Bad weather: so!

Don’t let the persistent rain, wind and erratic temperatures put you off gardening, says Kitty Scully

If you are bewildered by the weather, trust me, your plants are too. The persistent rain, wind and erratic temperatures so far have stunted plant growth, given the weeds a chance to take hold, caused blight and provided five star lodgings for slugs. If earlier sowings of crops have been lost to gastropods, birds or the inclement weather, rest assured there is still time to sow some more vegetables.

What to sow now: Continue to successionally sow lettuce, mixed salads, scallions, radish, annual spianach and white turnips. There’s still a last chance to sow main crop carrots (Autumn King are one of my favourite varieties), but make sure to get them in pronto. Sowings made in early July should miss the main flight of the carrot root fly. You can also make second sowings of peas, dwarf beans and beetroot. Now is a good time to sow florence fennel.

What to transplant now: Kale, chard, calabrese, purple sprouting brocolli, brussels sprouts and basically any other vegetables sown last month that are ready for open ground.

Maintenance: Now is a good time to use the liquid feeds that you made last month. Flowering and fruiting plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, marrows, courgettes and aubergines will thrive on a weekly feed of comfrey liquid feed. This will help to promote good fruit size and increase flavour. Leafy greens will love nitrogen rich nettle feed and if you want to make a general multi-purpose tonic, why not mix the two feeds together or use a seaweed feed. Continue to earth-up potatoes and support climbing plants. Apart from that, keep on weeding, patrolling for slugs and praying for sunshine.

Companion Planting: Companion planting is one of the oldest gardening tricks in the book. It is the simple process of growing plants that compliment each other yet do not compete for light, space or nutrients, together. Rather like humans, some plants get on well with each other, some don’t, many are indifferent to each other and all may change depending on time and location.! There’s very little scientific support to companion planting but based on observations by gardeners over the years, it is believed that certain plants help each other by handicapping pests or diseases; providing a habitat for predators of a pest species; retaining moisture; enhancing soil fertility and fixing nitrogen. Much is written on the subject, with accompanying definitive lists of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ companions.

A classic example of companion planting is that of inter-planting onions and carrots. In fact all the strong scented alliums (onions, leeks, garlic, chives) make good companion plants as they are said to repel insects that hunt by smell such as the carrot root-fly. It is a common practice to plant garlic near roses in the hope that it will help prevent disease and repel aphids, ants, snails and other pests. The same can be said for garlic and certain vegetables. Chives are said to grow well under fruit trees, helping to reduce scab and attract pollinating bees.

Certain flowers are also well known companion plants. You could try planting annual flowers such as pot marigold (Calendula), french marigold (Tagetes) and nasturtiums among vegetables and edging your beds with herbs. Be warned, calendula and pot marigolds will readily self-seed so my advice is to eat the flowers and save the seed for giving to friends. Nasturtiums are sometimes referred to as sacrificial plants as aphids and caterpillars find them irresistible. Marigolds are often quoted as miraculous companion plants keeping pests, diseases and weeds out of your garden. Cosmos and sunflowers are other flowers that look pretty and are good for attracting beneficial winged visitor to your plot.

Mint and tansy are two herbs that are said to repel insect pests including the cabbage butterfly. My advice is to plant these in containers rather than in a vegetable bed as they both are too invasive for the open ground. Other herbs that give off strong scents are sage, rosemary and lavender and all are said to deter many pest insects while attracting some beneficial ones.

In my opinion, mixed crops and varied planting is much more attractive than the pest paradise that is mono-cropping. Companion planting is a good use of space, adds to the aesthetics of your garden and may have the added bonus of ensuring robust plants and harvests. What works in one situation, may not be effective in another so if you find a particular combination that works, stick with it.