TUINE - Sue Day
- COMPANIONATE ALPHABET
- ANISE: (Pimpinella anisum)
Grow anise with Coriander, seed germination is more successful.
- APPLE TREE: (Malus)
- Ring chives around the stem.
APRICOT TREE: (Prunus armeniaca)
Ring nasturtiums (kappertjies) around the stem.
ASPARAGUS: (Asparagus officinalis)
Interplant asparagus with tomatoes and parsley.
BASIL: (Ocimum basilicum)
Do not plant near rue (sweet and bitter do not go well together.)
BEANS: (Phaseolus and Vicia)
Beans thrive near carrots and cauliflower.
Beans and beetrootalso like each other.
Beans are inhibited by onions and garlic (so moet hulle nie saam plant nie)
Plant with mealies as a quick trellis for runner-beans once the mealie plant is nearing maturity.
Broad beans interplanted with potatoes and marigolds (Afrikanertjies) do well.
Bush beans grow well with celery planted in a ratio of 6 plants celery to 1 plant beans.
Keep beans and fennel apart.
Beans grow well with strawberries.
BEETROOT: (Beta vulgaris)
Beetroot likes to grow near dwarf beans, onions and kohlrabi.
Lettuce and cabbage like beetroot.
BORAGE: (Borago officinalis)
Borage and strawberries thrive together. Bees love borage.
BUTTERCUP: (Ranunculus multifidus)
All members of the Ranunculus family are voracious feeders so try to confine them.
CHAMOMILE: (Matricaria recutita)
Chamomile helps onions - ratio of 1 chamomile plant to every 4 meters of inions.
CARAWAY: ( Carum carvi)
Caraway is a good companion to green peas.
Freshly gathered seeds, when baked into a loaf, help indigestion in heavy breads.
Caraway also helps digest cheese dishes.
CARROTS: (Daucus carota)
Carrots grow happily between rows of lettuce, chives and radishes.
The carrot fly is unsettled with rosemary, sage and wormwood. If these cannot be grown near the rows of carrots, crushed, dried leaves of any of the three may be sprinkled around the carrots to deter the carrot fly.
CASTOR OIL PLANT: (Ricinus communis)
This poisonous plant repels mosquitoes but should be cultivated with caution.
It encourages pumpkins to set fruit and makes a good screen behind the vegetable or herb garden.
CAULIFLOWER: (Brassica oleracea botrytis)
Cauliflower grows well near celery and celery helps keep away the cabbage moths that attack all brassicas.
CELERY: (Apium graveolens)
Celery will benefit from leeks growing nearby.
Tomatoes are good neighbours, as are bush beans.
CHERVIL: (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Chervil grows well if radishes are somewhere nearby, but needs shade.
CHIVES: (Allium schoenoprasum)
Good near apple trees.
CITRUS: (Citrus)
All Citrus trees do better with a guava tree in the vicinity and the protective influence of an oak tree or a rubber tree.
COMFREY: (Symphytum officinale)
Comfrey is beneficial to all surrounding plants as it brings up rich trace elements in the soil by its deep rooting system and provides moisture, shade and shelter to other plants grown nearby.
It is invaluable on the compost heap.
CORIANDER: (Coriandrum sativum)
Coriander hinders the seed formation in fennel but when sown with anise helps the latter to germinate.
Bees are drawn into the garden when coriander is in bloom.
CORNFLOWER: (Centaurea cyanus)
The cornflower helps the grain seed formation in oat and wheat fields.
DANDELION: (Taraxacum officinale)
This garden weed, with its wide variety of medicinal uses, also exhales a gas, ‘ethylene’, which inhibits the height or growth of pants nearby. So trek dit maar uit.
The dandelion helps flowers and fruits of neighbouring plants to mature early.
Dandelions have a happy companionship with lucerne.
DILL: (Peucedanum graveolens)
Dill is good with cabbages but has a strong inhibiting effect on carrots and tomatoes even if sown in the ratio of 20 plants to 1 dill plant. Pull it out or cut back before it goes into bloom to prevent this effect.
