Incorporating vegies in your flower garden
Friday, October 30 by Hamish Dodd
G’day green fingers,
Hamish here. I hope you had a great Labour Weekend and got stuck into the garden. I did but unfortunately the rain was a bit of a dampener.
This week I’m writing about planting flowers in your vegie garden and companion planting. Straight after harvesting your lush vegies and transplanting your seedlings your plot can look bare and unloved. Flowers are a perfect solution to ensuring a constant supply of interest and style. Some flowers actually help your vegies crop heavier and repel bugs. With the bee population dying at a rapid rate it also helps to add some plants bees love – in turn, bees will pollinate your plants naturally.
My vegies are really starting to take off now that the weather is warming up – the Greenhouse was hotter than an oven last week even with the louvers slightly open. Consequently everything was looking real great- the peas, which had started flowering a couple of weeks or more ago were forming real peas, more tomato seeds had germinated within a week as had the cucumber, Bok Choi, basil and coriander. And the tomato , planted out into the Tuscan self watering pot was more than ready for being tied to its stake. With the tradition of getting everything in the garden during Labour weekend now behind us all I need to do is to ensure that the
watering is kept up as well as keeping the nasties at bay – no rest for the wicked they say! The vegetables which have been transplanted from the Greenhouse into the outside garden are all flourishing – there’s a spot of luck! Ha ha, just kidding.
The Yates Garden Guide has great information about how best to use flowers in its Organic Gardening chapter. If you love your roses but don’t like using lots of spray to keep the pests at bay plant some garlic close by. It is also believed something in the garlic helps roses perfume smell stronger. Tomatoes and basil are the perfect bed partners as they help each other grow. Foxglove stimulates plants and vegies grown near it and strengths weak plants but beware it is toxic.
Marigold flowers, with gorgeous orange and yellow petals, are a dream companion plant. The flowers love bunking up with lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, chicory and fennel. Marigolds are thought to help neutralise harmful soil substances and make perfect growing conditions for its friends. Beetroot and leafy green vegies, like lettuce and spinach grow well together. Beans, pumpkin and corn are great companion plants too. Climbing beans add nitrogen to the soil, which corn loves and its stalks are great supports for the bean runners.
Nasturtiums grow rapidly, so planting it in a pot into a bed is a great idea. The pretty flowers are great at keeping aphids off your precious broccoli plants and like being planted with potatoes. The colour of the flowers can also bring your plot alive.
Potage gardens are a popular design style incorporating flowers, herbs and vegies. Before you plant your garden in this style make a plan – segment your plot into squares and grow herbs, flowers and vegies in squares side-by-side. Pop in some colourful seasonal flowers as pretty borders. Make sure to read all plant labels and
do some research to ensure the plants will grow happily together. Potage gardens are full of life, colour, smells and insect life. Keep poppies out of the vegie growing garden because they still steal soil nutrients. Sunflowers should be kept away from potatoes and dandelions from every vegie plant – it greatly decreases crop yields.
Bees are vital for any vegie garden. If you’re not keen on keeping bees in your city garden why not add some flowers to attract them? Heleniums and blue and purple flowers attract bees but they really love Comfrey, French lavender, Chicory, Forget-me-nots and Thymes. It’s a good idea to plant bee loving herbs near fruit trees,
especially if the trees are reliant on pollination ensuring heavy crops. Sunflowers, cape gooseberries, artichokes and cranberries can also play a vital part in producing yummy human and bee food.
My tomatoes are going from strength to strength. I look forward to seeing all your snaps in the great tomato growing competition. Remember that the winner of the competition gets a prize pack to the value of $575. Send in a picture of your tomato plant, a photocopy of your Yates garden diary with harvest weights and
records. You can get one from this website.
Next week I’ll talk about getting children into the garden and fun activities for them.
Catch ya,
Hamish
“Back to blog >”:/hamish-dodd/
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