Worry is like a rocking chair, it's gives you something to do but gets you nowhere!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Ever Heard These?...Companion Planting

From the Internet, Magazines and Books.
Ever tried any of these?

Garlic discourages Aphids among Rose Bushes.
Garlic curshed into water and sprayed on the Aphids will remove them.
Garlic planted under Peach Trees deter borers.
Aphids are a food source for Ants, they secret a sugary substance that Ants love. Ants protect Aphids from predators and will move the Aphids from plant to plant.
Get rid of the Aphids and the Ants will leave.
Ants DO help the garden some. Aerate the soil, they eat bad bugs, (good ones too) and even spread seed, which we always blame on the birds.
Nasturtiums ward off Cucumber Beetle and Squash Vine Borers.
Marigold scent keeps Rabbits away. French Marigolds have a toxic substance released in the soil that kills nematodes.
4 O'clocks near Roses deter Japanese Beetles, they are toxic to the Beetle.

Basil with Tomato will get rid of Hornworm.

Thyme and Lavender will keep slugs away.

Native Americans were masters at Companion Planting. "Three Sisters Garden"

Corn, Beans and Squash or Pumpkins planted together.

Squash grew at the roots of the corn keeping weeds from interfering and the Beans would grow up the Cornstalk protecting from wind. First Vertical Garden.

What tips do you have for Companion Planting and does it really work? I'm going to try a few.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I am Thankful for the Pioneer Gardeners.

46 comments:

Dani said...

Thanks for this Darla! Great info!

Dorothy said...

You are getting scientific now, Darla! I know that some of those work. You need to try some of these ideas since you garden so much.

Roses and Lilacs said...

The way the Japanese beetles seem to be thriving here, 4'oclocks may be my one and only flower.
Marnie

Susie said...

That's great info Darla. I didn't know ants protected the aphids and would even move them. I knew the ants like their sugary secretion.

I don't know about the basil with tomatoes protecting them from hornworms. Does the basil have to be planted right next to the tomato? I had basil planted last year close to my tomatoes but the worms still ate them.

Darla said...

Susie: I have no clue, although I will be trying it. Maybe more basil than tomato plants...

Dave@TheHomeGarden said...

I think it's hit or miss and not foolproof but many of the principles are very sound. The beans and corn are great companions because the beans give nitrogen to the soil. I did basil and tomatoes and didn't have any hornworms last year. I'll be trying the nasturtiums this year.

Carol............. said...

Years ago a friend gave me a book "Roses Love Garlic" that has this type of information. Really great!

Patsy said...

I will get marigolds this year, didn't think about them keeping the rabbits away. They ate all of my pansy's but the ones in the pots.
Patsy

Robin Beck said...

I used to always plant marigolds by my tomato plants but for the life of me can't remember why!!! Some gardener must have told me to do it!

Wish I knew something I could plant around my garden to keep the slugs out-They are horrible around here!!!

Another great post my friend!

Robin~♥

Dirt Princess said...

What keeps chocolate labs away?!?!? I need the answer to that one! LOL!!!

Darla said...

DP: A FENCE!

Amy said...

Good info to know. I did plant basil by the tomatoes. I will have to remember these tips.

Skeeter said...

I have heard of some of these but not all. Great Information past along today! The manatees are awesome creatures and to see them up close like that must be awesome! I saw this place in FL on a blog in the past so was a bit familiar with it. I need to put that visit on my Bucket List as it would be a wonderful place to visit…

Today I am thankful of my husbands handyman abilities!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Darla: Those are some neat ideas. You add beauty at the same time you are deterring bugs.

Helen said...

I need to look at my container garden pots in a whole new way this Spring!

Anonymous said...

Good tips, Darla, thanks! I noticed an aphid invasion last fall because I first noticed the sugar ants everywhere. They were working hard, but unfortunately, the aphids won.

Next time, garlic spray!

Noelle Johnson said...

I love garlic in my food and I would love to hear if it really works on aphids. Despite ants being good aerators, I still don't want them in my garden ;^)

L. D. said...

Some I have heard about but thanks for sharing.

tina said...

I've had luck with basil planted with tomatoes. It worked pretty well one year.

Lois said...

Wow Darla I really learned a lot from you today!

Becca's Dirt said...

Great info Darla. You have been doing some studying haven't you? I have heard of some of these. Thanks for sharing this.

I absolutely love your header. I didn't even look yet to see who won. I'm gonna check now.

Lona said...