ELDER: ( Sambucus nigra)
Grow elder near compost areas as it has a beneficial effect on the humus beneath the leaves, can be added to the compost heap or dug into the topsoil.
EUPHORBIA: (Spurge)
These troublesome weeds are in actual fact friends as they protect tender plants of other species by fostering a soil which preserves warmth.
FAT HEN: (Chenopodium album)
This lush weed growing in the potato field is an indication that the soil is tired of growing potatoes.
It also indicates a good humus-fermented soil however.
FENNEL: (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fennel is harmful to bush beans, cucumber, tomatoes, kohlrabi and caraway.
Fennel suffers when planted near wormwood.
FOXGLOVE: (Digitalis purpurea)
Foxgloves give an invigorating effect to other plants near them and seem to stimulate their growth.
They grow well near pine trees.
To make cut foxgloves last well indoors, add 2 cupfuls of tea to the water in the vase.
GARLIC: (Allium sativum)
Grow garlic between roses but it will inhibit the growth of peas and beans.
Pieces of garlic in stored wheat and mealie bins will keep them insect free.
GRAPES: (Vitis and Muscadinia)
A vine supported by or grown near a mulberry tree will grow well.
The vield of grapes is increased by planting hyssop nearby.
HORSERADISH: (Amoracia rusticana)
Horseradish has a helpful effect on potatoes if grown around the edges of the patch.
Dig up horseradish after each season or it will spread abundantly.
Grated root bottled with hot vinegar, is a delicious condiment.
HYSSOP: (Hyssopus officinalis)
Hyssop attracts the cabbage butterfly and lures it away from the cabbage patch, so a border of hyssop is a useful edging to the vegetable garden.
It encourages the setting of fruit in grapevines.
KHAKIBOS: (Tagetes minuata)
Every khakibos plant should be gathered and used for its insect-repellent properties.
It keeps insects away and can be allowed to grow between lettuces, cabbages and tomatoes.
Crushed leaves under tomatoes that are ripening help prevent rot where they touch the ground.
Khakibos is beneficial to beans.
Dried leaves are an insecticide so sprinkle freely amongst vegetables.
LAVENDER: (Lavendula)
Lavender is a moth repellent and grows happily near scented geraniums (malvas), each enhancing the other’s perfume.
Lavender will also grow well near or interspersed with legumes.
LEEK: (Allium porrum)
Leeks and celery help each other sown in alternate rows.
Leeks also like celeriac and are aided by carrots and they help to repel carrot fly.
LEMON BALM: (Melissa officinalis)
Melissa radiates a beneficient atmosphere to its surrounding plants.
Grown in pastures it will aid the milk flow in cows.
When a new swarm comes to a hive, rub the inside of the hive with a handful of melissa and the swarm will never leave it.
MARIGOLD: (Afrikanertjies Tagetes)
Marigolds are the best treatment for nematodes in the soil for their roots excrete a substance which kills them.
Grown between rows of tomatoes they seem to increase the yield of fruit.
Marigold flowers and foliage make a wonderful insect repellent and grown interspersed all over the garden will effectively keep insects away all summer long.
MARJORAM: (Oreganum vulgare)
Marjoram and its cousin origanum are beneficient plants to their neighbours without exception and as such are indispensable in the garden and vegetable garden.
MEALIE: (Zea mays)
Grow mealies amongst potatoes in alternate rows and as a support for beans.
Pumpkins, melons and squash also benefit from the mealies’ shade and shelter and each benefits the other’s soil requirements.
MINT: (Mentha)
The mints help control aphids on nearby vegetation.
To repel ants chop and sprinkle mint around their holes.
To keep flies away hang bunches of bruised mint in the house and to keep flies off a milk cow rub handfuls of mint or spearmint leaves over her every day.
MUSTARD: (Brassica alba)
This fast growing annual is a help to fruit trees and grape vines if grown nearby.
A crop of mustard, dug in and allowed to stand for a season, will restore general health of a poor, over mineralised soil.
NASTURTIUM: (Kappertjies Tropaeolum majus)
Planted near broccoli, nasturtium keeps it free from aphids.
