I read on the package of Ferry Morse parsley seeds that interplanting parsley with tomatoes and roses will enhance the vigor of both...I am growing herbs including parsley, but they will be a few feet away from the tomato plants.

You can grow pretty much any herb with the same water requirements as tomatoes as long as they get enough sun. Basil has been said to help tomatoes produce but I've seen no evidence of that (not that I'm an expert) Basil Would be nice though if it gets enough sun certainly goes well with tomatoes on your plate.

I am growing basil mainly for use on tomatoes..and lemon basil which I want to try on seafood etc.

Mmmm...yes, basil does sound yummy and makes the most sense to pair with the tomatoes. I will definitely plan on adding basil! I hadn't thought about the lemon basil, but that would be a great one as well.

My space is quite limited, so I'll have to choose just a few.

Catman, I read one of your posts about fitting in as many plants as possible, and I am in the same boat, only with a much smaller space. I figure I will stake them to save room, though I am wondering if the cages shown in digdirt's photo in that thread offer any squirrel/rodent/rabbit protection. The rabbits out here are prolific!!

I don't think a cage will protect from rabbits...at least not the concrete wire cages. I think you might be able to fit 6 toms max in your space, if they are staked and pruned to just a couple stems. Otherwise I would do fewer and give a little space for basil. I would plant basil between the plants as long as the basil got enough sun and wasn't shaded by the plants...in other words, I would plant basil in between the tomatoes on the south side.

According to Riotte's Carrots Love Tomatoes, good companion herbs for toms include chives, parsley, garlic. Toms and Brassicaceous plants do not do well together, nor fennel. For many years I have planted carrots next to my toms and take off the lower leaves of the toms for more sunlight.

Dan

I will be growing fennel most likely 5 feet away from my toms. Will this have any negative effect or is the distance good enough?

Will this have any negative effect or is the distance good enough?

IMO that's far enough away in your zone.

Dan

I don't know if they are benefical in any way, but I grow basil and cilantro next to my tomatoes because they are also annuals and because I use those herbs with tomatoes a lot. My perennial herbs are in my herb garden area year round.

Thanks,Dan! Those sound good as well, and I'll have to see how much room I have to get everything in.

I have some rabbit fence, so I'll go ahead and put it around the garden area and use the stakes to maximize space. The garden area is up against the house and faces South West, so hopefully that will provide adequate sun and allow the basil to go relatively unshaded by the tomatoes.

Do people think there's any truth to basils changing the taste of tomatoes they're grown near?

I grew basil among the tomato plants last year with good success. Some people say it helps the basil to get a little shade from the tomatoes so they don't get scalded. Hardly a concern in my little garden that barely gets half a day of filtered sunlight.

I don't know if it changes the flavor or not. The plants seemed happy with the arrangement and basil tastes good in tomato sauces, so it worked out beautifully for me. Also, the basil ended up being my "early warning" system for fall frosts, because they got frost damage a couple weeks before the tomatoes were affected.

I have also planted cilantro near my tomatoes without problems.

Oregano, basil and dill flowers bring in a ton of bees and other pollinators, and then they also visit the tomato flowers to help pollinize them too. Plus they are perfect for adding to tomato salads and sauces, too.

Carla in Sac

I will be growing basil & dill in the same area right next to the tomatoes. There is already some oregano in the same spot that I planted last year. I might pull it out though - but I haven't decided whether I want it or not. Good to know these three herbs will benefit the garden..

This may just be a coincidence, but I planted basil all around my tomato plants last year and didn't have ONE hornworm. Not one.
Sunny

~~~ This may just be a coincidence, but I planted basil all around my tomato plants last year and didn't have ONE hornworm. Not one. ~~~

Now that you mention it, I had some hornworms on some container plants but none in the garden where I'd planted basil (first time). Hmmm.

I did have a few fruit worms there though. They don't ravage the plant as badly but they make a mess of the toms. Caught both early, thankfully.

I dug up the bed and planted basil, parsley, and cilantro. I have more room than I thought, so I may try a few more herbs.

I purchased a Champion tomato plant at the recommendation of our local garden center, as well as a Purple Cherokee, a cherry tomato plant, and a yellow tomato plant, that I forget the name of. We have a few more weeks of cold nights coming our way (around 40 degrees or less), so I thought I would wait to plant them until it warms up. The garden center said that they came from a shade house out of Orange County, and the Champion and yellow tomato plant already have flowers on them. I am thinking they are probably going to be pretty confused, so I'm keeping them inside and bringing them outside for a few hours each day...in effect, hardening them off, even though they are 2' tall.

I should probably post this as a separate question, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to properly care for them until they go into the ground? I was thinking I should put them under some lights in the house to ensure that they get enough light. We've had a lot of cloudy and rainy days for SoCal, so even when they are outside, they aren't getting direct sun right now.

Thanks!!

I'm planning on growing chives and marigolds near my toms because I've read in several places that the smell of both discourages bugs.

My neighbor is a old time master gardener in our county. He swears if you grow Sweet Basil among your tomatoes it keeps the bugs off. He had one every 4 ft of his 4x12 raised beds. I didn't see any bugs on his and
me and my next door neighbor had aphids on ours the same time right down the road. I will be growing basil with my tomatoes this year...

Aphids were a big problem for me last year before the tomatoes started setting fruit. I will be sure to put some basil in with the toms, and see how it works. Basil with tomatoes is like icing on cake...except better.

Has anyone planted bee balm with tomatoes? Supposedly it helps tomato plants and improves the taste of the fruit. I bought some BB seeds from Fedco this year, and will plant them in the garden regardless since they look nice and attract bees and hummingbirds. I was wondering- if I do use these as a tomato companion, how close to the toms should they be? Between plants? A few feet away?

I have bee balm near the SFG but not in it, and have for years grown various varieties of Monarda in the garden to attract parasitic wasps and other beneficials (as well as they are good looking plants). My current favorite variety is 'Panorama' closely followed by 'Blaustrumpf'. Make sure you choose a modern variety that resists the various foliar diseases that are common to Monarda. This year I am making 2 larger SWCs and plan on placing them near a Monarda in the garden.

Dan

I've always planted lots of herbs with my tomatoes (in one bed I even did mint with them, which had NO bugs in it) and have very little bug issues. The main thing to be careful of is to make sure the herbs don't block airflow, which can cause disease to spread.

A great way to keep out bunnys is dried blood- it's a natural fertilizer that you can get at most garden supply stores. You need to reapply it occasionally, and it doesn't work for many other pests- but bunnys won't go near it.

Rabbits also don't eat nasturtiums (edible though not an herb) which are said to grow well with tomatoes, but I don't know if the smell of the nasturtiums would actually keep the bunnies away.

Cheapest animal repellent is probably male human urine. Renewable resource...

I can't imagine myself taking a pee in my garden every morning...

Around the garden, not in it :-)

It makes squirrels stop and think but the temptation is too great.

This is the only thing that actually works.

Here is a link that might be useful: From Tree to Table

When deer were eating my hosta, I had my husband pee in a jar in the morning and then I would pour it around the perimeter of the hosta. First thing in the morning is best - most testosterone. OK, I'm kinda grossing even myself out now.

The only downside is that it doesn't last that long. And the grossness. If I have deer problem this year, I think I'm going to spring for Liquid Fence - wish that were for squirrels but I guess it's not.

Might try some damp kitty litter for the squirrels. And I don't think I need to go into what made it damp. LOL.