It does make sense but some say it works and some say it doesn't.
http://www.minti.com/parenting-advice/4 ... he-Garden/Companion Planting TIPS to Help in the Garden
Anonymous Author (February 2007)
Companion planting can greatly assist the home gardener to keep pests at bay NATURALLY while encouraging good healthy crops. This is especially true in these days when organic gardening has taken off in such a wonderful way.
But what is companion planting? Put simply, just as we
FEEL BETTER in the company of some friends more than others, so to with plants. Certain plants encourage each other to grow stronger, produce more... they seem to 'attract the right crowd'. They have a positive influence on each other & really thrive when placed in the same area. Likewise some people might make us miserable & plants can feel the same way in certain situations. This is because some plants release harmful substances into the soil, or attract the 'wrong insects' which can make their neighbor get sick.
I've put together the following short list of TIPS which I hope will be of some help to you when choosing fruits & vegetables to grow in your garden. As parents we want to give our children the best possible start in life & I believe a good way to start is to try to give them fresh, organically grown, pesticide free fruit & vegetables when possible
ASPARAGUS Tips: Asparagus will do well with a mulch of seaweed. It deters nematodes. Planted with parsley it will help to deter the asparagus beetle. Parsley enhances the flavor of the asparagus & causes it to grow more vigorously. Planting tomatoes near asparagus will help to deter the asparagus beetle. A substance in asparagus called asparagin repels tomato pests so you will also have a healthier crop of tomatoes when both are planted near each other. Basil enhances the flavor of the asparagus. Don't plant onions, garlic or gladiolus near asparagus as these all release a harmful substance from their roots which will reduce yields.
BROCCOLI Tips: Plant mint, dill or thyme near broccoli to repel cabbage moths & sage will deter the cabbage beetle. If you plant Oregano near broccoli it helps repel cabbage butterfly & nasturtium helps to repel aphids. Broccoli is said to deter the cucumber beetle.
BRUSSEL SPROUTS Tips: Plant mint, sage, dill or thyme near cabbage to repel the cabbage moth. Brussels don't particularly like rosemary or nasturtiums, but they are good as a pest repellent.
CABBAGE Tips: Surround cabbages with white flowering plants to prevent cabbage moth damage as it 'confuses' them. Cabbages will deter flea beetles. Mint, will improve the health & flavor of cabbages as well as helping to deter the white cabbage moth & caterpillar. Nasturtiums nearby will Repel aphids. Dill improves the flavour of cabbages plus helps to repel cabbage moth. Sage repels cabbage moth, cabbage worm & cutworm. Hemp deters cabbage moth & thyme repels cabbage moths & cabbage worms. If mustard greens are grown with cabbages, the cabbage moth will prefer them over the cabbage. Cucumbers enjoy the shade of the cabbages. Cabbages are very nitrogen hungry so as beans take in a high amount of nitrogen anything in the legume family is good to plant with cabbage. Both hyssop & oregano help to deter white butterfly & rosemary improves the growth of the cabbage plus helps to deter white butterflies. Summer savoury can deter cabbage moths. Tomatoes can deter the diamond back moth & cabbage butterfly, however when planted with cabbage the yield of your tomatoes is reduced. White butterflies don't like celery, cabbage butterflies, worm & cutworm don't like tansy. Marigold repels the cabbage butterfly. In fact cabbage does well with any aromatic herbs planted around it. Be warned strawberries release a harmful substance which will reduce the yield from your cabbage plants. Cabbages absolutely dislike garlic.
CAPSICUM Tips: Attracts spider mites. Capsicum enjoys the company of parsley & capsicum planted with basil will deter thrips
CAULIFLOWER Tips: Planted nearby Mint, Sage, Dill & Thyme deter the white cabbage moth & caterpillar while Beans fix nitrogen from the air & pass it down into the soil. Oregano repels the cabbage moth and cabbage worm.
