COMPANION PLANTING
By Lucy Simpson , Manager at Poundbury Gardens
Companion planting is a technique that has been used for centuries by farmers , growers and gardeners . In fact , I suspect that we are at the lowest ebb of its use but times are about to change . The reason for this is complex but the desire for many gardeners to use as few chemicals as possible has meant that other techniques for the control of pests and diseases are being used more often .
GOING GREEN
Whether it ’ s spending time in your garden , cycling to work or taking a trip on the electric bus , everyone can take steps to becoming more eco friendly
It is hardly a secret , but most people do not know that the green no 6 electric bus running daily between Poundbury and Dorchester runs on power generated by food waste . The groundbreaking technology at the Anaerobic Digester Plant , the UK ’ s first biomethane plant to grid , creates enough bio fuel – by using up crops and food waste – that it in turn heats 56,000 homes in summertime across Dorset . Every year nearly 6,000 trips on the electric bus are powered this way , making these two buses the first operational buses powered by sustainable energy in the southwest of England . As well as eco homes , built by the Duchy of Cornwall and ZeroC , there is also a host of eco initiatives being worked on such as increased cycle paths and electric car charging points .
Companion planting is the putting together of plants or crops that either confer a benefit upon each other or where one provides a boost to the other . The types that most gardeners are aware of include the use of Marigolds or Tagetes among tomatoes usually in the greenhouse . Either the whitefly are confused by the smell of the Marigolds and don ’ t realise that the tomatoes are there or that they don ’ t like the smell and head off somewhere else .
Other examples of this are the use of garlic , onions and the like alongside many crops including Carrots . The smell again stops attack from Carrot Fly .
Flowers such as Limnanthes , the Poached Egg Plant , will attract beneficial insects such as Hoverflies into crops where they will then feast on insect pests .
Another benefit of using these methods is that your garden as an environment will become more diverse and this starts a process where balance returns . As a result dramatic pest and disease explosions are less likely to happen . Not only this but a range of larger animal friends will start to appear including birds , frogs and toads , slow worms and also hedgehogs all of which love to chomp away at garden pests .
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