Companion Plants are plants that grow well together with other plants and help them. One of their main benefits is to help repel certain insects, usually by a chemical they emit or by their fragrance.

• Tomatoes can be attacked by various little buggers and insects as well as fungus.When I get my seedlings for planting I always get enough Marigold plants to go between them. The Marigold is a secret weapon for Tomatoes. They repel aphids, nematodes and the great big ugly Tomato Horn worm.

Quite a few years ago I did have slugs,and the horn worm and sometimes aphids. Now I rarely see anything. Slugs are thing of the past. Since I have been inter planting Marigolds with the Tomatoes the slugs are gone. The last time I saw a Horn worm must have been about 10 years ago.

The Marigolds scare them all away. At the end of the season crush up your marigolds and add to the compost pile or better yet mix them right into the soil so they can work on any nematodes that may come calling.

Also when the Marigold flowers dry completely you can take the seed head and try seeding them again in the fall or in pots later for the spring. I have not tried that yet but have been told that it often is effective If you see a a section of a tomato plant or even part of a branch eaten away it probably is the Tomato Horn worm--- big, green and ugly. Look for them. There might only be 1 or 2 but they are voracious eaters. Pick them off and destroy them.

• Another plant that loves Tomatoes is Onions and anything related such as scallions, garlic,shallots,chives. You can plant them around the perimeter of your tomato area. They repel aphids. Some varieties of these plants are perennials so plan where you place them in your garden.

• Asparagus also loves Tomatoes. Tomatoes keeps away the asparagus beetle and Asparagus repels nematodes in the soil. I have had an Asparagus bed in the middle of my garden for many years as they are a perennial and I rotate the Tomatoes each year to the other side.

• Borage is a plant with beautiful flowers. It repels the horn worm. Anything that can do that is worthy of consideration although it attracts wasps and insects. The wasps eat the horn worms and the borage is hairy and sticky which holds the insects. As long as you don't mind the wasps.

• Some herbs such as Basil and Oregano are very helpful companion plants as they repel white flies and mites.

• Carrots and Spinach can be grown around or beneath the tomatoes as their harvesting time is different than the tomatoes. They grow well together. Among the flowers Nasturtium repels the whitefly and aphids.

Try some of these companion planting tips and you should have a better crop of beautiful Tomatoes