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As the companion planting work and what do I plant for plants to?

Partners help each other grow. plants high, for example, provide shade sensitive to the sun, the smaller plants. An example of this was the year HerbFest sold "Elephant Ears" tropical plants for the heat sensitive French tarragon, dill, and Chervil could be planted beneath the shade of large sheets providing during the hot part of the day.

Partners use of garden space efficiently. Vining plants cover the soil, plants grow vertically. Two plants in a patch. It is double-edged use of companion and a small exception to this rule is still a vining plant is intended to "cover the earth," which may be due to not think of using supports such as fences, trellises, or overload stringing for directing the feature "to climb a vertical aspect.

One example is melons or watermelons and intertwined with the plants above, although only practice, with certain varieties of watermelon as the melon can be very heavy!

• Partners avoid pest problems, such as plants onion repel pests. Some plants repel insects such as carnations, nasturtiums, borage, thyme and oregano. Other plants can lure pests away from more desirable plants.
• African marigold releases a chemical called thiophene which is a nematode repellent and these flowers are widely used for planting companion. Santolina, also known as lavender cotton green or white, is a good insect repellent, especially for spinach and lettuce.
• Thyme border is a good protection to vegetable gardens and fruit repels moths.
• Keep ants away? Catnip, mint, onion, pepper, mint, Tansy, Wormwood. Remember that in many situations, the ants are not harmful to plants, but may be desirable for the gardener.
• Slug repellent? Wormwood, fennel, garlic, rosemary, sage (Fennel is harmful to most plants, especially beans, cucumbers and tomatoes) in front of this would be as attractive as a good ole Bud Light in a saucer. I chose Bud Light because it's cheap and I can not stand it !!!:)
• Geraniums repel cabbage worms, Japanese beetles and leafhoppers So if you are planting corn, grapes, peppers or cabbage, geraniums are also beneficial.

Marigolds and garlic have a reputation for repelling a number of pest insects such as aphids and carrot root flies. The Mexican Marigold, Tagetes minuta or Muster-John-Henry, is an annual that grows about 3 feet (which is the tip of the flower, not the total plant height). The roots have an insecticide effect on nematodes and some effect on keeled slugs. Even better, furry varmints (such as deer, rabbits, woodchucks, rats and squirrels) find them quite unpleasant, and even insects or diseases are a major problem.

Partners attract beneficial insects, the following plants, when planted near tomatoes are beneficial:

• Basil – Probably the most widely used companion for tomatoes, basil attracts bees to help pollination, and repels whitefly, aphids and mites. Basil sprays are also thought to destroy these pests even while some gardeners also believes that tomatoes grown near basil will also produce tomatoes with a basil flavor dyed. And of course, basil, using as a companion also provides plenty of this herb for its delightful cuisine.
• Nasturtiums – Thought to reduce the chances of fungal attack on the tomatoes and also to repel aphids and beetles Green Shield.
• Stinging Nettles – scientifically proven to dramatically increase the overall yield of tomato and to stop the fungal disease.
• Borage – attracts beneficial insects.
• Lemon Balm – attracts beneficial insects.
• Umbilliferae – One family that includes parsley, parsnips, carrots and others that attracts hoverflies which in both mature and larvae form feed on a host range of tomato pests.
• French Marigolds – Not nematodes, whiteflies or as marigolds, which makes them a wonderful companion for tomatoes, as well as others.
• Thyme, Asparagus, Foxglove, Lavender and garlic are also good companions to be intercropped with tomato.

On a final note, Rosemary, potatoes, kohlrabi, fennel, strawberries, the members of the Brassica family (cabbage, kale, etc.) and Dill should not be planted near tomatoes to these plants often attract pests that attack tomatoes.

Every successful garden needs plants that attract predators of pests – including humans:).

Bob Johnson is owner/founder of Herbfest along with his wife and kids. He has served on the Board of the International Herb Association and has extensive experience in retailing by educating and informing the customer.

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