Grow a Better Herb Garden With this One Tip! (2024)

Want to grow the best herb garden this year? Then this article on Herb Companion Planting Chart is exactly what you need. Partnering up plants can really boost your garden and that is what we will focus on. Get the do’s and don’ts of planting herbs so you can grow the best plants this year.

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When planting an herb garden, knowing which herbs benefit each other can help all of your plants thrive. Also, knowing what to avoid planting near each other is important as well because some plants can be detrimental to each other. This is where companion planting comes in.

Be sure to grab your FREE herb companion planting chart at the end of this article!

READ: Companion Vegetable Garden Guide

Like the rest of your garden, herbs have different life cycles and will eventually die off. Planting herbs that compliment each other can also create an “herb season” for your garden, where they all grow and thrive together and all die off around the same time.

Companion planting with herbs can also be beneficial to various crops in your garden. They can help repel harmful pests with their scents allowing other plants to thrive.

Some of the benefits of herb companion planting include:

· Attracting beneficial insects to your garden like butterflies and bees.

· Enhancing the flavors and scents of other herbs and vegetables.

· Keeping harmful pests away with their fragrant scents.

· Enriching the soil to the benefit of your entire garden.

· Keeping weeds to a minimum.

· Protecting smaller herbs and/or vegetables that prefer shade.

When deciding what to plant together, consider their environment. Plants with similar sun, soil, and water requirements will usually work well together and be easy to maintain. Also, herbs of the same family will usually work well together.

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Good Companion Herbs

Some plants work well together and also benefit the rest of your garden. Let’s talk about a few of the most popular.

Mints

Mint attracts an insect called Nesidiocoris tenuis. It feeds on other garden pests such as mites, thrips, and aphids. Mint grows best in moist soil with good drainage and it doesn’t need a lot of sunlight. Planting two types of mint together may cause them to cross pollinate resulting in a new kind of mint.

Mediterranean Herbs

There are several herbs that fall under this category and they all need plenty of sunlight and well-draining, mostly dry soil. A few herbs to consider are:

  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Tarragon
  • Marjoram
  • Oregano
  • Lavender

Basil

Basil loves an environment with plenty of moisture and light. It also provides pest control, repelling aphids, mosquitos, hornworms, and whiteflies. In addition to growing well with parsley and chamomile, it also loves to be planted near vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, cabbages, and eggplants.

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Tarragon

Tarragon is a great companion herb for your entire herb garden due to its nursing powers. It boosts the growth of any neighboring herbs and gives them a more robust flavor. Tarragon is a perennial so it can be beneficial to plant with other perennials, but if that’s not possible it will still benefit whatever it’s planted near.

Dill

Dill is very attractive to insects that benefit your garden like butterflies, honey bees, ladybugs, wasps, and praying mantises. It’s also a deterrent for insects you don’t want like aphids, cabbage loopers, and spider mites. Dill grows well with a variety of other herbs and vegetables but does especially well with chives, parsley, tarragon, basil, and cilantro.

Chives

Chives are a great repellent for aphids and other insects and grow well with tomatoes, carrots, and mustard greens. When planted nearby, they’ll help repel unwanted pests from your vegetables. They are great companion plants for dill, marjoram, tarragon, and parsley.

You might be seeing a connection between these herbs; they all grow well together, most attract pollinators, and most keep away insects you don’t want. Planting an herb garden near your vegetables will benefit your vegetables and provide you with tasty and fragrant herbs to use in your kitchen.

Herbs can be used fresh or dried so if your herb garden is more abundant than you can use, you can preserve the herbs for a later time when your garden is dormant.

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A few other companion herbs that will benefit your garden include:

Marjoram – it will enhance the flavor of anything grown nearby and it’s a good companion plant for all herbs and vegetables.

Thyme – it will repel pests like tomato hornworms, cabbage worms, and corn earworms.

Caraway – it’s long roots will help break up heavy soil and it will attract pollinators to your garden like wasps.

Bee Balm – not only will it attract pollinators like butterflies and bees, it will also enhance the flavor or most herbs and vegetables.

Comfrey – the leaves are full of potassium and nitrogen which will benefit the plants around it as well as helping to create nutrient rich soil for other plants.

Nasturtium – it repels pests like whiteflies, aphids, and squash bugs.

Borage – it attracts pollinators like bees and repels pests like tomato hornworms. It’s beneficial for tomatoes, squash, and strawberries.

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Herbs to Avoid Planting Together

While many herbs work well together, some combinations that should be avoided. These herbs should not be planted with other herbs:

Mint – all varieties of mint can be grown together but should not be planted with anything else. Mint requires a different growing environment than most herbs and it can become an invasive plant, expanding quickly and choking out other herbs.

Rosemary – this is an exception to the Mediterranean Herb varieties. It doesn’t thrive in the company of other herbs but instead does well with vegetables. If you’re going to plant it, do so in your vegetable garden.

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Basil – this also grows well with a variety of vegetables but doesn’t do well with other herbs.

Fennel – it can change the flavor of most herbs, making them foul-tasting. If you’re going to plant it, it’s best to plant it in a pot away from the rest of your garden.

Planting an herb companion garden is a great way to grow tasty herbs that will support each other and support the rest of your garden. It will attract the pests you want and keep away the ones you don’t and it will enrich your garden soil.

Herbs can be dried to use in your kitchen at a later time or composted to benefit the soil at planting time. With so many benefits to offer, it might be time to plant herbs in your garden.

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More Herb Resources:

  • DIY Kitchen Herb Garden
  • How to Grow a Container Herb Garden
  • How to Freeze Herbs
Grow a Better Herb Garden With this One Tip! (2024)

FAQs

Grow a Better Herb Garden With this One Tip!? ›

Provide plenty of sunlight – Placing the planter in a sunny, southern-facing window is one the best tips for herb growing inside the house. Most herbs grow faster and have a more compact shape when they receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight per day.

