![]() ![]() Courgettes should improve productivity if placed with pollinator-attracting flowers such as English marigolds.Tomatoes can benefit from the presence of scented herbs such as basil, mint and chives.Nasturtiums lure pests away from French beans, runner beans and brassicas.Anything with an onion scent, including spring onions, garlic, leeks, chives and scallions, is thought to deter aphids and carrot fly.Here are a few rules of companion planting: Companion planting is an effective and time-honoured way to create plant relationships that benefit each other, protect crops from pests and improve pollination. The savvy smallholder shouldn’t need to use harmful pesticides to help crops thrive. Every year, a thick layer of mulch will replenish the nutrients with very little digging. When they’re built, fill them with a good topsoil and compost mix to give yourself the ultimate head start. Give yourself at least a metre width between beds if you need to manoeuvre a wheelbarrow around or get a mower between them. For strength and cost-efficiency, design a bed that uses these measurements or involves minimal cuts. New sleepers come in three sizes – 1.2m, 1.8m and 2.4m (try ). Being higher off the ground, they’re a doddle to weed, and garden pests such as pigeons and rabbits tend to leave them alone. Raised beds take a lot of hassle out of growing vegetables. What time of year should you plant different vegetables?įollow this handy vegetable calendar to make sure you don't miss an opportunity.Īugust Lamm for Country Living What's the best bed for planting and growing vegetables? It’s a vigorous grower – the more you pick it, the more it will keep coming. Perpetual spinach – A spinach-flavoured leaf that’s actually a chard in disguise.Keep sowing every few weeks and you can still be nibbling them in November. They’re fast-growing and are ready to harvest in about four weeks from sowing. Radishes – There’s a surprising variety of radishes on offer – from the tiny, punchy Rosa to the sweet Pink Beauty.Carrots – Spring-sown Chantenay and Nantes will be ready for early summer but mix it up with multi-coloured, round and late-autumn bloomers such as Autumn King, or try Amsterdam Forcing under cover for a year-round crop.If you’re impatient, you can eat the baby leaves after two or three. Rocket – A salad leaf that really lives up to its name sow the seeds anytime from spring onwards and it will be ready to harvest in six weeks.Rather than growing individual lettuce heads, these varieties are grown as a dense bed that you graze, taking leaves that’ll regrow in a matter of weeks. ![]()
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