Author Archives: Steve Jones

How To Grow Poached Egg Plants In Pots

Poached Egg plants are such a useful plant to grow in your vegetable patch. Even if you don’t have a large garden and you grow all your plants in pots it is still a very beneficial plant to grow. So here’s how to grow poached egg plants in pots. What Is A Poached Egg Plant? The poached egg plant ( Limnanthes douglasii ) is an annual plant but as it produces so many seeds gets classed as a perennial. It’s common name comes from the flower, a bright yellow centre surrounded with white petals which looks like a poached or fried… → Read More

Companion Planting Plum Trees [Get More From Your Plum Trees]

Companion Planting Plum Trees ( How To Get The Best From Your Plum Trees) As fruit trees go, plum trees including Damsons and Gages are relatively trouble free but as with all plants companion planting will help you to attain the best possible results. Companion planting plum trees is all about the benefits that will be achieved including :- Healthier trees Healthier fruit Larger yields Less disease All grown in an organic, non chemical environment creating less impact on our already fragile planet. Growing Plum Trees Plum Trees have the reputation of thriving on neglect so if you select the… → Read More

Companion Planting Dandelions (no…really!)

This post might surprise a few of you gardeners out there. Companion planting dandelions ??? well it surprised me too. Companion Planting Dandelions Every body knows what a dandelion looks like and most of you will think of them as weeds. To be pulled up and destroyed as soon as they are spotted but on closer inspection dandelions are very useful little plants. Dandelions are great companion plants Allowing dandelions to grow near to early flowering fruits and vegetables will attract pollinators on the look out for nectar. Fruits and vegetables like :- Broad beans Early strawberries Apricots Plums Peaches… → Read More

Garden Pests

Quite a few people have recently been asking me about how to prevent garden pests, so this post is my reply. Garden Pests The garden will never be free from pests but with enough knowledge damage can be kept to a minimum. Never has the old saying “prevention is better than cure” been more apt than in the garden. Another old but true saying is “knowledge is power” so lets arm ourselves with a little knowledge. Know Your Enemy Garden pests come in all shapes and sizes. Ranging from Aphids to Foxes and all sizes in between. They all attack… → Read More

Companion Planting Comfrey

Comfrey is nature’s wonder plant. It’s uses in the garden are legendary, so welcome to companion planting comfrey. Companion Planting Comfrey What is Comfrey? Comfrey (Symphytum) is a herb with a deep tap root that can break through the deep soil and uptake minerals that other plants cannot reach. Why Grow Comfrey? As stated above comfrey reaches minerals in the soil that other plants can’t, so it is a good source of minerals to feed your plants. Comfrey is a particularly valuable source of fertility to the organic gardener. It is very deep rooted and acts as a dynamic accumulator,[6]… → Read More

Companion Planting Carrots

Nothing beats the taste of a freshly pulled carrot, and nothing is more disappointing than pulling a carrot only to find it is riddled with the tracks of the carrot fly. So to help combat this threat I bring you companion planting carrots. Companion Planting Carrots Carrots come in many different shapes and colours. The one constant however is the aroma. They all smell the same and as such they all need disguising. That’s where the companion planting comes in. For more information on growing carrots click the link. Carrot Fly Know Your Enemy The carrot fly lays its eggs… → Read More

Companion Planting Borage

Continuing on with the series, we now come to companion planting borage. Borage is a very helpful plant to grow in the vegetable garden. So what is it? and what to grow it with? What Is Borage Borage is an annual herb that has it’s origins in the Mediteranean, it will grow quite happily in the United Kingdom. Although Borage is an annual it freely self seeds so once sown it will return every year. Companion Planting Borage Borage is a great companion plant, and many plants will benefit from having borage in their proximity. Plants that do particularly well… → Read More

Companion Planting Beans

All beans whether Runner Beans, Dwarf Beans, French Beans or any other kind of bean or pea you care to mention are of the family known as Legumes. Beans are one of the easiest plants to grow as long as you get the basics right. Information on growing beans can be found here so on with Companion Planting Beans. Companion Planting Beans There has been a lot written about the benefits of using beans as companion plants and some of it is misleading. Yes all Legumes fix Nitrogen in the soil which many other plants find beneficial, however this is… → Read More

Companion Planting Artichokes

There are of course two types of Artichokes, Jerusalem and Globe. In this post I will cover both types. Companion planting Artichokes is mainly about sheltering other plants, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Jerusalem Artichokes The tubers for Jerusalem Artichokes look similar to root ginger or turmeric, and the flowers look a bit like sunflowers. A word of warning, don’t grow Jerusalem Artichokes unless you want to grow them every year. They will grow from the smallest piece of tuber left in the soil. What Are Jerusalem Artichokes? Not a true artichoke at all but a member of the… → Read More

Companion Planting Basil [Benefits of Basil in the Garden]

The herb Basil comes in many different varieties and all are as good as each other. Companion planting basil with many vegetables will give your plants a boost. Basil is to my mind a super herb. Companion Planting Basil Basil The Super Herb Basil releases an oil that helps other plants to improve on their best, either by deterring damaging insects or by enhancing the flavour of the fruit/vegetable. The aroma of basil is a spicy, aromatic fragrance that makes it so popular with cooks and chefs worldwide. It is that same smell that deters many insects including:- Aphids Whitefly… → Read More