Whether you’re growing herbs in your greenhouse or in your garden, it can be beneficial to plant certain crops together. Tall plants help to shelter smaller ones from excessive sunlight while vine plants cover the ground and help to prevent weeds from growing and leaching nutrients from the soil.
Certain crops, when planted together, can help prevent pests and other harmful organisms from affecting each other. You can carefully plan your garden layout or your greenhouse crops and ensure that all plants benefit from each other.
Basil
Basil is a great herb to plant near other herbs, as it helps to improve their flavour and health. This herb repels mosquitoes, asparagus beetles, aphids, whiteflies, tomato hornworm, and black flies. Basil, however, shouldn’t be planted next to rue or sage.
Chives
This herb helps to repel aphids, a known garden pest that can quickly take over any garden. It can also repel carrot flies and whiteflies, being easy to grow and to maintain. Chives, ideal are planted next to tomatoes, dill, and carrots, but should be planted away from peas and beans.
Coriander
As a good companion plant for spinach, peas, and beans, coriander repels spider mites, aphids, and potato beetles. Coriander attracts beneficial insects that combat pests with the potential to destroy your crops. This herb can be reseeded around autumn to help control pests, but make sure not to plant fennel near coriander.
Dill
Sweet corn, lettuce, and cucumbers benefit from being planted next to dill, and the herb is also said to improve both the growth and the health of cabbages. Dill helps to discourage both aphids and spider mites but shouldn’t be planted next to tomatoes.
Marjoram
Believed to improve vegetables’ flavour when planted alongside them, marjoram has very little bad companions. It’s thought that this herb can help to stimulate growth in surrounding plants, in addition to attracting bees and other pollinators. A few vegetables that are great companion plants to marjoram are peas, potatoes, and celery.
Mint
Great for attracting bees, mint is also a good choice to repel mosquitoes, ants, and aphids. Mint itself can cause issues in your garden, as it’s an invasive plant and it spreads very quickly by sending its roots wide into the soil. This herb should be kept in herb pots, where it can safely attract predatory wasps and hoverflies.
Oregano
As a relatively low maintenance plant to grow in your garden, oregano can flourish when planted next to other herbs. Broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower benefit from being planted next to oregano, as the latter helps to repel pests like the cabbage moth.
Parsley
Onions, carrots, tomatoes, and asparagus are great companion plants for parsley, with its leaves repelling asparagus beetles. When parsley blooms, it attracts predatory wasps and hoverflies, which are beneficial insects for your garden. Make sure not to plant parsley near mint.
Rosemary
Herbs such as thyme and sage are great planted next to rosemary, with the latter resisting well to poor soil conditions. Rosemary helps to repel bean beetles and cabbage moths, being great companions for beans, sage, and cabbage. Make sure not to plant basil near rosemary, however, as it will cause the herb to die.
Sage
Sage is a very good choice for a vegetable garden, repelling the carrot rust fly and the cabbage moth and being great to plant next to broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. With tomatoes, sage deepens the plants’ flavour and keeps hornworms away. Don’t plant sage next to cucumber, however, as the latter is very sensitive to aromatic herbs.
Thyme
Thyme keeps cabbage worms and whiteflies at bay and it’s a great companion plant for rosemary, broccoli, and cauliflower. It also improves the growth of vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and eggplants.
Should you need a planter for your herbs or any other gardening equipment, make sure to get in touch on 0845 602 3774 with our team. We’re always happy to help and answer any questions you might have.