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Companion Planting Charts.

Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity, on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity. Companion planting is a form of polyculture.

Locate the item you want to plant in the middle column. Read the information on the left and right of that item for information about what to and not to plant near the vegetable/fruit.

Companion Planting Chart
Do not plant with or near	Crop to be planted	Do plant with or near
Dill	Carrots	Onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, leaf lettuce, tomatoes, benefit to beans and peas
Chives, garlic, onions, gladiolus	Beans	Celery (1 every 6-7 bean plants), marigolds repel Mexican bean beetle, benefit corn, cucumbers, cabbage, strawberries
Tomatoes	Corn	Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash, melons, sunflowers, benefit peas and beans
Onions, garlic, gladiolus	Peas	Carrots, turnips, radishes, cucumbers, corn, beans, potatoes, aromatic herbs
Pole beans	Beets	Bush beans, onions, kohlrabi, lettuce, cabbage
Strawberries, tomatoes, pole beans	Cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, broccoli, collards, rutabaga, turnip, radishes	All like thyme, aromatic plants like celery, dill, chamomile, sage, peppermint, rosemary, onions, and potatoes. Rotate these crops every two years.
Peas and beans	Onions	With members of cabbage family, beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, summer savory, chamomile
	Asparagus	Parsley, basil, tomatoes
	Radishes	Sow with spinach, carrots, and parsnips to mark rows. Beets, cucumbers, squash, melons, tomatoes, kohlrabi, bush beans, pole beans, lettuce
Strawberries, tomatoes, pole beans	Kohlrabi	Onions, beets, aromatic plants, cucumbers
Kohlrabi, fennel, apricot trees, corn, potatoes, all members of the Brassica family such as broccoli, cabbage, etc.	Tomato	Asparagus, chives, onion, parsley, marigold, nasturtium, carrot, garlic, basil
Cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, raspberries	Potatoes	Green beans, corn, cabbage, eggplant, marigolds, horseradish

Companion Planting Chart
Do not plant with or near	Crop to be planted	Do plant with or near
Potatoes	Melons	Crop rotation best weapon against garden pests, early or late planting to keep seedling stage away from borers. Plant cucumbers and squash in Aug. for fall crop, grow with corn and sunflowers.
Potatoes, aromatic herbs	Cucumbers	Corn, beans, peas, radishes, sunflowers, sow with radish and let go to seed. Spray with sugar water to encourage pollination and prevent nematodes; chive spray helps against downy mildew.
	Squash	Radishes, cucumbers, nasturtiums
Potatoes	Pumpkins	Corn
	Strawberries	Peach, apple, fig, orange, other orchard trees, beans, spinach, lettuce along the borders, marigolds
Potatoes	Raspberries	Do not mix black and red berries.
	Rhubarb	Columbines; mix rhubarb leaves in water, spray on roses and water Brassica plants with it.
	Dahlias	Discourages nematodes; plant with nematode-susceptible plants.
Peas, potatoes, pole beans	Sunflowers	Inhibits nitrogen fixers like peas, grows well with cucumbers, needs rich soil.
	Marigolds	Discourages nematode growth as with potatoes, strawberries, and roses. Plant 2-3 weeks after other plants. Plant with tomatoes and beans.
	Zinnias	Lamb quarter, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins
	Nasturtiums	Broccoli to reduce aphids, potatoes, radishes, cabbage family, apple trees. Use a spray of nasturtium leaves to reduce aphids, plant yellow nasturtiums around trees to prevent aphids.

Other Information and Odds and Ends You May Want to Know:

Grow basil with tomatoes parallel and next to each other. Grow chamomile, in a pot, with Matricaria chamomilla. Put caraway with peas but not near fennel. Do not put fennel in a vegetable garden! Put celery with leeks, tomatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, and bush beans. It is a perennial if you want it to be, allowing it to come back up each season. Grow chives with carrots and columbine with rhubarb. One must compost and give manure to both columbine and rhubarb each year because they are heavy feeders. Grow dill with cabbage but not near carrots. Sow dill after early beets, with lettuce, onions, and cucumbers. Bees like the blossoms of dill. Collect the seeds to make the dill for pickles, as they can be very expensive in the store and so easy to grow. Plant lettuce with strawberries, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and radishes. Put one lettuce seed in every time you pull an onion. Plant garlic around your fruit trees and with tomatoes but not with peas or beans. Plant geraniums with cabbage, roses, grapes, and corn. Place mint with cabbage and tomatoes but keep the mint in a container! Mint is highly invasive, growing everywhere in the garden if let to spread. Plant nasturtiums with squash, broccoli, potatoes, radishes, and cabbage. Grow sage with cabbage and relatives, carrots, and rosemary but keep sage away from cucumbers. Plant summer savory with onions and beans, thyme with cabbage and other aromatic herbs, oregano with broccoli, and parsley with carrot seed, roses, tomatoes and asparagus. Sweet potatoes prefer sandy soil. Never put sunflowers with pole beans or carrots with dill.

Note: Most of the information in the above chart is derived from Jeff Balls's Rodale's Garden Problem Solver (1988), Rodale Press: Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Merry Christmas!!!

The Bible Christmas Story

Luke Chapter 2, King James Version

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."

The gift of Christmas isn't wrapped up in presents or parties. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Son of God. As you follow Him, you put people first. You may spend less time in lines and more time serving others. You may spend less money on - and more time with - the people you love. You may lose yourself and you may find everything else that matters.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a 2012 filled with peace, love and realizations!