Planted under apple trees, it keeps woolly aphids away.
NETTLE: (Urtica dioica)
The stinging nettle stimulates the formation of humus in the soil- the leaves and stem rot to an ideal humus and the secretions around its roots stimulate growth in other plants.
It changes the chemical processes in nearby plants, eg grown near marjoram and sage it increases their essential oil content.
Nettle helps plants around it eg tomato plants, to grow more resistant to spoiling.
Nettle strengthens and invigorates all plants grown around it and can be used to make a useful fermented extract which acts as manure. Cut down several nettle plants and cover with water. Leave to decompose for 3 weeks, then use as a manure or strain and use as a spray to help plants overcome drought conditions or to strngthen ailing plants and improve their general health.
OAK: (Quercus)
An oak is beneficent to other trees, citrus in particular like an oak tree as protection.
Oak leaf mulch is valuable when spread between plants as it is a repellent for slugs, snails and cutworms.
ONIONS: ( Allium cepa)
Onions grow well with beetroot, while their own growth is helped by chamomile- 1 chamomile plant to every 4 meters of onion plants.
Alternate rows of carrots and onions will protect the carrots from carrot fly.
Onion juice is soothing when applied to wasp and bee stings.
PARSLEY: (Petroselinum crispum)
Try growing parsley between roses or in a circle around their base. Not only is it a charming edging or border, but it attracts bees and remains green and attractive for 2 seasons, growing well even if picked continuously.
It is also a good companion to tomatoes as they enhance one another’s growth and flavour.
PEAS: (Pisum sativum)
Grow peas and radishes, carrots, cucumbers, beans, mealies and turnips near each other.
Plant peas far away from onions, chives and shallots.
If peas and potatoes are grown in alternate rows, the potatoes do well from the nitrogen given off by the roots of the peas.
Do not plant peas 2 years in succession in the same ground.
PENNYROYAL: (Mentha pulegium)
Pennyroyal is an ant and mosquito repellent. Sprinkle round ants nests, rub onto pillows and arms and face to repel mosquitoes.
Edge vegetable beds with pennyroyal so that it can be walked on to release the oils.
PEPPERMINT: (Mentha piperita)
Plant peppermint between cabbages to protect them from the cabbage butterfly.
Edge paths with peppermint as it can be walked on and its fragrance can be most beneficial and refreshing to a weary gardener.
PINE: (Pinus)
If strawberries are mulched by pine needles, the mulch increases their fruit production and adds flavour to the fruits. It also makes a clean ‘straw’ on which the berries can rest.
Pine needlesinhibit the germination of seeds and pine trees suppress the growth of wheat.
PLANTAIN: (Plantago)
Red clover and plantain grow well together.
Plantain plants before setting flowers, make a wonderful addition to the compost heap as a green manure.
PYRETHRUM: (Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium)
The flowers of pyrethrum are used in pesticide sprays but planted as a border to the vegetable or herb garden thet protect many plants from insect infestations.
They are particularly good alongside strawberries, helping to keep the berries pest free.
RADISH: (Raphanus sativus)
Radishes are beneficial to many vegetables.
Peas and radishes are mutually helpful.
The flavour of radishes grown near nasturtiums is wonderfully enhanced.
Lettuce grown near radishes makes the latter tender.
Chervil and radish encourage in each other invigorated growth and flavour.
Grow a row of radishes near runner beans and cucumbers to help keep away beetles.
Do not grow radish near hyssop as they seem to dislike one another.
ROSEMARY: (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Sage and rosemary are happy companions.
Rosemary repels carrot fly.
Rosemary keeps the evil spirits away, so a rosemary bush grown in each corner of the garden will ensure adequate protection.
ROSES: (Rosa)
Roses do wll with parsley and also with garlic. In fact roses which are grown near garlic have a deeper perfume. A compost made from onion and garlic refuse helps keep rose beetles away.
Mignonette grows well around rose bushes and here, too, the fragrance of both mignonette and the roses will become stronger.
