Tag Archives: Sweetcorn

Vegtrug Planting Guide

If you’ve been following my posts for a while you’ll probably be aware that I had a brain bleed a few years ago. What I haven’t told you is last year I had a quintuple heart by-pass and it’s left me very weak. I can’t manage my allotment so my son set me up a vegtrug and here’s my vegtrug planting guide. We went for the medium vegtrug which is actually the largest one they do? It’s 1.8 metres (6 foot) long, 76 cms (30 inches) wide and 80 cms (31.5 inches) high. That’s an area roughly 6 foot by… → Read More

What Can You Plant With Potatoes

One of the most popular vegetables grown by the home gardener along with tomatoes. Also like their cousin the tomato, they have preferences when it comes to neighbours. So what can you plant with potatoes? What Can You Plant With Potatoes In the UK potatoes are generally sown from March and depending on type are harvested from June through to October. In all cases potatoes should be lifted before frosts return to your area. There are many plants that can be grown as companion plants with potatoes, below is a list of some of the best ones. Potatoes and Celery… → Read More

Companion Planting Lettuce

Lettuce come in all shapes and sizes from long to round, tight heads to cut and come again leaves. By companion planting lettuce you can save space and improve the quality of your lettuce whatever variety you grow. Lettuce do best in cooler conditions it’s worth considering growing with taller plants and take advantage of the shade. Companion Planting Lettuce Taking advantage of taller plants is one consideration but it’s also worth remembering that lettuce require lots of water. Some of the companion plants listed below do not need lots of water so keep that in mind. Lettuce make a… → Read More

Companion Planting Geraniums

Geraniums have a distinctive smell, some people hate it but more importantly so do some plant pests. By companion planting geraniums your garden will benefit from less insect infestations. Companion Planting Geraniums The strong scent of the geranium repels many damaging insects Including mosquitoes, Cabbage white butterflies, Japanese beetles, rose chafers, and leaf hoppers. Mosquitoes might not cause problems to your garden, but they definitely cause problems to this gardener! Cabbage whites are the bane of the brassica grower, both Japanese and rose chafer beetles do considerable damage to roses and leafhoppers damage a wide range of plants. What to… → Read More

Watermelon Companion Plants

I live in the UK and I have dabbled at growing melons in my unheated greenhouse a few times over the years, with mixed results. This year however, I have found a UK based seed company that offers watermelon seeds for the UK climate. So I’m looking at watermelon companion plants and I’ll share them with you here. What Are Watermelons? Watermelons are members of the curcubit family which includes pumpkins, squash, melons, cucumbers, and gourds. They are sweet flavoured and as the name suggests, very juicy. Watermelons develop differently to other members of the same family. They have less… → Read More

Winter Squash Companion Plants

All plants benefit from growing in companion with others, and winter squash are no exception. Below are the best winter squash companion plants I have found to increase yield, health and vigour of your plants. Although they are called winter squash, this relates to their storage ability and not to when they should be grown. Winter squash are grown at the same time as summer squash ( zucchini, patty pans, courgettes etc…) but can be saved to consume during the winter. Whereas summer squash will not store because their skin does not harden enough to keep the inside fresh. So… → Read More

Zucchini Companion Plants (Courgettes)

Whether you call them zucchini or courgettes, this summer favourite is easy to grow. As long as they are picked regularly summer squashes including zucchini, marrows, and patty pans will continue producing until the first frosts. There are many zucchini companion plants and all will benefit your plants. The key to healthy plants is as always, soil preparation. Add plenty of compost or well rotted manure to the soil to give these hungry plants a boost. Once they flower feed weekly with comfrey plant food or a good tomato fertiliser. Zucchini Companion Plants Good companion plants for zucchini (courgettes) are… → Read More

What Not To Plant With Tomatoes

Companion planting is all about what plants to grow together to enhance the health and yield of your crops. There are many plants that help tomatoes when grown together but this post is not what to plant, but what not to plant with tomatoes. Many secrets have been learned and lost throughout the years, it’s my aim to gather as many as possible and to help growers improve their crops organically. What Not To plant With Tomatoes. The first one is pretty obvious if you think about it, but I’ll include it as I want to be as concise as… → Read More

Companion Planting Peas

All peas including snow peas are members of the Legume family, they all fix nitrogen from the air. This gives us gardeners two main advantages, firstly at the end of their growing season they add nitrogen to the soil (making it available for the following crop). Secondly when companion planting peas with other plants there is no competing for nitrogen. Companion Planting Peas The best plants to grow with peas are plants that thrive in the same environment with peas and have the same watering and nutritional needs. These include:- Carrots Sweet Corn Radishes Beans Celery Tomatoes Peppers Aubergines Parsley… → Read More

Companion Planting Mint

No garden is complete without a patch of mint, the colour, the smell, the taste. These are all very attractive reasons for growing mint. Another reason is discovered by companion planting mint. Companion Planting Mint Mint is a perennial plant that has many varieties and varied culinary uses and is commonly used to flavour drinks, food etc… Mint is also an excellent companion plant known to deter:- Ants Fleas Flea Beetles Cabbage White Butterflies Aphids Rodents Earwigs Mealy bugs Spider mites Grow mint close to Cabbages and Tomatoes to improve both health and flavour. As mint deters Cabbage White Butterflies… → Read More