Does anyone know whether it would be okay to sow wild flowers in amongst my veg which will be in a raised bed? Thought it might help pollinate the veg and provide nectar
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Wild flowers and veg
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Can't see any reason not to. I am trying to be faithful to the ornamental kitchen garden which includes interplanting with flowers........can' t see any reason why they cant be wild flowers. Anyway, if you don't like em you can always dig them in as green manure.!My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)
Diversify & prosper
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i had a bed of wildlowers last year, from a mixed pack, with borage in the bees loved them, think i will also plant them closer to the veg this year to get more bees to the things that need pollinating
would definitely recommend nasturtiums (get the small ones) they attract cabbage whites and blackfly away from your beans and stuff and bees. and borage is wonderful for bumble bees, and marigolds and petunias for hoverflies
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I don't see why not Selraising. I always put a few marigolds and nasturtiums tucked in at the edges of my raised beds. And my kitchen garden has ornamental beds round the edges. I like the place to look nice and it provides food for the polinators I need.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
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Originally posted by selfraising View PostThankyou, I will give it a go! Relatively new to gardening. Have heard a lot about interplanting. Are there any books that tell you which flowers to plant with which veg?
As for flowers, these are my Tried & Testeds:
1) Calendula (English Pot Marigold) for hoverflies (their babies eat aphids)
2) Limnanthes (Poached Egg Plant) for hoverflies & bees. Also a fabulous hardy green manure.
3) Nasturtium as a sacrificial plant. The blackfly & cabbage whites hopefully colonise that instead of your beans & brassicas. You then compost the entire plant & the pests with it. Or you can eat the bits that don't have bugs on, it's delicious.
4) Borage is nice for bees, but it suffers terribly from powdery mildew. I prefer Scabious.
5) French Marigold repels whitefly ... plant is amongst your brassicas.All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.
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I grow pot marigold and nasturtium in with veg. I also have borage - because I planted some once! You'll never be shot of it. I like it but you do have to be quite fierce about uprooting it where you don't really need it.Whoever plants a garden believes in the future.
www.vegheaven.blogspot.com Updated March 9th - Spring
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