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A successful garden needs regular attention.

Looking afteryour garden

Fertilising and watering your garden regularly and watching out for pests and diseases are all part of a successful garden.

However, did you know that if certain plants are grown next to each other, they make garden maintenance easier? They grow better, have fewer pest problems and often taste better.

Good specific plant combinations Here are some good companion plants:• Beetroot with onions.• Carrots with peas, lettuce, onions or strawberries.• Brinjal with beans.• Cabbage with potatoes, beetroots or onions.• Pumpkin with mealies.• Mealies with peas, beans or potatoes.• Beans with potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots or cabbage.• Mealies and beans with tomatoes. • Cassava and mealies with beans.• Sweet potatoes with beans.• Swiss chard with strawberries.

Pest remedies Some plants have a strong smell that helps keep pests away from your food garden. Plant marigolds, khakibos, nasturtiums, onions, garlic and chives in between your vegetables. If soft-bodied insects, such as aphids, attack your plants, there is a simple remedy. Dissolve plain soap or washing-up liquid in hot water and use as a spray. Alternatively, use a strong jet of water from the hosepipe to wash the insects off the plant. However, this can waste water.

Fig 1. Marigolds repel nematodes.

Sage can be planted close to cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli to repel cabbage moths, while chives and garlic spray also help to repel aphids. Deter red spider mite by spraying the undersides of leaves with a concentrated sugary liquid and creating a sticky area on the leaves. Be aware that this may encourage sooty mould, which is unsightly.

Rotate your vegetablesTo prevent pests and the build-up of diseases in the soil, avoid planting the same kinds of vegetables in the same place every year. To do this, it is best to have at least three vegetable beds. Crops such as peas and beans (Fig 2), which are legumes are beneficial to soil as they add nitrates to the soil.

Fig 2. Example of bean plants (legume) with natural pest repellents (ladybirds repel aphids).

Plant as follows:1st year Bed 1: Legumes e.g. peas and beans Bed 2: Leaf crops e.g. lettuce, spinach, cabbage.Bed 3: Root vegetables e.g. carrots, radish, beetroot.

2nd yearBed 1: Root vegetablesBed 2: LegumesBed 3: Leaf crops

For example:

Remember that not all insects are plant pests. That is why it is safer and more environmentally-friendly to use natural pest controls that target the pest you would like to get rid of. Insects only become a pest when their numbers become so great that they start causing damage to the plant.

Bed I Bed 2 Bed 3Heavy feeders Low feeders Givers(Leaf crops) (Root crops) (Legumes)

Cabbage, Beetroot, Most types of green pepper, carrots, beans i.e. soya,lettuce, mealies. onions. kidney, broad.

3rd yearBed 1: Leaf cropsBed 2: Root vegetablesBed 3: Legumes