RUE: (Ruta graveolens)
Do not grow rue and sweet basil together.
Keep rue as a border plant behind the vegetable garden and around the compost areas, stables and chicken runs to repel flies.
SAGE: (Salvia officinalis)
Sage and rosemary stimulates one another.
Sage drops its leaves and combined with wood-ash and manure, they make an amazing fertilizer, especially for grapevines.
Sage is a plant tonic so never waste a leaf. It seems to stimulate whichever plants grow around it.
SALSIFY: (Oyster plant Tragopogon porrifolius)
Salsify helps carrots grow prolifically and repels the carrot fly even better than do garlic and onions.
SANTOLINA: (Cotton lavender Santolina chamaecyparissus)
Grow santolina between lettuce and spinach as an insect repellent, crush a few leaves as you work amongst the plants. Use in sachets with other insect repelling herbs.
Sprays of santolina placed behind books will help repel fish moths.
SAVORY-SUMMER: (Satureja hortensis)
If summer savory is grown around onions as a border it greatly increases their growth.
It is also helpful to green beans, aiding their flower development and adding to their flavour.
SAVORY-WINTER: (Satureja montana)
Winter savory is an insect repellent and can be grown as an edging to the garden.
It inhibits the germination of seeds so do not grow it near seed beds.
SOAPWORT: (Saponaria officinalis)
The saponin-rich soapwort appears to work beneficially on crops which mature in the ground. Saponin is a plant glyciside, a soap like substance which occurs in various plant families. The humifying remains of these plants benefit the successional plants.
Other saponin producing plants besides soapwort are: spinach, tomatoes, runner-beans, potatoes, violas, mullein (verbascum) and some carnation varieties. Saponaria officinalis however is probably the most well known. It can be a pest in the garden but once it is established perhaps it is worth keeping for its many useful qualities.
SOUTHERNWOOD: (Artemisia abrotanum)
Southernwood protects cabbages from aphids and is a general insect repellent.
Planted near fruit trees, it will repel fruit fly and night-feeding fruit moths.
SPEARMINT: (Mentha spicata)
Rodents do not like spearmint. Bunches of spearmint and khakibos can be hang in store rooms to deter rats.
It repels ants when sprinkled around ant holes.
Grow near vegetables, spearmint will help control aphids.
SUNFLOWER: (Heliathus annuus)
Potatoes and sunflowers stunt one another’s growth.
Seeds from the sunflower are one way of persuading birds to visit your garden and bees love its nectar and pollen.
Cucumbers grows well bear sunflowers.
SWEET BASIL: (Ocimum basilicum)
Never grow sweet basil near rue. They are harmful to each other.
TANSY: (Tanacetum vulgare)
Tansy is an insect repellent plant and planted between trees is good for keeping fruit fly and fruit moths away from peaches.
THYME: ( thymus vulgaris)
Thyme has a fragrant oil, thymol, which helps repel aphids and moths.
It has an enlivening effect on its neighbouring plants and makes a good protective border to the vegetable garden.
VALERIAN: (Centranthus ruber)
Grown as a border plant it is beneficent to most vegetables.
It stimulates phosphorus activity in the soil in its vicinity and attracts earthworms.
It also attracts cats, which love its bruised roots.
WOOD ASH: (burnt twigs, branches, stems, leaves of all kinds)
Not a herb but important enough to be included as it is made from vegetable matter.
Every precious ounce of this wondderful plant food should be carefully gathered up.
It is an excellent tonic to dig in around fruit trees.
Sprinkled around vegetables especially root vegetables, it is a wonderful fertiliser and deters insect pests.
Just a small handful placed around plants maintains soil moisture and provides the soil with minerals.
WOODWORM: (Artemisia absinthium)
Wormwood is a general inhibitor of plants as its root secretions are toxic. It contains a toxic substance called absinthum and when rain flows over the leaves this soluble substance is washed out into the ground where it remains active for some time. Do not therefore grow wormwood close to other plants.
YARROW: (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow is helpful to most vegetables grown as a border plant. It does not mind being trampled so it can be grown alongside paths and itself a good medicinal herb. It is a good companion to all medicinal herbs.
