Let's Grow Stuff

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to my garden, and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff.

My name is Qwantese, and today, I'm going to be teaching you all about companionship, and no, I'm not talking about matchmaking.

I'm talking about companion planting with herbs.

You ready?

Let's grow Stuff!

What is companion planting, and how do I do it?

Companion planting is simply planting two or more plants closely together for the purpose of benefiting one or more of those plants.

Some of the benefits are improved plant health and even faster growth, and better taste.

But keep in mind, not all plants grow well together.

So, without doing some research, you could actually end up inhibiting some of your plant growth.

Today, I want to show you how to use herbs to complement your veggies.

Let's start with what I'm growing and which herbs I've chosen as their companions.

First, let's take a look at my tomatoes.

I love tomatoes, and apparently, so do aphids.

If you haven't had the pleasure of getting to know these tiny garden monsters, consider yourself lucky.

This year, I'm using companion planting as my organic pest control.

I'm planting my parsley near my tomatoes.

The parsley does a few things.

It can attract hoverflies which eat aphids, and it can also serve as a trap crop attracting aphids to the parsley instead of my delicious tomatoes.

How perfect is that?

Next, let's talk about onions.

Onions are a favorite in my kitchen because of their strong flavor.

When I plant chamomile next to my onions, it boosts that flavor.

Also, chamomile is antifungal and antibacterial, so it helps to prevent plant disease such as blight.

What a power couple!

Last but certainly not least, peppers.

This year, I'm growing bell peppers and shishito peppers, and I want to use cilantro to help them thrive.

Since cilantro grows close to the ground and gets nice and bushy, it will help to shade out the plants I don't want in my garden, like weeds.

Peppers can attract pests like the potato beetle.

Despite their name, these grubbers also love a good pepper.

If you have the time, you can pick off the beetles one by one and squish them, or my favorite, feed them as a little treat to chickens.

If that doesn't interest you, you can call on my dear friend cilantro, which attracts a fierce pest controller called the ladybug.

Ladybugs feed on a multitude of pests such as potato beetles, those aphids I mentioned earlier, and spider mites.

Sounds fierce to me.

So, there you have it.

Companion planting is something I love, and it's a technique worth trying in your garden this year.

Your garden could be the talk of the town or maybe just your house.

Thanks for joining me in my garden today.

Don't forget there's more to learn at PBSWisconsin.org/ Let's Grow Stuff See you next time!

– Announcer: Funding for Let's Grow Stuff is provided by Ganshert Nursery & Landscapes, The Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.