Green Britain - 'Companion Planting'

I'm a big fan of growing your own food.

The 'green' benefits are huge - but home-grown food also tastes amazing - and FRESH - from garden to plate in just a few minutes! ( Far better than supermarket stuff, which has usually been 'force-grown' and transported hundreds, if not thousands of miles to get to you! )

I like to grow everything in my garden organically - I don't use chemical fertilisers, or chemical pest control.

So does my garden get attacked by pests and disease?
Absolutely! But there are ways to combat this naturally.

One of the most effective ways is by using something called 'Companion Planting' - This is a very old technique, whereby you plant certain combinations of plants - 'companions' - together to protect each other against pests etc.

For example;
Marigolds, Tomatoes, and Cabbages are good 'companions'....
Plant them alternately in a single bed. The Marigolds protect the Tomatoes by deterring aphids, and the Tomatoes protect the cabbages by being repellent to the diamondback moth larvae which chew large holes in cabbage leaves!

Here's another set of good companions;
Carrots and Leeks.....
Plant carrots and leeks together in the same bed to protect against a number of pests. Leeks repel carrot-fly and carrots repel onion-fly and leek-moth!


Here's a few more to try.....

Asparagus - prevents microscopic nematodes from attacking the roots of tomatoes
Chervil - keeps aphids off lettuce
Chives - onion scent wards off aphids from chrysanthemums, sunflowers and tomatoes
Coriander - helps to repel aphids
Dill - attracts aphid eating beneficial insects likes hoverflies and predatory wasps
Garlic - deters aphids and is particularly good planted with roses
Tansy (TOXIC!! DO NOT EAT!) - strongly scented plant deters ants and many other pests.
Plants in the pea family - lupins, peas, beans and sweet peas benefit the soil by taking nitrogen from the air and storing it in their roots
Yarrow - this boosts vigour in other plants and accumulates phosphorous, calcium and silica, which can benefit homemade compost when plants are added to the heap. It attracts many beneficial creatures such as hoverflies and ladybirds

If you found this post useful, and want more information on companion planting - just let me know by leaving comments