APRICOT TREE: (Prunus armeniaca)
Ring nasturtiums (kappertjies) around the stem.
ASPARAGUS: (Asparagus officinalis)
Interplant asparagus with tomatoes and parsley.
BASIL: (Ocimum basilicum)
Do not plant near rue (sweet and bitter do not go well together.)
BEANS: (Phaseolus and Vicia)
Beans thrive near carrots and cauliflower.
Beans and beetrootalso like each other.
Beans are inhibited by onions and garlic (so moet hulle nie saam plant nie)
Plant with mealies as a quick trellis for runner-beans once the mealie plant is nearing maturity.
Broad beans interplanted with potatoes and marigolds (Afrikanertjies) do well.
Bush beans grow well with celery planted in a ratio of 6 plants celery to 1 plant beans.
Keep beans and fennel apart.
Beans grow well with strawberries.
BEETROOT: (Beta vulgaris)
Beetroot likes to grow near dwarf beans, onions and kohlrabi.
Lettuce and cabbage like beetroot.
BORAGE: (Borago officinalis)
Borage and strawberries thrive together. Bees love borage.
BUTTERCUP: (Ranunculus multifidus)
All members of the Ranunculus family are voracious feeders so try to confine them.
CHAMOMILE: (Matricaria recutita)
Chamomile helps onions - ratio of 1 chamomile plant to every 4 meters of inions.
CARAWAY: ( Carum carvi)
Caraway is a good companion to green peas.
Freshly gathered seeds, when baked into a loaf, help indigestion in heavy breads.
Caraway also helps digest cheese dishes.
CARROTS: (Daucus carota)
Carrots grow happily between rows of lettuce, chives and radishes.
The carrot fly is unsettled with rosemary, sage and wormwood. If these cannot be grown near the rows of carrots, crushed, dried leaves of any of the three may be sprinkled around the carrots to deter the carrot fly.
CASTOR OIL PLANT: (Ricinus communis)
This poisonous plant repels mosquitoes but should be cultivated with caution.
It encourages pumpkins to set fruit and makes a good screen behind the vegetable or herb garden.
CAULIFLOWER: (Brassica oleracea botrytis)
Cauliflower grows well near celery and celery helps keep away the cabbage moths that attack all brassicas.
CELERY: (Apium graveolens)
Celery will benefit from leeks growing nearby.
Tomatoes are good neighbours, as are bush beans.
CHERVIL: (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Chervil grows well if radishes are somewhere nearby, but needs shade.
CHIVES: (Allium schoenoprasum)
Good near apple trees.
CITRUS: (Citrus)
All Citrus trees do better with a guava tree in the vicinity and the protective influence of an oak tree or a rubber tree.
COMFREY: (Symphytum officinale)
Comfrey is beneficial to all surrounding plants as it brings up rich trace elements in the soil by its deep rooting system and provides moisture, shade and shelter to other plants grown nearby.
It is invaluable on the compost heap.
CORIANDER: (Coriandrum sativum)
Coriander hinders the seed formation in fennel but when sown with anise helps the latter to germinate.
Bees are drawn into the garden when coriander is in bloom.
CORNFLOWER: (Centaurea cyanus)
The cornflower helps the grain seed formation in oat and wheat fields.
DANDELION: (Taraxacum officinale)
This garden weed, with its wide variety of medicinal uses, also exhales a gas, ‘ethylene’, which inhibits the height or growth of pants nearby. So trek dit maar uit.
The dandelion helps flowers and fruits of neighbouring plants to mature early.
Dandelions have a happy companionship with lucerne.
DILL: (Peucedanum graveolens)
Dill is good with cabbages but has a strong inhibiting effect on carrots and tomatoes even if sown in the ratio of 20 plants to 1 dill plant. Pull it out or cut back before it goes into bloom to prevent this effect.
ELDER: ( Sambucus nigra)
Grow elder near compost areas as it has a beneficial effect on the humus beneath the leaves, can be added to the compost heap or dug into the topsoil.
