Open field sowing requires well-worked (crumbly), moist but not sticky soil, which should be left to rest for a few weeks after digging. If we sow in a container or box, the soil should have a loose structure and good moisture retention, because the smaller amount of soil dries out faster. Seedlings are already more hardened plants, their planting does not require as thorough preparations as for sowing. It is enough if the soil is settled, dusty and moist.
If we plant different herbs and spices and vegetables in the right combination in our small garden, they mutually help each other's development and repel each other's pests. This reduces the amount of chemicals used and saves time and money.
According to experience, red onions and carrots, for example, when planted together, protect each other against the carrot and onion fly.
Cabbage caterpillar pests are deterred by celery, and radish fleas are deterred by lettuce planted between them. If you plant cabbages among the tomatoes, the smell of the tomatoes scares off the cabbage moths, so their caterpillars do not harm the cabbage.
Dill protects neighboring plants and, for example, helps carrots sprout, and basil is beneficial to plant next to cucumbers.
It is also worth associating:
- cabbage and root vegetables for summer consumption
- lettuce and green onion
- staked tomatoes and root vegetables, kohlrabi
- parsley and red onion
- cucumber and sweet corn
- corn and dry beans, pumpkin
(image source: www.ankert.hu)
We can plant not only vegetables but also flowers in the vegetable garden, because certain varieties also have a beneficial effect. This is also how our grandmothers did it in the old farmyards, not by chance. The velvet flower (Tagetes sp.), also known as stink bug, contains compounds that keep wireworms and nematodes away. It is a good neighbor of almost all vegetables. Calendula officinalis repels nematodes and aphids, while spurge (Tropaeolum majus) protects against aphids, suppresses weeds and keeps snails, caterpillars and ants away.
(Calendula officinalis)
However, there are also pairings that should definitely be avoided:
Its growth is inhibited if cucumbers are planted next to radishes, peas next to tomatoes or onions.
In addition to associations, it is also worth using the method of crop rotation, i.e. not to plant the same plant in the same place in consecutive years. If the same plant is planted in a given place year after year, its pests multiply and it uses the same nutrients from the soil. If we plant a new plant, it requires different nutrients for its growth and it itself produces other nutrients.
For example, a triple crop rotation works like this: plant leafy vegetables instead of legumes, as they produce a lot of nitrogen. After the leafy vegetables, the root vegetables follow, because they require the phosphorus produced by the leafy vegetables. Root vegetables produce potassium, which legumes need.
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