Cool Companions.

It's September. And I swear, South Carolina is hotter now than in July. Yesterday, as I sprinted from the car to the grocery store through a downpour, I thought, ”Well, at least it will be a little cooler when this nasty weather lets up.” Instead, as I exited Publix, I hit a wall of heat and humidity so dense that I could barely breathe.

Seriously. I gasped for breath while loading bags into the car. And my hair looked lovely from the rain and humidity.

Today isn't much better. Our windows sport rivulets of water, the clash between outside heat and inside AC.

Thank goodness for AC.

So, although it's hard to get excited about planting a fall garden in a sauna, I'm forging ahead. 

Seeds that I planted last week are sprouting, but I'm a bit concerned about the lettuce. While I placed the trays of seeds on a shady greenhouse shelf, I fear that the intense heat cooked the seeds. I've moved the trays out of the greenhouse and plan to watch them for a few days, because lettuce sprouts pretty quickly. Otherwise, it's back to the trays to reseed. All ten varieties.

Yeesh.

Whether your fall garden will include seeds you started using this guide, or if you decide to purchase transplants or direct seed, you need a plan.

How will you organize your garden? And how will you prevent pests from snacking on your crops?

Why, you'll embrace companion planting, of course.

Many people think of organic gardening as simply the avoidance of chemicals—or the use of OMRI approved chemicals—in the garden. However, companion planting is a main premise in organic gardening.

Companion planting involves growing different species of plants together to benefit one or both. Rather than planting a monoculture, mixed plantings attract beneficial insects, deter pests, and boost soil health to produce better harvests.

For instance, aromatic herbs like rosemary mask the scent of a crop from pests. Some plants, like mint, produce odors that deter or confuse pests. Other plants, like parsley, serve as a trap crop, drawing insects away from the main crop. Strategic companion planting can aid in pollination, with plants providing food to sustain beneficial insects. Companion plants can also create a habitat for predatory insects that feed on pests.

I often use companion planting in the spring and summer gardens, and probably one of the most widely-known pairings is basil grown with tomatoes. This summer, though, I tried a new companion planting: icicle radishes planted among squash to combat squash vine borers. After losing all of the squash plants last year, I was skeptical.

Guess what? I'm still harvesting squash.

Needless to say, I'm a believer in companion planting!

Based on the summer success, I'm planning our fall gardens to include companions. Cool weather crops can benefit from strategic, well-designed companion plantings, particularly as many of the cool crops belong to the same family: brassica.

And cabbage worms love brassica.

Cabbage worms are sneaky. And destructive. And very difficult to locate. Companion plantings help deter these nasty creatures. (But still, we need to be vigilant. Check the undersides of leaves and stems regularly.)

To save you a bit of time when planning your fall garden, I've compiled a list of cool weather crops and good companions to plant along with them:

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Crop	Companion	Notes
Beets	Onions, kohlrabi, lettuce, cabbage, garlic, mint	Garlic improves growth and flavor. Mint attracts beneficial insects.
Broccoli	Aromatic plants, dill, celery, chamomile, sage, peppermint, rosemary, potatoes, beets, onion	Aromatic plants deter cabbage aphids, cabbage worms, flea beetles. Celery, onions, and potatoes improve broccoli's flavor.
Brussels Sprouts	Aromatic plants, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, mint, rosemary, hyssop, thyme, wormwood, onions, potatoes	Aromatic plants deter cabbage worm, cabbage aphids, cabbage whitefly.
Cabbage	Aromatic plants, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, mint, rosemary, hyssop, thyme, wormwood, onions, potatoes	Aromatic plants deter cabbage worm. Sage repels cabbage flies, cabbage looper, cabbage maggot. Chamomile and dill improve growth and flavor of cabbage.
Carrots	Chives, onions, leeks, parsley, aromatic plants, rosemary, wormwood, sage	Parsley repels carrot fly. Wormwood planted around border repels animals. Chives improve growth and flavor.
Cauliflower	Celery	Deters white cabbage butterfly, cabbage worm.
Fruit trees	Chives	Plant around base of fruit trees to discourage insects from climbing trees.
Kale	Cabbage, potatoes, aromatic plants	Aromatic plants repel cabbage fly, cabbage worms
Kohlrabi	Onions, leeks, aromatic plants	Aromatic plants repel flea beetle, cabbage root fly, aphids
Leeks	Celery, onions, carrots	Celery improves growth and flavor. Leeks repel carrot fly.
Lettuce	Onions, strawberries, carrots, radishes, aromatic plants	Onions and aromatic herbs deter slugs.
Onions	Cabbage, beets, strawberries, lettuce, chamomile	Do not plant with peas or beans. Chamomile improves growth and flavor.
Peas	Carrots, turnips, radishes, mint	Do not plant with onions or garlic. Mint improves health and flavor.
Radishes	Beets, spinach, kohlrabi, lettuce	Lettuce makes radishes more tender.
Spinach	Strawberries, peas	Peas provide shade for spinach.
Swiss Chard	Beans, cabbage, onions	Aromatic plants repel beet leaf miner. Chard grown near companion helps keep moisture in soil.