CELERY Tips: Deters white cabbage butterfly and cabbage worm
CHIVES Tips: An infusion made of chives will remove aphids...Deters Japanese beetles, carrot rust fly, nematodes, apple scab, squash mildew (made into spray), aphids, mites, black spot on roses & white flies. Carrots grow larger if grown near chives plus their flavor will be enhanced. Planting chives near apples helps to prevent apple scab. Chives help to protect roses from aphids & black spot plus can also increase their scent. Chives improve both the growth & taste of tomatoes & cucumbers & help prevent powdery mildew with cucumbers & reduce the numbers of aphids from the lettuce.
CORN Tips: Deters cucumber beetle. Plant lambs-quarter near corn to help trap aphids. Rosemary repels many pests from the corn. Corn does well with peas grown nearby, because they 'fix atmospheric nitrogen'. because corn takes in a high amount of nitrogen anything in the legume family is good to plant with corn (eg soybeans, broad beans, French beans, etc) Corn enjoys the company of tomatoes but the tomato doesn't necessarily benefit from its proximity. Radish deters corn borers. Mint & larkspur repel many pest from corn, marigolds deters corn ear worms.
FRUIT TREES Tips: Dandelions emit ethylene which will encourage your fruit to ripen. Nasturtium, Tansy will repel aphids & other pests. Onions & garlic grown at the base of your apple trees will help to reduce the appearance of apple tree scab. Chives are even better & also are good to grow under your peach trees to help in the prevention of peach tree leaf curl. Garlic will also help in the prevention of peach tree borers. Don't have grass growing too close to your apple or pear trees as the root tips of apple trees dislike the root tips of grass. Apple trees don't like potatoes nearby & plum trees don't like horseradish near them.
GRAPES Tips: Geraniums will deter cucumber beetles & squash beetles when planted near grapes. Plant hyssop to deter the white butterfly, radish to deter cucumber beetles. Clover will increase the soil's fertility for grapes. Tansy will deter many bugs. Grapes don't like cucumber
LETTUCE Tips: Plant onions near you lettuce to protect them from Japanese beetles. Strawberries planted near lettuce which has gone to seed will encourage necessary predators to your strawberry patch.
RHUBARB Tips: The leaves of the rhubarb can be made into a pesticide for general used.
SPINACH Tips: Spinach helps basically everything
SQUASH Tips: Radish planted near-by will help to deter borers & squash bugs. Squash planted near peanuts will help to increase the yield. Mint repels squash bugs. Squash reduces the yields of the potato.
STRAWBERRIES Tips: Pine needles are a good mulch to use with strawberries. The needles improve the vigour of their growth & the flavour of the fruit. They also do well with mulch from old sawdust. Strawberries enjoy the company of borage (the yield will be increased) Grow lettuce near strawberries & allow a couple to go to seed, this will encourage necessary predators to your strawberry patch. Cabbages & strawberries don't do well when grown together. The cabbage in particular dislikes the strawberries.
TOMATOES Tips: Repels asparagus beetles, cabbage worm, cabbage moth, white fly & flea beetles. Basil helps to improve the flavor and growth of your tomatoes. It also helps to repel white fly, thrips & any worm pests, plus asparagus beetle. Mint helps to improve health & flavor of tomatoes & also deters many tomato pests. Cabbage planted near tomato deters the diamond back moth - but will reduce the yield on your tomatoes plants. Borage helps to deter the tomato horn worm, garlic helps deter red spider mite, lemon balm helps improve the tomatoes growth & flavor. Nasturtium will help to deter white fly and woolly aphids. With chives the flavor & the growth of your tomatoes will be enhanced. The tomato will produce better with marigolds planted nearby. Foxgloves & lily of the valley both improve the health & growth of tomatoes. A substance in asparagus called asparagin repels tomato pests. Try not to plant dill too close to your tomatoes, because Dill can attract the tomato horn worm & potatoes reduce the yield of nearby tomato crops.
I planted a load of comfrey grown from roots. Next to it I planted a row of savoy cabbage and netted it. A month or so later the comfrey leaves almost completely cover the cabbage row. Also, courgette plants are massive. I planted them 3' apart as recommended ... but only a foot away from my path! Even at 3' there's no room to walk in between them.
