Planting the right herbs in your garden will keep away yucky pests – add ‘living mulch’ will also prevent weeds

A GARDENING fan has shared her green-fingered tips for a pest-free vegetable patch.

All you have to do, she said, is plant the right herbs to keep them away.

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She also urged viewers to add a "living mulch" to their garden plans.

It will lessen the workload and add nutrients to the soil.

From Soil to Stove (@fromsoiltostove) is passionate about growing vegetables in backyard raised beds.

She feeds her young family with fresh produce from her garden.

In this post, she encouraged existing and would-be gardeners to consider a change to their growing habits.

“If you’re buying seeds for a vegetable garden this year, don’t forget to include these three," she said.

"These are three must-have seeds for your veggie garden."

They're unusual choices, but they have worked well for her.

“I have a few ideas for seeds that you wouldn’t necessarily think of to buy for your backyard vegetable garden that works miracles and wonders," she added.

FLOWERING HERBS

Anyone with a creepy crawly phobia will like this one.

"Plant these sporadically around the garden or even in large pockets," she said.

"It will not only attract beneficial insects but will deter some of the yucky insects and keep them away from your plants," she added.

Flowering herbs to include:

• Thyme
• Dill
• Fennel
• Cilantro
• Basil

PLANT COWPEAS

This plant is especially ideal if you love tomatoes, as our gardener admitted.

"I love tomatoes and cowpeas will keep bugs away from them," she said.

Plant cowpeas on the periphery of your garden, several feet away from your tomato plants, she advised.

"There’s a chemical compound in cowpeas that matches those of tomatoes," she said.

"So the insects and the bugs that love tomatoes are also attracted to the cowpeas and most often will congregate on those things away from our beautiful tomato plants."

LIVING MULCHES

A living mulch is highly effective at keeping weeds at bay but also looks very pretty.

"Living mulches are low-growing flowery plants that you place around your vegetables," she said.

"They not only help lock in the moisture, but they also help prevent weeds, like perennial weeds and other weeds that grow in and around your vegetables.

"It lessens the work in the garden, and traps moisture in the soil," she added.

Living mulch plants:

• Sweet Alyssum
• Little Gem Marigolds
• Creeping Thyme

Commenters were grateful for the gardening tips.

“I needed this. I lost 100% of my Brussels crop to slugs," said one fan.

“I planted one marigold for every veggie plant I put in the ground last year and had almost no pest issues," said another.

“Cowpeas are also a great way to add nitrogen to your soil," one fellow gardener said.

“Taking notes. Going to try all these things this year," added another.

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