"0tterbot" wrote in message
...
is anyone up for some information exchange about companion planting?

because i generally 1: can't be bothered 2: am both ill-informed and
disorganised, i don't companion-plant (also, wouldn't it mess with
rotation systems? that might be a different issue though) it's not
something i pursue. however, for 3 years i have put basil with the
tomatoes in good faith because EVERYONE says this is a good thing.

however, over the 3 years i've noticed that the basil doesn't come on if
it's with the tomatoes - the plants are always small (although the
tomatoes are happy). last year i thought the basils were probably too
shaded, so i gave more space this year, but the basils are still small &
flowering early. my other (seperate) basils are as big as i would expect,
though (so it's not dud seed or anything like that).

while i don't normally have any tomato diseases (so far - i am quite a
newbie gardener though) i can't be sure if this is because of the basil,
or if they'd have been healthy anyway (as, after all, tomatoes really
aren't that difficult, are they?)

so in a nutshell, i'm going to give up on this particular arrangement.

i have one tomato plant, though, that was planted quite close to spring
onions, & it's a tiny plant. i'm taking out the spring onions as we need
them, & the plant's finally getting a bit bigger now. i wonder if the
onions are bothering the tomato plant. the other, self-sown toms which are
various places are just dandy, despite considerable neglect AND no basil
nearby (and no staking, and little watering, etc).

does anyone have any comments about good or bad companions? have any of
you investigated this seriously? is it even worth pursuing? if anyone's
found any really excellent companions, i'd be quite interested, because
i'm starting to think it's just one of those things people say because
everyone else does, but has rarely been investigated thoroughly &
scientifically.
thanks!!
kylie

I read very recently, on a newsgroup i think, about planting garlic with
roses to supress rust pathogens that live in the soil. Garlic also seems to
be a good crop to follow on from tomatos with various research indicating it
fumigates the soil.

rob

rob