I've made a list of plants I would like to potentially use in the garden, and have been researching their best and worst companions. Companion planting is not completely proven, but the idea is to use the plants together to attract beneficial insects and birds while deterring pest insects. Unfortunately, many of the natural pest deterrants are also toxic to humans and other animals, so I have decided not to use them. We have a lot of animals in the neighborhood; dogs get out of their yards and are automatically drawn to our house, our cats escape on occasion, and the pretty much evil cat next door likes to sleep on our porch (evil she may be, but I don't want to poison anyone). For this reason, many plants I had considered for awhile are now on the "no-go" list. There are, however, some really great companion mixes that I never really thought of.
Let's say I wanted to plant strawberries (which I definitely do!). Spinach is listed as an ally, though none of my current research details why. I love spinach and strawberry salad...so I'm not asking any questions. Borage, a common ally and already on my list because of its nutritious composting benefits, actually repels insects, and some sources say it increases the yeild of strawberry plants. Along with that, thyme, when used as a border, deters worms.
Researching companion planting has changed how I'm thinking of putting together the gardens. Most of the time people plant herbs in one spot, vegetables in another, cutting flowers in another, etc. I'm thinking now about changing that around a bit, planting some herbs with veggies and maybe even a few in the cutting garden (though that will be prime real estate, so we'll see.
There are loads of charts for companion planting. A couple I found helpful were this one, and Tinker's Gardens.
Next up: Finding native and adapted Texas plants that will work!
