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I just love a vegetable garden and despite the many hours I spent as a child complaining about having to help with weeding, these days I find myself constantly seeking ways to grow things in my very limited space. And when I say limited, I mean a 4-foot-by-4-foot space in the sunniest spot of my very sunny urban patio.
Nevertheless, over the years from that little space I have coaxed lots of cherry tomatoes, a few oddly shaped cucumbers, half a dozen string beans (WOOT, WOOT), and a couple mutant eggplants, however, I have successfully grown bunches and bunches of sage, tarragon, chives, parsley and rosemary.
Reflecting on that experience, I decided to rethink my idea of a vegetable garden and turn my little patch into an herb garden. Yep, just herbs with maybe a few leafy greens like spinach or mesclun or arugula thrown in to see what happens. And then the lightbulb went off – I needed to investigate companion planting!
Boy, is there plenty of information out there about what vegetables grow well together and the same is true for herbs. As it happens, some herbs are natural buddies while other combinations can lead to very disappointing results.
Good pairings include plants with shared water and light preferences, and space considerations. In other words, group herbs with similar needs together. This is especially true if you are growing your herbs in containers, but the logic also applies to small space gardens.
Through trial and error, I’ve found a grouping of herbs that work quite well together. Additionally, I’ve learned that I should grow basil in a pot so that I can move it around my patio depending upon heat conditions, which makes me think maybe planting lettuce with my basil could prove to be a good pairing. Parsley is something else I keep in a pot and because of the ability to move it around I’ve had parsley all year round. I’ve read that parsley does well with marjoram and savory and because of their size both are also considerations for my companion planting this year. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Here’s to a pot or patch full of herb buddies that make you happy this season.