EUPHORBIA: (Spurge)
These troublesome weeds are in actual fact friends as they protect tender plants of other species by fostering a soil which preserves warmth.
FAT HEN: (Chenopodium album)
This lush weed growing in the potato field is an indication that the soil is tired of growing potatoes.
It also indicates a good humus-fermented soil however.
FENNEL: (Foeniculum vulgare)
Fennel is harmful to bush beans, cucumber, tomatoes, kohlrabi and caraway.
Fennel suffers when planted near wormwood.
FOXGLOVE: (Digitalis purpurea)
Foxgloves give an invigorating effect to other plants near them and seem to stimulate their growth.
They grow well near pine trees.
To make cut foxgloves last well indoors, add 2 cupfuls of tea to the water in the vase.
GARLIC: (Allium sativum)
Grow garlic between roses but it will inhibit the growth of peas and beans.
Pieces of garlic in stored wheat and mealie bins will keep them insect free.
GRAPES: (Vitis and Muscadinia)
A vine supported by or grown near a mulberry tree will grow well.
The vield of grapes is increased by planting hyssop nearby.
HORSERADISH: (Amoracia rusticana)
Horseradish has a helpful effect on potatoes if grown around the edges of the patch.
Dig up horseradish after each season or it will spread abundantly.
Grated root bottled with hot vinegar, is a delicious condiment.
HYSSOP: (Hyssopus officinalis)
Hyssop attracts the cabbage butterfly and lures it away from the cabbage patch, so a border of hyssop is a useful edging to the vegetable garden.
It encourages the setting of fruit in grapevines.
KHAKIBOS: (Tagetes minuata)
Every khakibos plant should be gathered and used for its insect-repellent properties.
It keeps insects away and can be allowed to grow between lettuces, cabbages and tomatoes.
Crushed leaves under tomatoes that are ripening help prevent rot where they touch the ground.
Khakibos is beneficial to beans.
Dried leaves are an insecticide so sprinkle freely amongst vegetables.
LAVENDER: (Lavendula)
Lavender is a moth repellent and grows happily near scented geraniums (malvas), each enhancing the other’s perfume.
Lavender will also grow well near or interspersed with legumes.
LEEK: (Allium porrum)
Leeks and celery help each other sown in alternate rows.
Leeks also like celeriac and are aided by carrots and they help to repel carrot fly.
LEMON BALM: (Melissa officinalis)
Melissa radiates a beneficient atmosphere to its surrounding plants.
Grown in pastures it will aid the milk flow in cows.
When a new swarm comes to a hive, rub the inside of the hive with a handful of melissa and the swarm will never leave it.
MARIGOLD: (Afrikanertjies Tagetes)
Marigolds are the best treatment for nematodes in the soil for their roots excrete a substance which kills them.
Grown between rows of tomatoes they seem to increase the yield of fruit.
Marigold flowers and foliage make a wonderful insect repellent and grown interspersed all over the garden will effectively keep insects away all summer long.
MARJORAM: (Oreganum vulgare)
Marjoram and its cousin origanum are beneficient plants to their neighbours without exception and as such are indispensable in the garden and vegetable garden.
MEALIE: (Zea mays)
Grow mealies amongst potatoes in alternate rows and as a support for beans.
Pumpkins, melons and squash also benefit from the mealies’ shade and shelter and each benefits the other’s soil requirements.
MINT: (Mentha)
The mints help control aphids on nearby vegetation.
To repel ants chop and sprinkle mint around their holes.
To keep flies away hang bunches of bruised mint in the house and to keep flies off a milk cow rub handfuls of mint or spearmint leaves over her every day.
MUSTARD: (Brassica alba)
This fast growing annual is a help to fruit trees and grape vines if grown nearby.
A crop of mustard, dug in and allowed to stand for a season, will restore general health of a poor, over mineralised soil.
NASTURTIUM: (Kappertjies Tropaeolum majus)
Planted near broccoli, nasturtium keeps it free from aphids.
Planted under apple trees, it keeps woolly aphids away.
