Companion planting relies on grouping together mutually beneficial plants. For example, this might be flowers with vegetables to attract pollinators, or herbs with fruit to deter pests.
Below, we’ll look at companion plants for sage. This little herb is a hard worker in the garden, so the things we’ll put with it all benefit from its presence.
Sage Companion Plants
Whereas for something like strawberries, we’d look for plants that benefit the fruit, sage is often the beneficial plant. Its strong aroma is ideal for keeping your fruit and veg safe in your balcony or patio garden.
The best sage companion plants include:
1. Brassicas
These might not be everyone’s go-to for balcony gardening, but if you plan to grow cabbages, broccoli, etc., plant some sage nearby. Sage controls cabbage moths (and maggots), black flea beetles, and worms.
2. Strawberries
Sage repels all kinds of strawberry pests (and actually tastes pretty nice when eaten with strawberries, too).
3. Tomatoes
Sage helps repel spider mites and tomato hornworm while also attracting pollinators to the tomato plants. Similarly, sage works well with carrots, but it’s not super likely that you’ll be growing carrots on a balcony because they’re not suitable for the space. But, if you do, throw some sage in next to them!
Sage flowers pretty heavily and pollinators love it. As such, it’s a great addition to almost any fruit or veg garden. It can help stimulate growth in some plants thanks to its ability to add nutrients back into the soil.
In most cases, you don’t need to plant the sage companion plants in the same pots. For example, you could have tomato plants and put your sage in a railing planter.
Strawberries are good companion plants for sage that work well in the same pot. A simple rectangular planter (like this one) is ideal, providing it’s got enough depth. Alternatively, sage gets on really well with rosemary, so a simple window planter (like this) would be perfect.
What not to Plant with Sage
Just as there are sage companion plants, there are sage enemies, too. These are plants whose growth might be impacted by sage’s presence, or they could share diseases and compete for space.
These include:
- Alliums (garlic, onions, etc.). They like moist soil, which sage doesn’t enjoy.
- Cucumbers. The understanding in the gardening world is that aromatic herbs (like sage) stunt the cucumbers’ growth.
- Fennel. It’s allelopathic to sage. This is a fancy way of saying it stunts its growth.
- Basil doesn’t get on well with other herbs – plant it near vegetables instead.
Of course, with balcony and small patio gardening, you don’t have loads of space. Keeping sage away from other plants isn’t too difficult, though. A few feet is fine; it’s mainly about them sharing immediate soil space. If you plan to grow cucumbers one season, just don’t plant any sage.
Final Thoughts
Choosing companion plants for sage isn’t too difficult because it gets on with pretty much everything. Just avoid putting it near the few plants above and your garden should stay happy.