GARDEN MAIDEN: The why and when of companion planting

This drawn-out chilly spring bursting into a heat wave by the end of May has me looking straight to a fall garden scenario rather than contend with carrots, peas and beets that defy a hot season planting. Rather than mourn a second spring planting, I am focusing on companion plants that are ready to go in the ground, coordinating their strengths with late summer and fall harvest vegetables.

An introduction course or basic chart of companion planting is a quick guide to which and where, so today I’m going to get you thinking about why and when.

As with so many fields, keep in mind that this companion planting stuff may just be old wives’ tales that got started way back when with a big smile and country charm to make it so. However, enough science is behind the chemistry of plants and behavior of insects to give most of these relationships more than a passing nod when it comes to trusting them in the garden.

Much like farming with the moon cycles, companion planting gets trumped by temperature spikes and space limitations every now and again, yet remains my insurance plan for productive acres.

CLARY SAGE AND CABBAGE

First and foremost, clary sage came to me in a very magical way. It’s a staple in my essential oil regimen as an antispasmodic and for general skin care with high levels of naturally occurring linalyl acetate to fight free radicals. Beyond keeping me feeling younger than I look, it clears my head and invigorates my cells on days that just feel too heavy to move. As a gateway to manifest daydreams of a garden side still to craft my own essential oils, I’m busy integrating at least a few medicinal plants into the garden each season.

Clary sage, with its clean and sweet aroma, came to life after a trip to Germany. Not understanding much German, I picked a few packs of seeds at the marketplace and tucked them between the pages of my in-flight reading material. Even though the seed packs could be translated, we all know the seed packs don’t offer much in regards to environment, best practices or whether its better to sow or start as a plant.

The picture was a stunning leaf-like bloom of bright pink whose unique appearance was enough to want it in the garden. After starting it indoors and successfully transplanting just a couple plants last season, it quickly became a coveted charm in the garden. It wasn’t until crossing paths during fall cleanup with the seed packs that I actually realized salbeii is sage. The clary sage determination is apparent from its bracts of leaf-like flowers that literally look like transparent discolored leaves that are actually whorls of two petals ranging in color from lilac to white and pink. Unlike the bite of garden sage, clary sage is a bit sweet. In Germany, fresh leaves of clary sage is added to fritters or omelets.

Clary sage is a biennial plant, so don’t be disappointed if the colorful blooms don’t appear at first. Biennial plants take two years to complete its growth cycle, establishing roots and leaves during the first season and then producing flowers, fruits and seeds during the second year. Beets and onions are two more examples of biennial plants, though we rarely cultivate them for seed, so generally treat them as annuals in the garden.

So what makes sage, or salvia, a companion to cabbage? Its ability to attract whiteflies. Whiteflies are nearly microscopic flying insects that hover in groups to camouflage their infestation on the underside of plants. Namely, brassicas. When a sage planting is timed to flower just before the cabbages are developing in the garden, hummingbirds and parasitic wasps will discover hatching whiteflies (resembling mealy bugs) before the nymphs move to brassicas in the garden. Mums and gerbera daisies may be more attractive than tomato plants to whiteflies, too, so consider donating a few fall bloomers as a trap crop alongside the tomato vines.

Arrange your flowers and eat them, too! Along with the interesting plumes of clary sage, calendula, nasturtiums and pansies all made it to my edible gardening list this season. Candied calendula, nasturtiums on summer rice paper rolls, gelatin encased pansies and sun-dried squash blossom on wood-fired pizzas are all in the mix for exploring culinary expanse.

In the meantime, know that the peppery zest of nasturtium flowers is very attractive to aphids. Planting a sacrificial plot along with relay interplanting of mustard greens keep slow moving, sap sucking aphids in one spot and easily discovered in masses by predators such as lacewings and lady beetles. Nasturtium is especially useful near pole beans and broccoli that can be destroyed within weeks by an infestation of aphids.

When asked how I get a full garden harvest the first week of May, I am always drawn to early bloomers. You can plant all the seeds you want to in April (most years!), but unless you have food for the beneficial insects, they may not flourish as quickly as you can grow them. Enter cool weather, colorful pansies. Another unexpected surprise while stretching the limits of greenhouse growing, pansies in full bloom during the cold month of March attracted bees, wasps and even praying mantids to our gardens. Since they cannot take much heat, try planting them out beneath a towering leaf of rhubarb or giant red mustard greens to extend their blooming well into May.

And guess what? Their companion to onions is as gatekeeper of the weeds. The flattened blanket growth of pansies in the early spring are ideal for intensive planting in the onion bed to shade the overwintering weed seeds as soil temperature warms. Shallow rooted pansies will not compete with the nutrients of the deeper-rooted onions during bulb formation. Onions are pretty well set before the pansies fill in and their blooms are beautiful long after mature onions are harvested. They often bloom again in the fall.

As for calendula, enjoy the colorful blooms as much as the pollinators do! An herb known as pot marigold, this perennial herbaceous plant in the daisy family makes a beneficial border full of continuous blooming, excellent cut flowers. Resembling a straw flower, they are magnets for beneficial insects and are a staple in my garden year after year.

Share your companion planting combinations with me at www. Gardenmaiden.com.

HOLLY KOSTER is a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener who resides in Grand Ridge. She can be reached by emailing tammies@mywebtimes.com; via Twitter, @gardenmaiden9; or on Facebook, facebook.com/gardenmaiden9.