June 1, 2020, by Jose Diepstraten

The vegetable garden, part 2

Outdoor
June 1, 2020, by Jose Diepstraten

The vegetable garden, part 2

We are all sitting in the garden en masse, it seems, and are eager to get the best possible out of it. We get it. Us too. Now that the terraces will soon open again, you shouldn't let this slide: from May onwards it will only be more fun in the garden! Read here: May in the garden, this is happening.

We wrote I've written about the best vegetable garden tips here before, and then it was time for the promised second part. Are you reading along?

May 2020, the vegetable garden:

May 2020, the vegetable garden:

Now that the young vegetable plants are emerging or being planted out, the pests also start. Those damn snails, for example, they love young plants. You can go to the store for pesticides, but try using one beer trap. You take a jar, fill it with beer and dig it in so that the top edge is even with the bottom. The snails are attracted to the smell and drown. Make sure you change it regularly otherwise it will stink.

Placing banana peels around the plants also helps: snails like the peels better and stick to them. You can then throw them away. The same applies here: renew the peels often. When darkness falls, the snails are most active. You can then simply catch them by hand. Be quick ;).

You can sprinkle cinnamon on the young plants or add it to the potting soil in the pots to combat mold and small unwanted creatures. Cinnamon is also a healthy substance for the growth of the plants!

Small unwanted creatures also do not like the smell of pepper. So sprinkle some of this over the young cabbage plants when the leaves are gnawed.

In the vegetable garden it is important to have good fertile soil (duh). A good substitution plan helps with this. Divide your garden into 3 (or 4 if you have strawberries) sections. And rotate with the vegetables. Compartment 1 for beans, 2 for carrot/onion and 3 for cabbage. You rotate the following year. Lettuce, leek and other vegetables can be sown wherever there is space. But arugula is a type of cabbage. Vegetables are not good friends with all other vegetables. On the internet you will find things that you definitely cannot or cannot put together. In addition to carrots, it is best to put onions or chives. The carrot fly doesn't like that smell and stays away.

If you plant marigolds for strawberries and are bothered by ants, sow marigolds. These beautiful flowers also release substances that are good for the soil. Nasturtiums should not be missing from even the smallest vegetable gardens. You can eat the leaves, flowers and seeds of this plant. And they attract aphids and caterpillars, so they stay away from other plants.

Further pests can be: the soil is too dry or too wet (read also: a dry garden, that's how you deal with it). Or plants receive too little nutrition. Sandy soil often has a magnesium deficiency. Then sow some Kieserite (organic) or lava meal.

Mulch the soil. This means that the black soil must be covered with organic matter.

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