NETTLE: (Urtica dioica)
The stinging nettle stimulates the formation of humus in the soil- the leaves and stem rot to an ideal humus and the secretions around its roots stimulate growth in other plants.
It changes the chemical processes in nearby plants, eg grown near marjoram and sage it increases their essential oil content.
Nettle helps plants around it eg tomato plants, to grow more resistant to spoiling.
Nettle strengthens and invigorates all plants grown around it and can be used to make a useful fermented extract which acts as manure. Cut down several nettle plants and cover with water. Leave to decompose for 3 weeks, then use as a manure or strain and use as a spray to help plants overcome drought conditions or to strngthen ailing plants and improve their general health.
OAK: (Quercus)
An oak is beneficent to other trees, citrus in particular like an oak tree as protection.
Oak leaf mulch is valuable when spread between plants as it is a repellent for slugs, snails and cutworms.
ONIONS: ( Allium cepa)
Onions grow well with beetroot, while their own growth is helped by chamomile- 1 chamomile plant to every 4 meters of onion plants.
Alternate rows of carrots and onions will protect the carrots from carrot fly.
Onion juice is soothing when applied to wasp and bee stings.
PARSLEY: (Petroselinum crispum)
Try growing parsley between roses or in a circle around their base. Not only is it a charming edging or border, but it attracts bees and remains green and attractive for 2 seasons, growing well even if picked continuously.
It is also a good companion to tomatoes as they enhance one another’s growth and flavour.
PEAS: (Pisum sativum)
Grow peas and radishes, carrots, cucumbers, beans, mealies and turnips near each other.
Plant peas far away from onions, chives and shallots.
If peas and potatoes are grown in alternate rows, the potatoes do well from the nitrogen given off by the roots of the peas.
Do not plant peas 2 years in succession in the same ground.
PENNYROYAL: (Mentha pulegium)
Pennyroyal is an ant and mosquito repellent. Sprinkle round ants nests, rub onto pillows and arms and face to repel mosquitoes.
Edge vegetable beds with pennyroyal so that it can be walked on to release the oils.
PEPPERMINT: (Mentha piperita)
Plant peppermint between cabbages to protect them from the cabbage butterfly.
Edge paths with peppermint as it can be walked on and its fragrance can be most beneficial and refreshing to a weary gardener.
PINE: (Pinus)
If strawberries are mulched by pine needles, the mulch increases their fruit production and adds flavour to the fruits. It also makes a clean ‘straw’ on which the berries can rest.
Pine needlesinhibit the germination of seeds and pine trees suppress the growth of wheat.
PLANTAIN: (Plantago)
Red clover and plantain grow well together.
Plantain plants before setting flowers, make a wonderful addition to the compost heap as a green manure.
PYRETHRUM: (Chrysanthemum cinerarifolium)
The flowers of pyrethrum are used in pesticide sprays but planted as a border to the vegetable or herb garden thet protect many plants from insect infestations.
They are particularly good alongside strawberries, helping to keep the berries pest free.
RADISH: (Raphanus sativus)
Radishes are beneficial to many vegetables.
Peas and radishes are mutually helpful.
The flavour of radishes grown near nasturtiums is wonderfully enhanced.
Lettuce grown near radishes makes the latter tender.
Chervil and radish encourage in each other invigorated growth and flavour.
Grow a row of radishes near runner beans and cucumbers to help keep away beetles.
Do not grow radish near hyssop as they seem to dislike one another.
ROSEMARY: (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Sage and rosemary are happy companions.
Rosemary repels carrot fly.
Rosemary keeps the evil spirits away, so a rosemary bush grown in each corner of the garden will ensure adequate protection.
ROSES: (Rosa)
Roses do wll with parsley and also with garlic. In fact roses which are grown near garlic have a deeper perfume. A compost made from onion and garlic refuse helps keep rose beetles away.
Mignonette grows well around rose bushes and here, too, the fragrance of both mignonette and the roses will become stronger.
RUE: (Ruta graveolens)
Do not grow rue and sweet basil together.
