Making This Flower Mistake Will Jeopardize Your Vegetable Garden
Growing vegetables can take a lot of time and care, especially if you're a beginner. However, if you want to nurture your vegetable garden to the best of your ability, then there is one flower mistake that you should avoid at all costs. As it turns out, not cultivating flowers near your veggies can hinder your results, thanks in large part to the pollination process. Your vegetables may not reach their maximum potential, and you'll be left with inedible produce by the end — talk about a complete waste.
Of course, not only will this mistake cost you your produce, but it will also cost you your time and effort, which nobody wants. After all, there's little worse than vegetables you have to throw away. So, how exactly can you use flowers to prevent this from happening? Although it may seem complicated, you can reverse this flower mistake by taking simple steps.
Not pairing your vegetables with flowers
While adding flowers is essential, your choices will all boil down to the veggies you've opted to grow. Some don't need pollinating, while plants such as cucumbers, berries, tomatoes, and peppers, to name a few, will benefit from some assistance. For example, French marigolds and hyssop flowers make excellent companion plants for tomatoes. Your best bet is to check online or ask a professional about each vegetable in your garden to avoid missing anything important. After all, you may not need to do this for all crops.
Likewise, you need to check that the blooms are suitable for the other vegetables you're planting near, as some plants don't mix well with others. Instead, look for flowers that complement your vegetables and discourage pests. Alongside adding flowers to the area, you should also ensure you place your vegetables in the correct spot in terms of light exposure and soil type. Otherwise, no amount of blooms may be able to help. Instead, follow the proper steps for each vegetable and do your research. This way, you won't be jeopardizing your garden.
Plant with bees in mind
Not only will planting flowers help you avoid jeopardizing your vegetables, but it's also a great way to bring bees into your garden. Without bees, certain vegetables may not be able to thrive as well as if they were pollinated. By installing flowers, bees can add the pollen your plants need to grow efficiently. As a result, your vegetable garden should have a better chance of success. With over two million honey bee colonies buzzing around the U.S., per Statista, you will see some activity.
Ensure you plant your flowers correctly to maximize their full potential and draw in as many bees as possible. "The important thing is to choose plants with single flowers so they can easily access the pollen," beekeeper Camilla Goddard explained to The English Garden. "And plant blocks of the same thing, rather than a mixture of different plants." By doing this, you should find the vegetable growing process much more manageable.