eyesight - particularly cataracts by making an eye bath with fennel seeds boiled in water and kept sterile. In the kitchen it is delightfully pungent - when cooking fish, just put a sprig or two in your alfoil. Fennel also absorbs and deodorise cooking smells in general. It has so many uses it is well worth the space in your garden. Avoid growing it anywhere near beans or tomatoes. The bronze variety makes a very attractive addition to the garden.

So don't be stingy with herbs in your garden. They provide so many advantages and benefits that if you don't have them intermingled throughout your garden you are really missing out - and so are your other plants.