Keep rue as a border plant behind the vegetable garden and around the compost areas, stables and chicken runs to repel flies.
SAGE: (Salvia officinalis)
Sage and rosemary stimulates one another.
Sage drops its leaves and combined with wood-ash and manure, they make an amazing fertilizer, especially for grapevines.
Sage is a plant tonic so never waste a leaf. It seems to stimulate whichever plants grow around it.
SALSIFY: (Oyster plant Tragopogon porrifolius)
Salsify helps carrots grow prolifically and repels the carrot fly even better than do garlic and onions.
SANTOLINA: (Cotton lavender Santolina chamaecyparissus)
Grow santolina between lettuce and spinach as an insect repellent, crush a few leaves as you work amongst the plants. Use in sachets with other insect repelling herbs.
Sprays of santolina placed behind books will help repel fish moths.
SAVORY-SUMMER: (Satureja hortensis)
If summer savory is grown around onions as a border it greatly increases their growth.
It is also helpful to green beans, aiding their flower development and adding to their flavour.
SAVORY-WINTER: (Satureja montana)
Winter savory is an insect repellent and can be grown as an edging to the garden.
It inhibits the germination of seeds so do not grow it near seed beds.
SOAPWORT: (Saponaria officinalis)
The saponin-rich soapwort appears to work beneficially on crops which mature in the ground. Saponin is a plant glyciside, a soap like substance which occurs in various plant families. The humifying remains of these plants benefit the successional plants.
Other saponin producing plants besides soapwort are: spinach, tomatoes, runner-beans, potatoes, violas, mullein (verbascum) and some carnation varieties. Saponaria officinalis however is probably the most well known. It can be a pest in the garden but once it is established perhaps it is worth keeping for its many useful qualities.
SOUTHERNWOOD: (Artemisia abrotanum)
Southernwood protects cabbages from aphids and is a general insect repellent.
Planted near fruit trees, it will repel fruit fly and night-feeding fruit moths.
SPEARMINT: (Mentha spicata)
Rodents do not like spearmint. Bunches of spearmint and khakibos can be hang in store rooms to deter rats.
It repels ants when sprinkled around ant holes.
Grow near vegetables, spearmint will help control aphids.
SUNFLOWER: (Heliathus annuus)
Potatoes and sunflowers stunt one another’s growth.
Seeds from the sunflower are one way of persuading birds to visit your garden and bees love its nectar and pollen.
Cucumbers grows well bear sunflowers.
SWEET BASIL: (Ocimum basilicum)
Never grow sweet basil near rue. They are harmful to each other.
TANSY: (Tanacetum vulgare)
Tansy is an insect repellent plant and planted between trees is good for keeping fruit fly and fruit moths away from peaches.
THYME: ( thymus vulgaris)
Thyme has a fragrant oil, thymol, which helps repel aphids and moths.
It has an enlivening effect on its neighbouring plants and makes a good protective border to the vegetable garden.
VALERIAN: (Centranthus ruber)
Grown as a border plant it is beneficent to most vegetables.
It stimulates phosphorus activity in the soil in its vicinity and attracts earthworms.
It also attracts cats, which love its bruised roots.
WOOD ASH: (burnt twigs, branches, stems, leaves of all kinds)
Not a herb but important enough to be included as it is made from vegetable matter.
Every precious ounce of this wondderful plant food should be carefully gathered up.
It is an excellent tonic to dig in around fruit trees.
Sprinkled around vegetables especially root vegetables, it is a wonderful fertiliser and deters insect pests.
Just a small handful placed around plants maintains soil moisture and provides the soil with minerals.
WOODWORM: (Artemisia absinthium)
Wormwood is a general inhibitor of plants as its root secretions are toxic. It contains a toxic substance called absinthum and when rain flows over the leaves this soluble substance is washed out into the ground where it remains active for some time. Do not therefore grow wormwood close to other plants.
YARROW: (Achillea millefolium)
Yarrow is helpful to most vegetables grown as a border plant. It does not mind being trampled so it can be grown alongside paths and itself a good medicinal herb. It is a good companion to all medicinal herbs.