That is good information Darla.I know Grandma use to grow some of those things and now I bet it was to help with pest control. If there was a plant to keep deers away you could make a fortune. LOL!

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Garden-Companions-Companion-Planting-Chemical-Free/dp/0875968473

One of the best books I've read on the subject. Also check out anything by Louise Riotte.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Cp_27%3ALouise%20Riotte&field-author=Louise%20Riotte&page=1

I use nasturtiums with my squash. I plant a couple seeds in the same hole I plant the squash seeds. I use basil with tomatoes. Great information.

Tom - 7th Street Cottage said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kcalpesh said...

Beautiful flowers! I admire the amazing ability of mother nature to have created such beautiful varieties of flowers all over the world... the other thing I liked about this post is your photography :-)

Pixellicious Photos

Dewdrop said...

Watch for warnings today. I noticed a tornado warning near Homossassa recently.

You must be getting all the rain we didn't. I didn't even have a half inch this morning.

Anonymous said...

These are great tips, Darla, thanks! We don't have a lot of bug problems, but last year the harlequin bugs were on everything, especially the dahlias. Bad harlequin bugs. They seem to look like the cucumber beetle, I wonder if the nastursiums would help around the Dahlias? For aphids we just spray them with the hose several days in a row. The ants get disgusted, take their crop of aphids and go somewhere else. Adrian Higgins, garden writer for the Washington Post calls it death by annoyance. :-)
Frances

Dewdrop said...

Great googaly moogaly! That is scary. They don't move into the main building while there are storms with warnings? The weather service is good at warning Tallahassee, especially since they are located there at FSU. Looks like it's all shooting down the peninsula now. We should both be in the safe zone for today.

EG CameraGirl said...

I have planted basil with tomatoes. Seems to work in my garden.

imac said...

Clever too I see.
Love these shots.

Ellie Mae's Cottage said...

I've done companion planting for the past two years now in my veggie garden. I really haven't noticed that much of a difference... the bugs don't seem to be deterred by anything.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Great tips, Darla.... I've heard of many of these---but not all. I will print a copy!!!

We had a wonderful Birthday celebration and got home today!!! I'll post a blog tomorrow morning.
Hugs,
Betsy

Carletta said...

Lovely blooms Darla!
I didn't know about Marigolds keeping rabbits away. I bet that's why my Dad planted them around his garden. :)
Love the mailbox below, so cute.

Troy said...

Garlic will discourage deer from your garden, Marigold will keep the neighbors cats from using your garden as a litter box, and garlic water, sprayed on your herbs will discourage rabbits.

However, some critter, either a raccoon or skunk, dug up a bunch of my garlic last year and ate a whole row of it, so, you have to wonder, is it worth it to discourage rabbits, if you attract skunks?

Unknown said...

Good post Darla. Happy weekend, Ev

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Oh yes, companion planting certainly works. This year I will have my fourth 3 sisters bed as it's so easy to maintain. Simply sow the seeds, plant them out, water them in and step back and let it all grow until it's time to harvest. What could be simpler?

Apart from the 3 sisters I grow many companion plants in my potager.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Wow, some tips I had heard, but you've got some wonderful ones that are new to me. Thank you for sharing these. I love 4 o'clocks.

FlowerLady

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Darla,
Thanks for the helpful information on companion plants. I have the French Marigold in my garden, so I think I will spread it around to a few other sections for nematode control.

Ginny said...

It's always fun to try new ideas, even if they don't work out. I'm going to plant more thyme and lavender in some different locations and see if it works on the slugs.

Anonymous said...

Darla~~ I've heard of these companion planting tips. I don't know if they work because I haven't tried them. Timber Press has a book out dealing with this topic with the idea of debunking the myths. I haven't read it.

From my Master Gardener days I know that the aphids/ants tip is true. The ants are attracted to the sticky sap the aphids give off as they suck the plant juices.

I should look in to that book...

linda may said...

Yes I had heard of some of these, not all, mainly the garlic and aphid and ants ones, I have used them, but you need to persist .

Meredith said...

Wonderful post. I think I did many of these by accident last year because I love to cook with herbs, grow garlic anyway, and what veggie garden would be complete without tons of nasturtium. :)

Growing Four O'clocks for the first time this year, and I'm thrilled with the info about the Japanese Beetles!

Twisted Fencepost said...

That's not something I've tried before. But I need to.
I'm gonna try that tomato/basil thing. I had never seen a hornworm before last year and it seems they were everywhere.

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