Companion Planting
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| companion planting |
Whether you are a professional horticulturalist, an enthusiastic allotment gardener or simply want your vegetable garden to look it's best then there are 6 key items you will need to concentrate on:
1. Buy Fresh Seeds
When selecting seeds, many of us will consider things like colours and scent as key determining factors when it comes to flowers and plants and the kinds of things we like to eat when choosing which fruit and vegetables we wish to grow. However, whilst these things should play a part in our choices, they simply constitute just a small part of the overall picture in how we should make our choices and there are so many other things to consider too
For best germination purchase new seed every year.
- Depending on the vegetable crop, leftover seed can be difficult to store and often germinates poorly.
- Saving seed from previous harvests can be risky, too.
- It is safer to buy fresh seed from a reliable company.
One problem with saving seed from last year’s crop is the possibility of getting plants that are not true to type.
Off-type plants are produced because many vegetables are hybrids or easily cross-pollinate in the garden. While these off-type plants may be interesting, some-times they produce poor quality crops. In addition, diseases can be transmitted through the seed. Seed companies select disease-free plants for their seed. Many seed producers also treat their seeds before offering them for sale. This chemical treatment kills disease organisms in or on the seed. It also prevents seed rot and “damping off,” a disease that causes rotting in young seedlings.
2. Prepare the soil well
- Planting a garden involves more than putting seeds in the ground.
- Preparing the seedbed, selecting seeds, and
- deciding when to plant come first.
Will you sow seeds—and then thin them—or will you try trans-planting?
This decision, among others, is up to the individual gardener.
Before planting any seeds prepare the soil. This includes cultivating properly, adding organic matter, and maintaining soil fertility. Early autumn is the best time to begin preparing the soil. Remove sticks, stones, and other debris. Also remove plant debris that may harbour insects and diseases. Pest-free plant debris can be tilled into the soil. A level site can be dug over in the autumn without danger of soil erosion. The freezing and thawing action in the spring will break up the clods.
When breaking ground in the spring, do not work the ground when the soil is wet. If worked when too moist, heavy soils become hard, compacted, and will limit growth for the entire season. If a handful of the soil can be pressed into a ball, delay until it is drier
3. Select the right Seeds
A garden or allotment cannot be planted in one day. Some vegetables grow best in cool temperatures, while others require warm soil and air.
Choose what’s Right for the Climate
Plants, flowers, fruit and vegetables all have very individual preferred growing conditions and you need to consider the conditions that they do best in as they are all affected in both a positive or negative way by things such as exposure to sunlight, heat and wind resistance etc. frost and extreme cold conditions.
Choosing what’s Right for the Location
You don’t see banana trees in UK gardens (yet) and, similarly, many seeds won’t flourish as you want them to without a tropical climate so get to understand the nature of our climate.
The climate is slowly changing and you might want to consider new plants, for example which are more drought resistant.
