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Sat, Mar 3, 12 at 6:48
| Watching P. Allen Smith yesterday caused my mind to think, again, about companion planting. He was at Mount Vernon and commented at the Rosemary plantings that bordered some of the planting beds which then supplied Rosemary to flavor what was growing there. However, there may well have been a better reason such as insect pest control because it was once known that Rosemary could deter certain insect pests while also attracting certain beneficials. So Rosemary is known to deter the bean beetles, cabbage moth, and carrot fly so planting a border of that, or something else depending on your particular pest, makes more sense than having that much of the herb around.
This link might be of some help. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Companion Planting
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Amaranth sure does thrive with corn, I have been noticing that in the last few years. Definitely synergy there. Your list says peas thrive with potato, but not "potoato". What do we make of that? |
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| I have no proof that Rosemary confuse deer, other then they hunt by smell & Rosemary's strong flavor can cover up new growth on many plants. A friend had a deer problem & planted a Rosemary plant in the bed not knowing it would have an effect on the deer. They have left the bed alone for 3 Winter now. This the same thing that makes Rosemary a good companion plant. |
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- Posted by tropical_thought San Francisco (My Page) on Sat, Mar 3, 12 at 11:25
| Rosemary is ugly and invasive. It smells funny and is often filled with dust and cobwebs. So, maybe it has some minor bug fixes, but it will not make all your bad bugs go away. If it did, it would be worth the bother of it, but it really spread out and takes over if you have a small space. Marigolds are supposed to makes bugs go away also, but it never really does work in practice. But, at least Marigolds are pretty and not invasive. |
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| I'd trade 100 sunchoke plants for one "invasive" rosemary bush, if anyone's interested. I am a firm believer in the advantages of aromatic plants in deterring pests. I use alliums, fennel, cilantro, dill, basil, and thyme as companion/repellant plants for other crops, but because I use them in combination with other practices (row covers, sticky traps, cultivation) it is hard to make firm conclusions about their specific impact. |
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| billme, I believe it may have been Rosemary that notherners have trouble getting established. If that is so, the secret was protecting the plant extra well through the first winter. After the roots were established, they did ok. |
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| We have a large perennial scented rosemary in fla, and also a patch of the florida rosemary brush which has no scent. I guess the latter won't have much deterrent effect on deer. |
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| Mine has to spend the winter inside - I have yet to find a cultivar that can make it through a Maine winter, so I only have one large plant for personal use. |
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| Their are over 600 varieties of Rosemary, which one is invasive? If Rosemary is your biggest problem, you have it made. |
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- Posted by nancyjane_gardener USDA 8ish No CA (My Page) on Sat, Mar 3, 12 at 21:10
| Rosemary is a shrub here, and can get large. It's used in a lot of commercial landscape areas.I live about 50 min north of Tropical. I love the scent, and have a few planted throughout the property. I love going outside and grabbing a handful, and making rosemary chicken for dinner! To each their own!!! Nancy |
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- Posted by vermontkingdom 4a (My Page) on Sun, Mar 4, 12 at 6:34
| I too like rosemary but it sure has become a problem. Several years ago I convinced my wife to allow me to convert one of her flower gardens into a separate space for herbs. It's located in a very protected place between the sun room and house on the south side and transformed into a raised bed of 8 x 11 feet. I planted a variety of herbs, mostly annuals but a few perennials as well. I wish I had planted the rosemary in an underground container to prevent its spread. I should tear up the entire bed and start again but I have several types of chives and oregano that would be casualties as well and I can't bring myself to take a chance in losing those. |
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| The idea, as I gather, is not to plant your herbs in seperate beds but to interplant them with other plants. The beds at Mount Vernon had far too much Rosemary for just culinary purposes so if George Washinton planted that much it must have helped deter some insects. Even entertaining over 700 people each year that would be too much Rosemary. Of course Rosemary is only one of many herbs that are purported to provide some plant protection. Mr. Brown, that is not my list. To get an answer to your question you will need to contact the person that posted it at the site I found it. |
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- Posted by lazygardens PhxAZ%3A Sunset 13 (My Page) on Sun, Mar 4, 12 at 8:47
| Wishful thinking: "Culinary use" includes using large branches of rosemary as a brush to swab oil on meats you are cooking, and tossing it onto the fire to season the things in the ovens. What you are also not remembering is that Mt. Vernon was a small village, and those herbs were being used by more than one kitchen. And maybe George just liked the evergreen scent of it to make a nice parterre in his herb garden. |
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- Posted by tropical_thought San Francisco (My Page) on Sun, Mar 4, 12 at 12:45
| I did not plant rosemary, but someone friend of mine did, and it was Rosmarinus officinalis planted in all sand and greatly neglected. In spite of this while everything else died, the rosemary grew huge and huger. It was a lot of work to cut it back, until they got fed up and ripped it out. It is not easy to rip out, this is what I mean by invasive. The roots are very strong and deep. Mint is also very invasive. I love mint. I love the smell of it, but it is also really invasive. I assume if you plant mint or rosemary between your crops, it will take over the whole plot. I learn a lot from other people's mistakes as well as my own. |
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| I am sorry for your/ your friend trouble, tropical thought. I have once again learned something on Garden Web. I have Rosmarinus officinalis in my side yard. It has spread a little in the last 10 years, but I cut it way back in the early Spring & give the limbs to my family. I may put the new plants in plastic 55 gallon drum half's at the end of the bed, instead of the bed. Thanks for the tip. |
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| I had one season many years back, where I had my usual row planted with squash, and, it seemed, over a short period of time, they were destroyed with squash bugs. But I happened to notice one plant at the end of the row, survived. I also noticed that I had planted a basil plant on each side, as I normally spread the basil seeds around the garden. Since then I have been a believer in the idea that having different scents may not be a repellant, but maybe confuses the insects. It's one of those things I can't prove, but I still do those things like interplanting basil, dill and flowers, and as a result(maybe), haven't had any complete wipeouts by insects since then. |
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| Rosemary does not seem to spread by seed. So in a cold climate it isn't easy to propagate. Certainly not invasive in that case. |
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