Additionally, several aromatic herbs provide a wide variety of benefits as companion plants:

Chamomile: Improves the growth and flavor of cabbage, deters pests.

Chives: Improves growth and flavor of carrots, deters pests.

Garlic: Prevent borers of fruit trees.

Hyssop: Increases yield of grape vines, lures away cabbage butterfly. Bees are attracted to hyssop, but many pests are repelled by it.

Mint: Improves health and flavor of cabbage, deters white cabbage worm by repelling egg-laying butterflies. Spearmint repels ants and helps deter aphids. NOTE: Mint can be very invasive! Plant in a container to include in the garden.

Oregano: Repels cabbage butterfly.

Rosemary: Deters bean beetle, cabbage moth, carrot fly.

Sage: Repels cabbage flies, carrot flies, black flea beetle, cabbage looper, cabbage maggot.

Thyme: Deters cabbage worm, white fly.

Wormwood: Repels animals in the garden when used as a border. Repels moths, flea beetles, and cabbageworm butterfly.

So, now we're ready. With our companion planting table in hand, we can plan our best fall gardens.

And hopefully, we'll spend more time planning delicious dinners than culling cabbage worms.

Now, if only the weather would cooperate...

Happy gardening!

XO ~

Julie

Reposted to Farm Girl Friday Blog Fest.

From Beautiful Basil to Perfect Pesto.

Last night, I spent a few hours in the large kitchen garden. The tomatoes are just a memory—dead vines entangled in a Texas weave. The cucumbers, while still producing, are an ugly sprawl of spotted leaves...and the Three Sisters garden is, sadly, down to two siblings. Honestly, I don't know how the Native Americans survived, because my Three Sisters garden never produces an edible ear of corn.

Maybe the Three Sisters garden is just an historical urban legend. Maybe those sisters really bickered and pulled each others' hair. I mean, really—how many sisters coexist without some squabbles? In our garden, the beans wrestled the stalks of corn to the ground, while the squash promptly suffocated it.

This is not the lovely legend I embraced.

As I cut out dead vines and harvested ten million hot peppers, I uncovered huge, lovely Genovese basil plants. I companion-planted the basil in the tomato bed last spring.

And then I forgot about it.

Actually, I planted basil a bit too enthusiastically. Basil grows in the tomato bed, the herb garden, the other herb garden, in pots on the balcony. I even sowed more seeds in a container two weeks ago, thinking we might need additional basil to last through the fall. Plus, of course, we needed all eight varieties of basil I grew.

All of the tiny basil plants thrived, growing into enormous, thick, deliciously scented bushes.

So last night, while I mourned the end of tomato season, I snipped Genovese basil branches, stuck them in a vase, and decided that today will be:

PESTO DAY!

During the summer, our oldest son, Tyler, developed an affinity for pesto making...but not of his own accord. While home from college, we decided he would cook for the family one night per week. Not only did Tyler's dinner responsibility help me while I chauffeured the kids to various camps and lessons, but as a rising college senior, we thought it was time for him to learn how to cook. Velveeta Shells and Cheese, we told him, doesn't qualify.

Interestingly, the first few meals prepared by Chef Tyler were actually cooked by his very sweet (and patient) girlfriend. Tyler assisted. But finally, he took the leap and mastered a few entrees of his own—including pesto.

Pesto only sounds daunting. It's absurdly simple. 

The first time I needed pesto, I bought it. Now, I consider pesto from the store sacrilegious. Plus, honestly—basil is too easy to grow not to have a pot of it on your balcony. It is, however, not so easy to grow inside—so you'll want to make a large batch of pesto while the basil is fresh and in season, then freeze the pesto for mid-winter delicious dinners.

Tyler likes a thick pesto, but my version is more spreadable and sauce-like. Making pesto is quick, especially if you have a food processor. Some diehards swear that the only way to make true pesto is by grinding the ingredients with a mortar and pestle. While it sounds very romantic, and Julia Child would approve, who really has time for pounding basil into mush?

Pesto

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed (I prefer Genovese)

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tablespoons pine nuts

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Wash basil, checking undersides of leaves for any garden creatures. (You do not want the added protein of a slug in your pesto.) Dry well. Place the basil leaves in small batches into the food processor and chop well. Add 1/3 of the nuts and garlic, blending again. Add 1/3 of the Parmesan and blend while slowly adding about 1/3 of the olive oil. Let the oil drizzle into the mixture while blending. Stop frequently to scrape the sides of the food processor bowl.

Continue to add the ingredients 1/3 at a time, repeating until all ingredients are well blended. Served over pasta, use as a base for bruschetta, or dollop onto scallops. Pesto can be frozen for several months or refrigerated for up to one week.

There...wasn't that easy?

I plan to harvest more basil tomorrow, triple the recipe, and freeze in small batches so that we'll taste a bit of summer all winter long.

If you didn't grow your own basil, check with your local farmers' market. Usually, you can find a gorgeous bouquet of basil for a few dollars. Or visit Local Harvest to find a farmer near you.

It's worth it. I promise.

Cheers!

XO ~

Julie