12. Companion Planting

The aphids and insects love the young spinach and other salad crops. I am not keen on using chemicals to treat this, so rely on companion planting instead. The best defence is to surround the beds with strong scented plants to deter them. It helps put them off the scent.

In the raised beds I use strong smelling onions as the first defence. Every row is interplanted with one of the onion varieties: leeks, red onions, shallots, spring onions, Welsh onions and garlic chives. They are planted out at the beginning of the season, and create the lines demarcating the rows between other crops. Their scent disguises other plants from pests flying overhead.

In brassica beds there is a submerged pot of mint in each corner to help to prevent infestations. The mint is planted in very deep pots - the ones I get my David Austin roses in, and trimmed back regularly over the season. You need to be careful not to let them spread, but the scent is strong and seems to keep insects away. It doesn’t work with moths though.

The raised beds are also surrounded by pots full of strong smelling herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary. These are useful for cooking, and very decorative.

My favourite deterrent plant is scented-leaf pelargoniums. They have wonderful aromatic leaves in a wide variety of scents: rose, mint, lemon, orange, lavender and even chocolate. I take cuttings every summer and plant them up, ready for the next season’s pots. By the time spring arrives, they are ready to go around the raised beds. Favourite varieties I use are: “Attar of Roses” (my favourite), Lavender Lady, Grey Lady Plymouth, Mimosa and Orange Fizz. AND the foliage is great for flower arrangements and the flowers are edible. They are some of the best value plants in my garden.

Most books recommend marigolds and nasturtiums as deterrent / decoy plants to use, but that hasn’t worked so well for me. They are very decorative, but don’t keep the lurgies away from my salad plants so I will pass on them next year.