What are the best tips for growing herbs? ›

Herbs grow best with full sun and light, well-drained, moisture-retentive, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter incorporated. For a continuous supply: Sow seeds of ones that rapidly run to seed, coriander and dill for example, on a fortnightly basis throughout spring and summer.

What is one piece of advice for planting an herb garden? ›

Plant Your Herb Garden

Look at the plant tag to learn how much space to leave between each plant for best growth and good airflow. Dig a hole, then plant the herb to the same depth as it was in its original container. Fill in around the plant, gently pat down the soil, then water well.

How do I make my herb garden thrive? ›

The best conditions for these herbs to grow in is well draining soil with reasonable fertility. The ideal soil type is sandy or loamy soil with good aeration. This type of soil allows excess water to drain away quickly, preventing waterlogged conditions that can lead to root rot.

Which herbs should not be planted together? ›

Which Herb To Avoid Growing with Others?
  1. Mint. One of the avoidable plants is mint. ...
  2. Fennel and cilantro. This combo can not grow well if planted as companion plants. ...
  3. Dill and lavender. This combination can not be grown together as the growing conditions of both plants differ from each other.
  4. Rue, sage, and basil.
Jul 4, 2023

What makes herbs grow faster? ›

Allow herbs to receive at least 6 hours of full sun near a south-facing window, or opt for a plant grow light that runs for 14 to 16 hours per day. Water the herbs once the soil feels dry to the touch. Fertilize herbs regularly with a water-soluble fertilizer high in nitrogen for healthy leaf growth.

What is the hardest herb to grow? ›

In fact, lavender is the most difficult herb to keep alive, with 10,400 plant parents in need of help every month. Basil, mint and rosemary also come close behind, followed by popular herbs such as coriander, dill and parsley.

What is the key to an herb garden? ›

Consistent watering is key to a healthy herb garden. You want the soil to stay evenly moist, and it's best to water gently so the seeds don't get washed away. A self-watering herb keeper is a helpful way to keep your herbs regularly topped up with just the right amount of water.

How do I layout my herb garden? ›

Plant short, shade-tolerant plants beneath taller, bushy plants. When you mix sun-loving plants, put tall ones at the north end of the plot and small ones at the south end, so all will get needed sun. Plant herbs throughout the garden, especially basil, mint, sage, and dill. EXCEPTION: Keep dill away from carrots.

How do I start a successful herb garden? ›

  1. Step 1: Pick a perch. If you're planting outside, look for a sunny area with well-draining soil, such as a raised bed. ...
  2. Step 2: Choose your herbs and get your setup started. What herbs should you grow? ...
  3. Step 3: Water the right way. ...
  4. Step 4: Prune like a pro. ...
  5. Step 5: Focus on the future. ...
  6. Step 6: Make a masterpiece.

Should I water my herb garden every day? ›

Water Slowly, Thoroughly, and Infrequently

Usually, 2-3 times per week is enough. If they need daily watering, it may be a sign that the pot is too small, or the humidity in your house is too low. Letting some, but not all, of the soil dry out in between watering encourages deeper rooting, which is good for the herb.

What herbs go well planted together? ›

In this article, we'll explore some of the herbs that can be planted together and the benefits of doing so.
  • Basil & Oregano. Basil and oregano can be planted together in a garden bed or container garden. ...
  • Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, & Lavender. ...
  • Cilantro & Parsley. ...
  • Mint. ...
  • Dill & Chives.

What is the best fertilizer for herb gardens? ›

A slow-release fertilizer is especially important if your garden has sandy soil because nutrients wash out quickly. To give fast-growing herbs that you harvest often an extra boost, you can also apply fish emulsion, an organic fertilizer that is high in nitrogen, with an NPK ratio of 4-1-1 or 5-1-1.

What not to plant near basil? ›

Basil and rue dislike each other. Perhaps this is because Basil is sweet and rue is very bitter. Fennel is one of the few plants that has mostly bad companions. Most plants dislike Fennel, and it should be planted well away from the vegetable garden.

What not to plant next to rosemary? ›

Worst Companion Plants for Rosemary
  • Mint: Rosemary and mint are generally not considered good companion plants as they can have different growing requirements and can compete for space, water, and nutrients. ...
  • Basil: Both plants have different growing requirements.

Can I plant dill and basil together? ›

Dill and basil are great companion plants, because of their many similarities. Not only do they benefit from similar soil components, but they also attract many of the same beneficial insects and deter destructive pests. 1 If you're building an herb garden, be sure to plant these nearby.

Is it better to grow herbs in pots or ground? ›

Growing Herbs in Pots

They can tolerate more abuse (like lack of water or too much sun) than if they're just in one small pot, where the soil will dry out much faster.

What is the best setup for growing herbs? ›

Choose the Sunniest Spot. Most herbs prefer a lot of sunlight. That means you'll want to give your indoor herb garden at least six hours of sun per day to thrive. To maximize their exposure, place plants as close as possible to your brightest window—the bright light of a south-facing window is best.

How do you make herbs grow fuller? ›

Herbs not only like to be cut, they LOVE to be cut — they DEMAND to be cut. If you cut them correctly, and often enough, they will reward you by growing exponentially. The plants will be fuller, lusher, and almost unbelievably more productive with regular pruning.

How do you harvest herbs so they keep growing? ›

Harvest herbs regularly during the growing season once the plant has enough foliage to maintain continued growth. Cut sprigs of herbs just above a leaf cluster or, in the case of parsley and chives, at the bottom of the stem. Remove dead or damaged leaves and wipe off dirt that may be present.

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