Companion planting
Using one plant to help another, usually by removing a pest.
It is said that if you grow onions near carrots, their strong smell hides the smell of the carrot, so the pesty carrot root fly can’t find its host (4:1 ratio of onion to carrot).
Basil near tomatoes keep whitefly off; nasturtiums attract black fly from broad bens and peas;
French marigolds (Tagetes patula) attract slugs keeping them off your lettuces (but bye, bye marigolds, so grow lots) and their strong scent keeps whitefly away.
Also, flowers in the veg patch look lovely, attract all sorts of beneficial insects and seem to confuse pesty ones looking for your veg.
Compost
Can be made in your
compost bin, or bought. It is a mix of
organic matter than feeds nutrients back into the
soil.
If you made it then you know there are no chemicals in it, and can feel secure using it on your fruit and veg. There is an art to making your own
compost. Basically you need to have a mix of “soft” plant growth (ie. kitchen scraps, and plants,(but not weeds) grass mowings, and paper) and “hard” plant growth (ie.woodier cuttings (the smaller the better)).
These need to go together into a large container with a cover. Keep the pile damp and nature will break down everything into nice brown
compost. Worms will naturally enter the pile, as will slugs, and the heat from outside and the bacterial activity will do the rest. In perfect conditions this can take as little as a few months, or as long as a few years.
A
compost bin should be somewhere sunny if possible. You can buy activators to speed things up, but in a sunny spot, well insulated, and with the right mix of ingredients (roughly 4 soft to one hard) the pile will steam away on its own.
Crop rotation
If you grow the same annual plant in the same place each year it will use up nutrients to grow, and may provide a happy home for
pests.
Perennial plants can be grown in the same place as you do not remove them, but annuals, of which most veg are, get taken out of the
soil and with them go the nutrients, while the
pests stay happy in the
soil. So, grow a different plant next year and it will use different nutrients, the pest won’t survive, and hopefully that veg will replace some nutrients ready for the next crop.
Veg can be roughly grouped into 4 groups (three at a push) 1:
Roots, 2: Brassicas, 3:
Legumes and 4: Other and so just make sure you group veg of one type together in one area one year, and move them on next year. The rotation moves left to right/clockwise so the area that had
Legumes this year, will have Brassicas next; the bed that had
roots will have Other. Looking at the veg you are likely to grow:
- 1: Roots includes the Apiaceae family of Carrot, Celeriac, Celery, Fennel, Parsley, Parsnip, and the Chenopodiaceae family of Beetroot, Beets, Chard, Spinach,. Roots split in heavily manured soil.
- 2: Brassicas is the Brassicaceae family of Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale(borecole), Kohl rabi, Swede, Turnip; Radish, Rocket. They like firm soil that is not too acid.
- 3: Legumes is the Papilionaceae family of Beans, Clover, Fenugreek, Lupin, Peas, Tares, Vetch. Like rich, moist soil.
- 4: ‘Other’ can have all of these or they can have their own area.
Alliaceae – Commonly called Onion and includes Chive, Garlic, Leek, Onion, Shallot, Like open textured soil.
Asteraceae – Commonly called Lettuce and includes Chicory, Endive, Lettuce,. Also Globe and Jerusalem artichoke but these usually remain in the same place.
Cucurbitaceae – Commonly called Cucumber and includes Cucumber, Courgette, Marrow, Melon, Pumpkin. Like heavily manured soil.
Solanaceae – Commonly called Potato and includes Aubergine, Peppers (sweet and hot), Potato, Tomato. Like heavily manured soil.