BASIL: Plant with tomatoes to improve growth and flavor. Basil can be 
helpful in repelling thrips. It is said to repel flies and 
mosquitoes. Do not plant near rue.

BAY LEAF: A fresh leaf bay leaf in each storage container of beans or 
grains will deter weevils and moths. Sprinkle dried leaves with other 
deterrent herbs in garden as natural insecticide dust. A good combo: 
Bay leaves, cayenne pepper, tansy and peppermint. For ladybug 
invasions try spreading bay leaves around in your house anywhere they 
are getting in and they should leave.

BEANS: All bean enrich the soil with nitrogen fixed form the air. In 
general they are good company for carrots, brassicas, beets, and 
cucumbers. Great for heavy nitrogen users like corn and grain plants. 
French Haricot beans, sweet corn and melons are a good combo. Keep 
beans away from the alliums. 

BEE BALM (Oswego, Monarda): Plant with tomatoes to improve growth and 
flavor. Great for attracting beneficials and bees of course. Pretty 
perennial that tends to get powdery mildew.

BEET: Good for adding minerals to the soil. The leaves are composed 
of 25% magnesium. Companions are lettuce, onions and brassicas.

BORAGE: Companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries. Deters 
tomato hornworms and cabbage worms. One of the best bee and wasp 
attracting plants. Adds trace minerals to the soil and a good 
addition the compost pile. Borage may benefit any plant it is growing 
next to via increasing resistance to pests and disease. After you 
have planned this annual once it will self seed.

BRASSICA: Benefit from chamomile, peppermint, dill, sage, and 
rosemary. They need rich soil with plenty of lime to flourish.

BUCKWHEAT: Accumulates calcium and can be grown as an excellent cover 
crop. Attracts hoverflies in droves. (Member of the brassica family.)

CARAWAY: Good for loosening compacted soil with it's deep roots. 
Tricky to establish. The flowers attract a number of beneficial 
insects.

CATNIP: Deters flea beetles, aphids, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, 
ants and weevils. Use sprigs of mint anywhere in the house you want 
deter mice and ants. Smells good and very safe.

CHAMOMILE, GERMAN: Annual. Improves flavor of cabbages, cucumbers and 
onions. Host to hoverflies and wasps. Accumulates calcium, potassium 
and sulfur, later returning them to the soil. Increases oil 
production from herbs. Leave some flowers unpicked and German 
chamomile will reseed itself. Roman chamomile is a low growing 
perennial that will tolerate almost any soil conditions. Both like 
full sun. Growing chamomile of any type is considered a tonic for 
anything you grow in the garden.

CHERVIL: Companion to radishes for improved growth and flavor. Keeps 
aphids off lettuce. Likes shade.

CHIVES: Improves growth and flavor of carrots and tomatoes . Chives 
may drive away Japanese beetles and carrot rust fly. Planted among 
apple trees it may help prevent scab. A tea of chives may be used on 
cucumbers to prevent downy mildew.

CHRYSANTHEMUMS: C. coccineum kills root nematodes. (the bad ones) 
It's flowers along with those of C. cineraruaefolium have been used 
as botanical pesticides for centuries. (i.e. pyrethrum) White 
flowering chrysanthemums repel Japanese beetles.

CLOVER: Long used as a green manure and plant companion. Attracts 
many beneficials. Useful planted around apple trees to attract 
predators of the woolly aphid.

COMFREY: Accumulates calcium, phosphorous and potassium. Likes wet 
spots to grow in. Traditional medicinal plant. Good trap crop for 
slugs.

Comfrey while useful as a slug trap has many other qualities you may 
find of value. It is a very hardy perennial. It will grow in moist 
areas and has the ability to clean and extract nutrients from 
stagnant or foul water. It sends down long tap roots that can go as 
deep as 10 feet enabling it to accumulate minerals in its' leaves. 
These minerals include potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and 
phosphorus along with vitamins A, C, and B-12. The leaves contain 
tons of protein as previously mentioned. When comfrey leaves are 
composted and returned to enrich the soil all these elements are made 
available to your plants.

Medicinal qualities: Comfrey has many healing properties to it. 
Briefly the roots and leaves contain allantoin. Allantoin is a 
protein with hormonal like qualities to it that stimulate cell 
proliferation. It is the allantoin that gives comfrey its' reputation 
for healing wounds, broken bones, burns, sprains, sore joints, dry 
skin and for reducing the swelling associated with fractures. Fresh, 
clean comfrey leaves can be used in a poultice to treat these 
injuries. Comfrey salves are readily available from health food 
stores. It is not recommended to take comfrey internally as liver 
damage has been known to occur from extended ingestion.
Topical use is safe as the alkaloids will not penetrate the skin.

Comfrey fertilizer: With its' high levels of potash comfrey tea can 
be used as an excellent fertilizer for tomato, pepper, cucumber and 
potato plants. The smell while it is "cooking" is strong. Pick a good 
sized handful of leaves. Place them in a container with enough water 
to cover the leaves. Cover and let this cook for 4 weeks in cool 
weather or 2 weeks in hot weather. Then squeeze the leaves to extract 
as much juice as possible Strain and use at a rate of 1/3 cup 0f 
comfrey juice to one gallon of water Use as a foliar feed and soil 
drench around the plants. Put the solid wastes into the compost pile.

Dried or fresh comfrey leaves have the following percentages of NPK:

Nitrogen: 0.75% Phosphorous: 0.25% Potash: 0.2% 

Culture: 

Light: Full sun with some types accepting partial shade. 
Soil: Preferably nitrogen rich with a fairly neutral pH. 
Planting: Set plants 2 feet apart in an area where you can spare the 
space for them. Once you have planted comfrey it is there to stay. 
Feeding: For plants that are harvested often do keep them well fed. 
Disease: Comfrey Rust (Melampsorella symphyti) is the biggest problem 
with comfrey. If you see rust starting immediately remove any 
infested leaves and destroy. Give the plants a good dose of 
potassium like some wood ashes. Follow with a good organic 
fertilizer. Allow ample space for air movement among the plants. 
There are some different varieties of comfrey available:
Common comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
The most widely used comfrey with clusters of bell-shaped flowers in 
white, purple, mauve or rose. This is the most invasive variety of 
comfrey.

Russian comfrey (S.x uplandicum)
Russian comfreys have the highest levels of protein and allantoin.
Bocking No. 4: Grown generally as a fodder for poultry.
Bocking No. 14: This type has the most allantoin and is said to be 
the least invasive. We have been told that Bocking No. 14 will pretty 
much stay where you put it. This would make it the best choice for 
the home gardener. It does show a good resistance to rust which is 
often a problem with comfreys and it can tolerate a low level of the 
disease without harming the plants growth.

Ornamental comfreys
Creeping comfrey (S. grandiflorum): A low maintenance groundcover 
with light yellow flowers and crinkly leaves. Will tolerate shade and 
chokes out the weeds. May be a good choice for the north side of a 
wall or house.

Goldsmith comfrey (S. grandiflorum "Goldsmith"): Another less 
invasive type with light yellow flowers and variegated leaves. Grows 
to 12 inches in height.

Red comfrey (S. officinale "Rubrum"): Red flowers, wow! Will also 
grow in shade and has a compact growth habit.
(cont.)

