Companion Planting – Page 2 – No Dig Vegetable Gardening Blog

It has long been accepted that Companion Planting can have several benefits, both for yourself and your garden vegetables. Properly executed, companion planting can help keep away predatory insects from your plants and also add as a fertilizer for the soil if the right companions are chosen. Even in a vegetable garden however, there is no need just to grow other vegetables. Indeed gardeners for centuries have been growing flowers alongside their precious vegetables to help distract different insects. Companion planting using flowers such as Marigolds is the subject in question with this excellent piece in www.ourherbgarden.com In particular I like this valuable comment about the kind of Marigolds to plant. As is the case with a lot of the modern hybrids, they have no scent. This is mega-important as it is the strong scent of the marigold that distracts the carrot fly for instance, away from the carrot foliage. A plant with no scent, is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard! Companion Planting with Marigolds Another good reason to plant marigolds alongside your tomatoes for instance, is that the hoverfly loves marigolds. Why is this important? Because the larvae of the hoverfly loves to snack on aphids! Keeep in mind also that even if the hoverfly does not visit - it's better that the aphids snack on your marigolds rather than your prize tomatoes or other vegetable crop. It is a very relevant point and another aspect of good companion planting - the concept of 'sacrificial planting'. Another flowering plant that I use often for this purpose is the Nasturtium to help distract aphids and other pests. It is also an edible flower and can be used in salads for instance. Mint can also be a good distraction for aphids and white-fly. Planted in pots it can be placed around the garden where most needed, for instance near your tomato plants. Companion planting is an essential ingredient in any type of raised bed gardening enterprise, more especially if you want to practice natural pest control and fertilization methods. In fact many of the scented herds such as Rosemary, Sage and Thyme can also be used very effective in this way as an organic and Eco friendly alternative to insecticides for protecting your Eggplant or other vulnerable vegetables. Conclusion: Marigolds are just one of the many plants that can be used to protect or even nurture your vegetable and fruit plants. Get more info on the advantages of companion planting on this link