My garden is comprised of a bunch of raised beds because it is a lot easier to take care of than an in ground garden. In each raise bed, I mix and match what grows, including herbs interspersed among vegetables. There is less wasted space, it’s easier to harvest ingredients for a dish that go together, some plants repel insects the other plants attract and some plants attract pollinators for the other plants. Good soil, watering and companion planting help maintain a healthy garden.
I usually plant tomatoes and basil together in their own raised bed. Each raised bed is 4′ x 4′. Sometimes I plant the tomatoes in rows and tuck in rows of basil in between the rows of tomatoes. Other times I plant the tomatoes in back and basil in front or along the sides. Tomato and basil both require full sun and have similar watering needs. They also work well together in recipes like salsa and sauces.
Carrots get planted with radishes and lettuce. Chives are also a good companion for carrots as they deter pests like carrot flies that carrots attract. These work well together in a nice side salad.
Cucumbers and dill are great to grow together. I did that this year and the cucumbers are doing great. I had 4 dill and something ate 2 of them. The other 2 are doing well though. The whole raised bed smells like dill pickles! It’s worth putting those 2 together just to experience the dill pickle smell! I like growing cucumbers to make my own relish and can pickles. It’s hard to find good relish that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup or sugar in it.
I also planted a few green bush bean seeds in the cucumber bed. The beans aren’t up yet, but they are supposed to increase nitrogen in the soil for the cucumbers. I like sauteing green beans in a skillet with olive oil or butter, salt and pepper.
Calendula and nasturtium are popular flowers for companion planting with vegetables. I still have to try them though. Nasturtium is an edible flower and calendula is helpful for dry skin. I like to buy calendula goat soap from a local vendor and use it for hand washing during the winter. It really helps with my dry winter hands.
If you are interested in digging deeper into companion planting check out the book Tomatoes Love Carrots by Louise Riotte. I bought it back in 2011 and it’s my go to book when figuring out what can be planted with each other. There are also a few garden ideas in the back of the book that are helpful.
Growing herbs and vegetables together benefits each other and also makes for an interesting garden to look at. A walk out to the garden is a great way to step away from the day, slow down and enjoy the plants you planted that will nourish you.
