- Planting flowers and vegetables together: These are the advantages
- Planting flowers and vegetables together: How it works
- Planting flowers and vegetables together: Particularly suitable types of flowers
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Many strictly separate their flower and vegetable beds from each other. Here's why it makes sense to plant flowers and vegetables next to each other.
You see the same picture in many gardens: while flowers and perennials bloom on one side of the garden, fruit and vegetables are neatly accommodated in another bed. Often there are even hedges or fences between the individual beds in order to completely prevent the ornamental garden and vegetable bed from mixing. But does such a separation still make sense? We explain why a mixed culture with flowers should not be missing in the vegetable patch.
Mixed crops of flowers and vegetables often have a negative reputation among gardeners. So they are considered neglected and less productive than the classic monoculture with strictly separated beds. In fact, mixed cultures have numerous advantages that can hardly be overlooked.
Planting flowers and vegetables together: These are the advantages
Some flowers secrete so-called root exudates, which benefit neighboring plants, or protect their bed partners from annoying pests with an intense smell. In addition, certain plants store nitrogen in the soil and thus act as a natural fertilizer, while monocultures usually exhaust the soil one-sidedly. This not only saves insecticides in a mixed culture, but also fertilizer - in addition, cultivation is more ecological in this way. If you also choose flowers that form particularly deep and strong roots, the soil structure improves again due to the loosening and aeration of the soil - with a mixed culture you can sustainably preserve and even improve the soil quality.
In contrast to other plants, flowers have another decisive advantage: They are real magnets for beneficial insects. What doesn't sound spectacular at first glance can help to bring about a rich harvest. Bees and bumblebees are attracted by the bright colors and the sweet scent of the flowers and find themselves in the vegetable patch. Here, however, they not only pollinate the flowers, but also numerous useful plants such as tomatoes (Solanumlycopersicum), strawberries (Fragaria) or courgettes (Cucurbita pepo var. giromontiina ). This not only increases the amount of fruit harvested, but can even positively influence its size and quality. Finally, it should be mentioned that a mixed culture also has a high decorative value. The interplay of green leaves and colorful flowers can even become such a feast for the eyes that the vegetable patch proves to be a real eye-catcher in the garden.
What are the benefits of planting flowers and vegetables together?
- Pest Repellent
- Strengthen neighboring plants
- Natural fertilization
- Improvement of soil structure
- Setting optical accents
Planting flowers and vegetables together: How it works
Anyone who wants to create a mixed culture is often faced with a seemingly insurmountable task. In reality, however, creating a vegetable patch with flowers is not that difficult. In the following you will learn step by step how to proceed when creating a mixed bed.
Instructions for creating a mixed bed:
- Select vegetables: Decide which crops should definitely find a place in your garden and how many of the individual plants you want to sow.
- Find a planting partner: Not every flower goes well with every type of vegetable, but some combinations have neither positive nor negative aspects. Look for one or more planting partners for your vegetables that have a positive influence. (Tip: Not only flowers can have a positive influence - some vegetables also influence each other positively.)
- Determine planting neighbors: Not only the immediate planting partner, but also the direct neighbors should harmonize with each other. Plants that have negative effects on each other should be as far apart as possible.
- Create bed: Now it's time to get active - once you have a rough plan for the mixed culture, you can start preparing the bed and sowing the plants.
- Note the crop rotation: Although a mixed culture does not deplete the soil as much as a monoculture, the place should be changed regularly to prevent soil-borne parasites and soil fatigue. Shifting the plants by one or more rows every year is simple and effective.
Tip: You can find more general tips for creating a vegetable bed - such as location, planting plan and building instructions - in our special article.
Planting flowers and vegetables together: Particularly suitable types of flowers
The following types of flowers are particularly suitable for planting together with vegetables in a mixed culture.
Which types of flowers are particularly suitable as plant neighbors for vegetables?
- Bee friend (Phacelia): The name says it all - the bee friend acts as a real magnet for beneficial insects in the vegetable garden. After flowering, it can be dug under the ground as valuable green manure.
- Sweet Vetch (Lathyrus odoratus): These flowers are among the nitrogen collectors and thus provide natural fertilization. However, they do not get along with other butterfly flowers.
- Camomile (Matricaria chamomilla): The medicinal plant also helps other plants - in this way it supports cabbage species in growth and can even increase the resistance of some vegetables to fungal diseases. In addition, chamomile drives away the leek moth.
- Nasturtium (Tropaeolum): The small plant is a real martyr in the vegetable patch. Because pests like to perch on it, its presence protects other plants from infestation.
- Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): This plant repels the cabbage white butterfly and also helps with aphids and powdery mildew.
- Marigold (Calendula officinalis): With its long taproots, it reliably loosens up the soil and thus improves the soil structure. It also repels snails and nematodes and attracts beneficial insects such as honey bees.
- Tages (Tages): The tagetes magically attracts bees, but reliably deters pesky cabbage flies. In addition, it protects root vegetables from worm infestation and attracts the attention of snails, so that vegetables are less infested.
In this article you can find out which plants go best together in a mixed culture.