Companion Planting Catnip – The Benefits

Catnip (Nepeta cataria) also known as catnep, catswort, or catmint is a member of the mint family. Like all mints if planted with the correct plants catnip can be a very beneficial plant. Read on to find out the benefits of companion planting catnip. Companion Planting Catnip The Benefits Catnip has a strange, but not unpleasant smell and deters flea beetles, ants, aphids, weevils, cabbage white butterflies, and mice. It’s flowers attract many bees, hoverflies, and other pollinators. It also attracts parasitic wasps making catnip a very useful plant for the organic gardener. Companion Planting Catnip Just by looking at… → Read More

Growing squashes

selection of squashes from the plot

To my mind nothing is more pleasurable than successfully growing squashes.Squashes are relatively easy to grow, they pretty much all require the same things so I’ll bunch all of the following together; Courgettes Marrows Pumpkins Butternuts Cucumbers Patty pans Growing squashes Plant squash seeds in compost and start off about six weeks before last expected frosts where I am (Essex) this is usually late March. I grow one seed in a small pot then pot on as they develop usually I have to pot on three times before it is time to plant outside and the plants are usually quite well established… → Read More