These Two Popular Herbs Are The Perfect Neighbors For Potatoes In Your Garden

There are a lot of great herbs and vegetables to choose from when planning your garden, and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) are a fantastic option to start with. The versatile tuber is an obvious choice, but you might be wondering what you should plant next to it. If you are, know that basil (Ocimum basilicum) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) are great companion herbs for the potatoes in your garden.

The key to this is a gardening technique called companion planting, which strategically puts multiple types of vegetables and/or herbs together to mutually benefit one another and enhance crop production. One of the best benefits potatoes get when partnered up with parsley and basil is that this setup offers plenty of room for each of their root systems. Both basil and parsley have shallow root systems that extend no more than 12 inches deep when grown as annuals. In comparison, potatoes have fibrous roots that grow up to 24 inches deep. This allows all three to thrive without interfering with one another and allows you to grow more produce in less space. It's just plain smart gardening!

Potatoes can grow in USDA hardiness zones 3 to 10 and thrive in areas with full sun (that's at least six hours each day). They do best with acidic soil that is well-drained, loose, moist, and rich with organic matter. Both parsley and basil also like full sun and have very similar soil preferences. All of this lining up just goes to show how smart and beneficial companion gardening is, and how easy it makes things for gardeners everywhere.

While spacious room and compatible growing conditions are both great to have, there's an even more important reason to grow these herbs alongside your potatoes: pest mitigation. Potatoes are vulnerable to a variety of pests (and the diseases many carry), so having plant neighbors that can thwart pests and even attract helpful insects is fantastic news. They'll do most of the work of protecting your garden plants for you, in that sense.

Basil's strong aroma wards off bugs like thrips, which eat potato plant leaves and suck out their nutrients. The lovely herb repels potato beetles as well. These critters love eating the plant's leaves, which in turn hinders the potential output of the potato plant. Basil can even drive away aphids that can spread plant disease and stunt the plant.

Likewise, parsley works just as hard for the humble potato. It attracts insects like ladybugs, which are beneficial because they love to eat aphids, should any happen to show up to your garden. Aphids are a terrible nuisance, as they spread plant viruses, stunt plant size, and reduce the amount of potato your plant grows. Parsley also attracts damselflies, which help by eating small, pesty bugs like mosquitoes, beetles, and flies, which are likely to haunt you and your garden. Pests are the bane of every gardener's existence, so it's nice to know you'll have some reinforcements here helping to protect your potato plants.