Companion planting with herbs

Companion planting is about using one species to benefit another. Some herbs are a natural deterrent for pests and diseases, or can improve the growth and flavour of other plants. The following table is a list of herbs and their relationships in the garden.

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[source: Wikipedia]

Common name	Scientific name	Helps	Helped by	Attracts	Repels / Distracts	Avoid	Comments
Basil	Ocimum basilicum	tomato, peppers, oregano, asparagus, petunias	chamomile, anise	butterflies	asparagus beetle, mosquitoes and flies	common rue, sage	is said to make tomatoes taste better, chamomile and anise are supposed to increase the essential oils in many herbs like basil
Borage	Borago officinalis	Almost everything, especially strawberry, cucurbits (cucumber, gourds), tomatoes		Predatory insects, honeybees	many pests		Borage is the magic bullet of companion plants
Caraway	Carum carvi	Strawberries		Parasitic wasps, parasitic flies
Chamomile	Matricaria recutita	Basil, Wheat, Onion, Cabbage, Cucumber		Hoverflies, wasps		Growing near herbs will increase their oil production.
Chervil	Anthriscus cerefolium	Radish, lettuce, broccoli			aphids		loves shade, fortunately it grows well with shade-tolerant food plants; will make radishes grown near it taste spicier
Coriander / Cilantro	Coriandrum sativum	spinach	beans, peas	tachinid fly	aphids
Chives	Allium schoenoprasum	Apples, carrots, tomatoes, brassica (broccoli, cabbage, mustard, etc), many others	carrots		cabbage worms, carrot fly, aphids	beans, peas	Same companion traits as all alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, etc)said to prevent apple scab after 3 years planting at base of apple trees
Common name	Scientific name	Helps	Helped by	Attracts	Repels / Distracts	Avoid	Comments
Dill	Anethum graveolens	Cabbages, Corn, Lettuce, Onions, Cucumbers		Hoverflies, Wasps, Tomato Horn Worms, honeybees, Ichneumonid Wasps	Aphids, spider mites, squash bugs, cabbage looper	carrots, tomatoes	one of the few plants said to grow with fennel
Fennel	Foeniculum vulgare	Dill	Dill	ladybugs, syrphid fly, tachinid fly	aphids	Almost everything	Fennel is allelopathic to most garden plants, inhibiting growth, causing to bolt, or actually killing many plants
Garlic	Allium sativum	Apple trees, Pear trees, Roses, Cucumbers, Peas, Lettuce, Celery			Aphids, cabbage looper, ants, rabbits, cabbage maggot		Deters rabbits, same companion traits as all alliums (onions, chives, shallots, leeks, etc)
Hemp	Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa	Brassica (cabbage, brussels sprouts, other kales)					Repels many types of beetles which attack cabbages.
Hyssop	Hyssopus officinalis	Cabbage, grapes		honeybees, butterflies	Cabbage moth larvae, Cabbage Butterflies		Stimulates growth of grapes.
Lovage	Levisticum officinale	Almost all plants	beans	Ichneumonid Wasps, ground beetles (good)		rhubarb	Is thought to improve the health of almost all plants, like borage and geraniums, is considered a “magic bullet” of companion planting
Oregano	Origanum vulgare	Tomatoes, peppers, many other plants	basil		aphids		provides ground cover and much-needed humidity for pepper plants if allowed to spread among them
Common name	Scientific name	Helps	Helped by	Attracts	Repels / Distracts	Avoid	Comments
Peppermint	Mentha piperita	Brassica (cabbage, kholrabi, broccoli, and the other kales)			cabbage fly, ants, cabbage looper		Repels cabbage flies, has same general companion properties as other mints
Rosemary	Rosmarinus officinalis	sage, cabbage, beans, carrots			bean beetle		Deters cabbage flies, repels many bean parasites
Sage	Salvia officinalis	rosemary, cabbage, beans, carrots		honeybees, cabbage butterfly	cabbage flies, carrot fly, black flea beetle, cabbage looper, cabbage maggot		Deters cabbage flies, repels many bean parasites
Southernwood	Artemisia abrotanum	Fruit trees					Controls cabbage moths and malaria mosquitoes.
Spearmint	Mentha spicata				ants, aphids		Controls ants and aphids, has same general companion properties as other mints.
Summer Savoury	Satureja hortensis	Green beans, onions,					also delays germination of certain foul herbs
Tansy	Tanacetum vulgare	beans, cucurbits (cucumbers, squash, etc), corn, roses		honeybees	flying insects(Ichneumonid Wasps), Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs and ants		Is reputed to generally repel insects (except for nectar-eating types). This herb should not be consumed, as it is quite toxic.