Tag Archives: slugs

Companion Planting Cosmos

With their bright, open, daisy like flowers and fern like leaves, cosmos are a welcome sight in any garden. They also work well in the vegetable garden. By companion planting cosmos with your vegetables you will grow healthier food and have a pretty display. Unlike some flowers that have many beneficial effects on their neighbours, the main claim to fame for cosmos is they attract aphids. The knock on effect of this is they also attract hoverflies and more importantly hoverfly larvae. Hoverflies are great pollinators, and their larvae are voracious consumers of aphids. Companion Planting Cosmos Any plant that… → Read More

Nasturtium Companion Plants

Such useful plants, nasturtium leaves, flowers, and seeds can be used to give a peppery kick to salads and garnishes. But there is so much more to this colourful plant,using nasturtiums as companion plants bring many benefits. Read on for all you need to know about using nasturtium companion plants. Nasturtium Benefits Aside from their nutritious benefits, nasturtiums are of considerable benefit in the vegetable garden. They attract pollinating insects like bees, butterflies, and hoverflies to your garden. They also attract aphids and cabbage white butterflies which can cause serious damage to your crops. Grow nasturtiums as sacrificial plants to… → Read More

Marigold Companion Planting

The pretty little marigold with it’s flowers ranging from yellow, through orange, to red, is a welcome sight in any garden. Flowering from Spring and continuing to flower until the first frosts (as long as you deadhead) this annual is a good value, beneficial, cheerful plant. By planting the marigold in companion with other plants you will have a healthier and prettier garden. What Are Marigolds? There are 2 different types of marigold grown in the UK, 3 if you include the “pot marigold”(calendula). The calendula is not really a marigold at all but is still a beneficial plant to… → Read More

Facts About Slugs

Slugs are the most common garden pest and the most prolific. Read on for interesting information and facts about slugs. This can be used to form a strategy for dealing with the problem. What Are Slugs? Members of the Gastropod family, slugs are the second biggest family on this planet. The name gastropod literally means stomach foot and describes them to a tee. Slugs are closely related to snails, they are snails without shells. Whilst snails hibernate in winter, slugs are active at all temperatures above 5 degrees C (41 F). Their original habitat was underwater but have evolved to… → Read More

How To Get Rid Of Slugs Naturally

The bane of the gardeners life, slugs come in many sizes and colours but all with the same intent, to feed on your plants. There are many articles about the many ways to kill slugs, some conventional and others quite frankly weird. But the organic gardener needs to find out how to get rid of slugs naturally. Natural Slug Repellent There are many slug repellents but by choosing not to use harmful chemicals, you will protect the soil, the environment, and the wildlife. Below are the 30 best methods on how to get rid of slugs naturally. Method #1 Using… → Read More

Why It’s Important To Encourage Predators Into Your Garden

Why It’s Important To Encourage Predators Into Your Garden Anyone who has spent any time watching nature will know just how brutal it is. From the jungles of South America, to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean all life depends on the demise of some other form of life. So the short answer to why it’s important to encourage predators into your garden, is to control pest numbers naturally. Pests And Predators I am based in Essex and there aren’t generally too many seriously invasive pests to worry about. That said without proper control, Aphids can get to biblical proportions…. → 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

Using Scents To Keep Pests Away

As with humans, so with the animal kingdom. Using scents to keep pests away is a pleasant way of deterring those unwanted pests from your plants. If you wish to use only organic, humane ways to deter pests from your garden then this post is for you. Using Scents To Keep Pests Away By following this list pests can be deterred from either entering your garden or, at least they can be kept away from your vegetables. Ants Ants dislike, cinnamon, Cloves, Cayenne pepper, Curry powder, Lavender and mint. Sprinkle Cinnamon powder, Curry powder or a handful of Cloves around… → Read More

The Spanish Slug Invasion

There is a new predator in your garden and you should be prepared for all out war. You work hard to prepare your soil to grow your plants and vegetables, you watch for slugs and snails during wet periods. Usually you can relax once the weather warms up as the slugs and snails keep to the shade and stay in underground… …. Not any more the Spanish Slug invasion has begun. The Spanish Slug Invasion They arrived by stealth, and as we speak they are probably invading your plot, make no mistake, this is no joke. Something has to be… → Read More