Do you need Chamomile Companion Planting? Chamomile is well recognized for its pleasant and soothing flavor as an herbal tea, but did you know it’s also a great addition to the garden?
Consider delicate white and yellow flowers fluttering in the breeze, nestled among clambering cucumber vines and brilliant green lettuce heads. Its wonderful small blossoms not only offer a nice contrast amongst the green foliage, but it also benefit the surrounding plants in a variety of ways. Discover at homegardenartful.com!
What Exactly Is Companion Planting?
Companion planting is a tried-and-true gardening technique that both nourishes and protects fragile crops. Farmers and gardeners place specific crops close together to avoid pests, bring beneficial insects, and promote growth.
What Is the Advantage of Companion Planting?
Companion plants either assist a specific crop to thrive or grow better beside a specific crop and they can perform a variety of support functions in the garden:
- Insect pests should be avoided. Pests such as carrot flies, cucumber beetles, cabbage worms, Mexican bean beetles, and cabbage moths can wreak havoc on vegetable gardens. Many companion plants repel specific pests as well as should be grown near pest-free crops.
- Bring in beneficial insects. Pollinators such as honey bees and ladybugs can benefit from a small nudge to visit vegetable gardens as well as pollinate the crops. Gardeners frequently plant attractive plants, such as borage blossoms, to attract pollinators.
- Increase soil nutrition levels. Crops absorb vital nutrients from the soil as they grow, requiring the gardener to undertake a lot of labor at the end of the season to replenish the soil’s nutrients. However, many companion plants replenish soil nutrients such as nitrogen, so keeping other plants healthy.
- Encourage faster growth and improved flavor. Many companion plants produce compounds that promote faster growth or better flavor in the plants around them.
- Cover the earth. Plants that extend low on the ground act as a blanket over the soil, shielding it from the sun while keeping it cooler for plants that prefer cooler temperatures.
- Provide the required shade. Tall and leafy plants can provide welcome shade for sun-sensitive plants below them.
- They act as markers. While waiting for the seeds to sprout, it can be difficult to see where the rows will be while growing slow-growing plants. Gardeners frequently place fast-growing plants in their rows to designate where the slow growers will be.
Chamomile companion planting
The good news is that chamomile goes well with a variety of veggies and herbs. While chamomile has many nice companions, some plants have a special relationship with it.
Let’s have a look at those unusual flora.
Brassicas Family Plants
Brassicas plants stand out because chamomile’s strong aromatic oils specifically discourage pests that prey on these veggies. Brassica vegetables include broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and bok choy.
If you want to mix chamomile with these plants, plant it behind the other vegetables. As a result, because many of these plants grow higher than chamomile, they can also help chamomile by providing shade during the day.
Allow plenty of space between the chamomile and brassica plants, particularly cabbage and cauliflower, since they can quickly dominate the delicate chamomile.
Cucumbers
Chamomile’s propensity to attract helpful predatory insects like lacewings, ladybugs, and hoverflies benefits cucumbers as well. Cucumbers are vulnerable to aphids, which are the primary prey of lacewings and ladybugs.
Cucumber beetles as well as squash bugs are also pests of cucumbers. The fragrant chemicals in chamomile may deter these pests from harming your cucumber plants.
In addition, chamomile attracts pollinators to cucumber blooms, increasing cucumber output.
According to some sources, chamomile improves the flavor of cucumbers. Again, it is up to you to determine whether or not this is real!
Beans
Beans and chamomile are good companions since they complement each other.
Chamomile attracts pollinators and predatory insects while repelling pests, and beans aid future generations of chamomile by releasing nitrogen into the soil.
Chamomile plants are self-seeding annuals, so if given the appropriate conditions, they will continue to grow. As a result, last year’s beans will aid in the growth of the young chamomiles and the vegetables that will take their place.
Perennial Flowers
Aromatic Chamomile and perennial and attractive flowers have a mutually beneficial interaction in that they both attract helpful insects and repel pests.
Herbs including yarrow, marigold, calendula, borage, and bee balm may help protect chamomile from aphids and fungal infections.
Because chamomile self-sows, it will come back year after year in your perennial flower bed; simply plant it alongside other flowers that love part shade and moist soil.
Strawberries
Chamomile and strawberries are ideal companions because they don’t crowd each other out. Chamomile grows pretty nicely between the creepy tendrils of strawberry, and the spreading strawberry serves to keep the soil cool for the chamomile.
Chamomile also attracts predatory insects as well as pollinators, which are beneficial to the strawberry plant. They are very stunning together and enhance each other’s beauty.
Potatoes
In addition to drawing pollinators to potato blooms, some sites say that chamomile can help prevent the spread of Colorado beetles, which can cause substantial damage to potatoes (and tomatoes). As a result, they make an excellent companion for your potatoes.
Chamomile in a pot next to them will protect them from the dirt that is constantly put on the potato patches!
Conclusion
Chamomile is a wonderful addition to any garden. As we’ve seen in this essay, it makes a fantastic companion plant for a wide range of plants by attracting pollinators and deterring pests.
It’s also simple to grow and a great therapeutic plant to have on hand for making your own chamomile tea.
I’m convinced you’ll enjoy planting chamomile in your yard, whether for tea or to benefit your garden (or both).
Who knows, maybe growing it next to your vegetables will result in tastier and more juiced crops. It’s up to you to give it a shot and see what you come up with!