Companion Planting 2015

[jasonvivier]

I'm curious what you all companion plant regularly. This year I have planted Anise Hyssop with my kale. I seeded them together in the cell and to my surprise they don't seem to care. Actually the kale with the hyssop looks bigger than those without - which could just be random of course.

 

[digitS']

My favorite tea herb, Jason!

I allow a few flowers to mature seeds and the tractor guy leaves several to volunteer after tilling. That's worked fine for several years except when I noticed them showing up in the neighbor's raspberry jungle. I am all but certain he will never notice them. Surprisingly, they competed well enough with the raspberries that those anise hyssop plants were there again last year!

I used to walk by a neighbor's garage on the way to my garden. She had lost some perennials in a bed on the north side of the building. I gave her several nice anise hyssop plants to fill in. The next spring, her bed was blanketed in tiny anise hyssop seedlings! That neighbor noticed them ...

My plan is to grow peas again with wheat and oats. The salad vegetables always grow together: onions from sets, spinach, bok choy, lettuce. The later lettuce transplants may go in along the outside of a bed most anywhere. Orach has a home in the potato bed. Those plants also volunteer and I move them around where they can have some room and not be trampled. Dill volunteers quite a few places. It seems to get along fine with the sweet onions - I like to have it around.

Steve

 

[baymule]

I planted anise and hyssop. Two different plants/seeds. So what is anise hyssop? Are they the same?

 

[digitS']

Anise is in the Apiaceae family (with parsley, etc.).

Hyssop is in the Lamiaceae family (mint).

Anise hyssop is in the mint family but so are ... all those mints, salvias, etc., etc. Anise hyssop is an Agastache. It's a little more like monarda.

Steve

 

[so lucky]

So you use anise hyssop for tea? Is it like mint with licorice, or something different?
The main thing that I deliberately "companion plant" is to plant lots of French Marigolds in the garden. I stick them along side tomatoes, cabbage, whatever. I also line the whole south side of the garden with them. I do get dill and parsley volunteering. Everywhere. And the yarrow! I got on a kick a few years ago thinking I would grow some medicinal herbs. Well, yarrow was the most prolific of any of the herbs, and now I can't get rid of it. I spend about an hour today digging it out. I think it is worse than the mint I planted.

 

[digitS']

So you use anise hyssop for tea? Is it like mint with licorice, or something different?

Taste is so subjective.

I don't think it's like mint but then, I don't care too much for mint and haven't done a lot of exploring. I'm curious what Jason plans for his plants.

I like licorice flavors. I prefer anise hyssop with lemon verbena. Strangely, perhaps, I'm not a great fan of lemon ....

Steve

 

[jasonvivier]

I planted anise and hyssop. Two different plants/seeds. So what is anise hyssop? Are they the same?

More specifically: Agastache foeniculum
My apologies.

 

[jasonvivier]

My favorite tea herb, Jason!

I allow a few flowers to mature seeds and the tractor guy leaves several to volunteer after tilling. That's worked fine for several years except when I noticed them showing up in the neighbor's raspberry jungle. I am all but certain he will never notice them. Surprisingly, they competed well enough with the raspberries that those anise hyssop plants were there again last year!

I used to walk by a neighbor's garage on the way to my garden. She had lost some perennials in a bed on the north side of the building. I gave her several nice anise hyssop plants to fill in. The next spring, her bed was blanketed in tiny anise hyssop seedlings! That neighbor noticed them ...

My plan is to grow peas again with wheat and oats. The salad vegetables always grow together: onions from sets, spinach, bok choy, lettuce. The later lettuce transplants may go in along the outside of a bed most anywhere. Orach has a home in the potato bed. Those plants also volunteer and I move them around where they can have some room and not be trampled. Dill volunteers quite a few places. It seems to get along fine with the sweet onions - I like to have it around.

Steve

Bi Colored Orach! That's what I left out of my salad blend this year - I knew it was something! Thanks!

 

[jasonvivier]

Taste is so subjective.

I don't think it's like mint but then, I don't care too much for mint and haven't done a lot of exploring. I'm curious what Jason plans for his plants.

I like licorice flavors. I prefer anise hyssop with lemon verbena. Strangely, perhaps, I'm not a great fan of lemon ....

Steve

I'm planting the kale/Agastache starts on the boarders of the small walk through my garden. I'll harvest the kale year one, collect seed year two but leave the Agastache there as a general insectory/bee garden. Drinking it in tea was also a motivator but mostly its for the pollinators.

 

[thistlebloom]

My agastache doesn't like me. I've planted it several times. It's only ever come back one time.