How to Garden Flowers & Vegetables With
A lawn planted with each type of flower or vegetable separated might look well arranged, but splitting plants contributes to a reliance on herbicides and insecticides. Alternatively, you may plant vegetables and flowers together, using the flowers to attract beneficial insects and insects that will help maintain vegetable insects under control. This does not just mean planting some flowers among your vegetable garden. Many vegetable plants have attractive flowers and leaves, in addition to colorful vegetables that add interest when planted among your flowerbeds. If you fill in the vacant spaces between plants, then you reduce space for weeds to develop.
Match vegetables and flowers in accordance with their water and sunlight demands when selecting companion plants. Vegetables need full sunlight to develop, but this does not necessarily mean that you can only plant flowers that require full sun. Tall plants, like tomatoes, can provide shade for flowers that grow in partial sun or partial shade.
Plant corn in clusters of four short rows as opposed to one long, straight row. Plant morning glories (Ipomoea spp.) , nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) or other flowering vines between the corn stalks and train the vines to grow up the stalks.
Plant a path of cucumber and cucumber, picking a combination of green-leaf plants and varieties with red, pink or variegated leaves. Plant the cabbage or lettuce plants about six inches apart. Fill in the spaces between the vegetable plants with annual flowers that match the colors in the vegetable leaves. Petunias (Petunia x hybrida) and pinks (Dianthus plumarius) come in shades of purple and pink that bring out the color of the vegetable leaves. You might also plant a few white flowers that accent the white colors of a vegetable leaves and work as a backdrop to highlight the green, purple and pink vegetable leaves.
Plant kale in your ornamental beds in position of other large-leaf plants, like elephant ear. The large leaves add a sturdy structure to the backyard, however, the ruffled leaves add a delicacy that operates well among flowers.
Surround cucurbit vegetables, such as cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash, with a huge array of annual flowers to draw insects into the planting area to ensure pollination and fruit development. These vegetables doesn’t fruit if the flowers are not pollinated. Pepper plants will produce peppers without pollination, but pollination considerably increases the return.
Plant snap peas in flowerbeds instead of decorative flowering vines. Snap peas feature delicate blossom flowers, attractive leaves and twining vines, with the additional advantage of producing edible pods.
Plant a number of marigolds (Tagetes spp.) Throughout any vegetable garden to discourage unwelcome insects that can destroy plants. In frost-free areas, you can develop perennial marigolds for permanent pest control across your vegetables. Canyon marigold (T. campanulata), mystic marigold (T. nelsonii) along with Mexican marigold (T. lemmonii) are typical perennial marigolds. Colors include various shades of orange and yellow, while some blooms might be variegated with various shades of the same color.
Employ a 3- to 4-inch layer of shredded bark mulch around all vegetables and flowers in the garden to minimize weeds. Planting flowers close together between vegetables considerably lowers the amount of weeds, but there remain empty spaces between plants in which weeds can develop. Don’t push the mulch directly against the plant stems and prevent covering the leaves with mulch since this may cause decay.