[clairebeau]

I've got such a lot to learn and in my usual manner i'm flitting from one thing to another with either great excitment to mad nervous panic. Anyhow, today I'm very proud of my Broadbeans which we grew at home in the cold frame and planted out last week...

Feeling like a new Mum as this is our first 'grown from seed' babies in the ground I want to protect them well.  Now I'm not sure if it's the same for everyone else but my plot this year is home to rather a huge amount of Ladybirds  not to the extent of 1976, and my childhood memories of swimming in the pool at Pontins that summer with your mouth firmly shut incase of injesting swams of cute spotty beetles, but I'm happy to know they'll be feasting on some of the bad guys this Summer.  Has anyone else noticed an increased number of these little creatures this year?  Would this mean they'll be more of the bad guys too?  ...and talking of which, is there a very easy to use page on here that may help suggest what to plant where as a companion plant?  Nasturtiums alongside these beans may help I've read, but then on the otherhand does the tastiness of these encourage even more blackfly to the B.bean area?

Oh I do talk riddles, I hope you've managed to get through all that and can help 

[JohnB47]

Ive noticed an amazing number of ladybirds around - and not an aphid in sight. Do the ladybirds know something we don't?

[Auntiemogs]

I always find this quite helpful Claire:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants

I have seen more of them about this year and I remember that year well.  They were everywhere, even in drifts by the side of the road...

I do remember one year was particularly bad for greenfly. It must have been around the mid 70s as I remember being on the school bus.  At one of the bus stops, there was a woman who was obviously very proud of her new hairdo - a black beehive type assembly, firmly lacquered into place, and if only she'd realised, absolutely covered in greenfly.   

Mags

[sunshineband]

Lots of ladybirds here too -- the mild weather has meant lots more than usual survived hibernation 

Last year I had nasturtiums alongside the broad beans but no blackfly on either  , prbably because of the ladybirds 

They did give gorgeous bright flowers and tasty leaves for salad though, and rambled all over the path

[JayG]

Lots of ladybirds here too, as there were last year, which was the first for a long time I didn't get any blackfly on the runner beans - no coincidence I expect.)

Not sure about companion planting - I grow quite a lot of different crops in my garden, but it is only a garden and any companion plants would have to really justify the space they take up.

They mostly work by either confusing by scent (alliums and carrot fly), repelling (scented French marigolds and whitefly), or acting as a preferred host which is supposed to draw the pest away from your crops (nasturtiums and aphids.)

I'm not really convinced to be honest - it only takes 1 carrot fly to "get lucky" to cause problems, marigolds do seem to work for whitefly but apparently are attractive to red spider mites ( ), and I can't see the point of planting something like nasturtiums which provide the perfect breeding ground for a pest you are trying to get rid of!

Ducks below parapet...........  

[DD.]

I agree with JayG and I'm hoping there's space for two behind his parapet.

[JayG]

I agree with JayG and I'm hoping there's space for two behind his parapet.

Seem to have got away with it so far DD (good job, my back's killing me already!) 

[VegPlotter]

Hi Claire

I've planted nasturtiums in tubs for the past 2 years and then placed the tubs next to my broad beans - the nasturtiums have been covered in blackfly but not a single one on my broad beans 

It may be coincidence but i'm going to stick with it, it doesn't take much effort, my husband loves the peppery flowers in salad and they are nice and colourful too.

Noticeably more ladybirds here this year too 

Julia

[richrua]

Bob flowerdew wrote a v interesting book called companion planting. lots of possibilities. Good read too. also covers things not to put together . beans and onions being one.

[LilacSandy]

I always use nasturtiums with my brassicas as they are magnets for cabbage whites, however as DD and JayG say they are breeding grounds so you need to clear all the Caterpillars or aphids off the plants,  or all you are doing is laying up stocks for next year or they just strip the nasturtiums and move onto your crops.

[shokkyy]

Yes, I did that last year. I put climbing nasturtiums on the chain link fence all round the bed where my brassicas were planted and I didn't have a single caterpillar on those brassicas. I did have a few brassicas in another part of the garden, without nasturtiums nearby, and those were eaten down to a stump by cabbage whites.