Tidy plot versus a jungle

[KG Emma]

So the question is...
Are your veggies healthier and suffer from less pest damage if grown in perfect straight lines, no weeds at all and no flowers. Or are they better if grown within a jumbled mix of flowers, herbs and a few weeds around..to the point you almost have to hunt for the crops?

[richard p]

i go with the jungle option

gives the rabbits etc the choice of what to eat and you get a healthy mix of insects on the wild flowers. the jungle provides year round habitat for the mini beasties.

stinging nettles amongst the raspberries means the granddaughters dont eat all the crop before i get there.

[Pa Snip]

Whenever I see lots of weeds growing unchecked between crops those crops do not do as well and succumb to pest infestation more easily.
I can see a need for veg psychologists as a budding career in the future if plants are put under stress.

As for straight lines, looks neat but doubt it has any impact on how things grow as long as correct spacing is adhered to.

Grew African Marigolds and Nasturtiums last year in defence against white fly on brassica's and blackfly on runner beans respectively,
Nasturtiums worked well, major drawback though, plot now has self seeded Nasturtiums coming up all over the place which I am having to pull out & control

[robo]

I'm on an ongoing battle to keep my wife from planting flowers in my vegetable beds , we tried nasturtiums last year which did not do anything to keep pests off now they have reseeded my wife is on about pulling them up and trying something else just to claim a bit more of my veg beds if I left weeds to grow she would have them out and bulbs or seedlings in their place

[Primrose]

I must confess it grieves me to see an untidy plot although I realise that for many people working constraints limit the amount of time and effort they can devote to growing veg. I do think however that every weed detracts from the amount of nutrients and moisture available for planned crops. My veg pot is always grown in straight lines apart from sweet corn. When short of space I will dot the odd vegetable amongst a flower border as long as they're height compatible but don't really regard that as companion planting.

I do grow nasturtiums but not amongst the veg. My last crop of them were riddled with black fly which I,m sure would have migrated to my veg had they been anywhere near. If you're a lazy gardenener though they're a good flower to grow because they invariably reseed, giving you a lot of free colour.

I occasionally walk past a really overgrown or unkempt garden and itch to interfere to clear it up. If people hate gardening so much I do wonder why they buy properties with them rather than a flat but of course I realise illness or infirmity can creep up on even the keenest of Gardeners. Finding yourself in that condition and having to look out on a once immaculate garden that has gradually turned into a jungle must be truly heartbreaking and frustrating.

[tigerburnie]

I don't do much in straight row, but I do keep weeds down to a minimum, they compete for nutrients and water

[Monika]

A tidy plot for me, mostly in well-defined rows, simply because I like the look of them. We do have a long border of mainly annual flowers though, the 'nectar bar', which we let self-seed year after year. Weeds, especially those which spread their seeds about everywhere, like thistles, willow herb, bittercress and dandelions, are unfair to other plotholders, I think.

[peter]

As bindweed and couch are endemic on our plots I cannot allow weeds to take over.
However I once planted poppies, cornflowers and borage, so every year I leave a few of each when they germinate and let them run to seed and stand over the winter. I find they draw the bees in.

One of my neighbours let's the grass flourish in his raspberries and dog daisies to run rampant everywhere, he seems happy with his crops, but it does look abandoned.

[Westi]

Hi Emma!

My plot is tidy but with lots of flowers (& weeds at times,but the weeds do get the deserved attention first as they do compete for nutrients)! Definitely grow nasturtiums but a bit away from the crop they are to protect - agree with Primrose on that! I'd like straight rows but by the time I unravel the string I could have put in several rows so sow & plant by eye so not straight rows despite the effort & I do use the bits in between for catch crops when the plants are smaller!

I like to think I help the pollinators with the flowers & they improve my crop! This pic is early in the season & doesn't really emphasise my point - mainly because I'd be expecting spring onions & Tom Thumb lettuces up in the middle of the spud rows but they are not too happy this year! Sorry about the pic having a wee lay down but guarantee they are actually upright! My peas are in amongst the orange mass of poppies behind the netted bed of brassica's & doing just fine so maybe the jungle confuses the predators? It is my 3rd sowing of peas, but the mice are well fat & happy most likely from when it was bare earth & just pea seedlings!

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[Colin2016]

I start off trying to make it a tidy environment but when all the plants start to grow that’s it, they take over so looks untidy. I’m always on the look out for weeds and do like to have flowers as well as vegetables.

[robo]

Anyone else suffer with horses tails our allotment is over run with them I've taken to using a gas gun to singe the huggers it works but it's like fighting the triffads , any wonder cures I've missed

[Colin Miles]

This year I have cut down on what I am growing and giving everything a lot more space. That way I can hoe between everything. It does look more tidy, reduces weed competition and gives plants 'air' and room to develop. Looks good so far.