As the war against the common pest raging on the varieties of pest control options at gardeners disposal continues to grow. But alongside this fact is the ever narrowing range of garden chemicals that are permitted for use in gardens. The EU continues to blacklist a range of garden chemicals meaning that gardeners need to rely on more natural forms of pest control such as the use of companion plants
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- marigold companion plants
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- Nasturtiums
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- Lettuce & Cabbage
This method that is growing in popularity, companion plants work very well in an organic and natural garden as it is simply a method of increasing plant diversity to control pest numbers
Along with the theory of companion plants comes the need to except a certain amount of pest damage as they do not provide a 100% crop protection, but are instead a more natural way of working vegetables into your garden
The idea behind companion plants is that they will either repel a certain pest or attract a certain predator (of pests). These companion plants are not all the unusual or uncommon, they are in fact plants that you may find growing in the countryside or neighbours garden.
Below is a list of companion plants and the benefits which they offer:
Companion Plant Uses Plant With
Chives Repel Aphids Lettuce
Dill Attract Hoverflies & predatory Wasp Salads, Seedlings
Yarrow Attract Hoverflies & Ladybirds
Nasturtiums Use as a trap for slugs Brassicas
Marigolds Attract Bees Fruits
Leek, onion, garlic Repel Carrot Fly Carrot Fly
Mint Deter Onion Fly, Flea Beetle Onions, Radish, Shallots
Linaria Attract Hoverflies & predatory Wasp Salads, Seedlings
Nepeta Deter beetles, aphids & vine weevils Plant throughout
Hyssop Deter Cabbage Moth Cabbage
Angelica Attract ladybird & lacewings
Interplanting crops of vegetables together can also have beneficial results in terms of both repeling pests and confusing pests. It is said that a slug needs to feel its way around 4 similar cabbage leaves before it takes the plunge and beings feasting. If you mix different crop types together you can confuse and prevent pest attacks