Costa looks at some plants to provide protection from the elements and attract pollinating insects to your patch. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe In nature, plants help each other out – trees share their shade, flowers invite the birds and bees, and grasses and groundcovers act as a living mulch keeping other plants from drying out. It’s no different in the vegetable patch. You’re contending with wind and pests while keeping the soil healthy and moist, so why not enlist the help of some useful plants!
Using a variety of plants inside and out of the vegie bed can help with pollination, protection and make your job a little easier (and fun!) in the long run.
Wind: Small shrubs can help create a more protected microclimate whilst providing great habitat and food for wildlife and invertebrates. You can put short plants into pots around the bed to lift them up higher and to make them portable if you need to adjust layout and shading through the seasons.
You can use what you’ve got in the garden already – such as tried and true rosemary or English lavender - or try westringia that is an incredibly wind tolerant native and brings you loads of little flowers throughout the year. Space these closer together (eg 50-75cm) if you want to create a more solid hedge border, or further apart for an informal border that has more airflow.
Water: So now your patch is protected from above, what about below? Planting more into the patch can increase soil activity and act as living mulch to keep soil moist, especially between crops. One option is to use groundcovers that are tolerant of being clipped back or moved if you need more space. Another option is to use annuals (seasonal potted colour), especially those with spreading habits or rosettes of leaves that cover the soil well.
Leave plenty of space for your veg to grow. More plants will mean more competition, but if it leads to better quality produce and a beautiful sight, it’s worth a shot! Indulge in flowers!
You might already have some favourites, such as creeping thyme, pansies for winter colour, or even succulents like native pig face (which is also edible!).
Pollinators: If you plant something that flowers throughout the year and/or when your patch is less productive, you are going to attract a lot more beneficial bugs and keep them there. Pollinators are important for productivity, increasing yields of fruit trees, tomatoes and more.
There are lots of species of native bees in Australia and of course, they’ve co-evolved with native plants, so get some in! A range of flower shapes and colours will create a welcoming environment.
Hoverflies are also a common visitor - they look a bit like a honeybee or wasp at first, with black and yellow markings (but stingless!) and play a similar role in pollination. They love small flowers, like those from parsley, thyme (let them go to flower) and daisies and may come to your patch seeking shade on hot days too.
Pests: Some hoverflies and lacewings lay their eggs around aphids, so the larvae have an easy meal, and they are a natural pest controller. More invertebrate diversity = keeping infestations in check and less need for sprays and effort. Increasing your plant type diversity can also distract pests and/or give them something else to eat.
Insectivorous birds are another natural predator, so by creating sheltered habitat nearby you can encourage small species to pop by to pick off an aphid or two.
Things like grevilleas attract birds and insects with their nectar and shelter.
* (Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area)
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