My neighbor said my vegetable garden looked 'too neat' to be healthy

I was showing off my raised beds in the backyard, all my tomatoes and peppers in perfect rows. She's been gardening in this town for like 30 years. She pointed at the bare soil between plants and said, 'Where are all the bugs and weeds? A little mess means things are alive.' It made me stop and think I might be over-managing. I've been so focused on the look of it that I might be keeping good bugs out. Has anyone else had a moment where a 'messy' garden actually worked better?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer_mitchell5313d ago

My neighbor in Vermont said the same thing about my lettuce patch. I started leaving some clover and dandelions around the edges, and the slug damage went way down because the beetles had somewhere to live. A few weeds between the rows isn't lazy, it's a trap crop.

veramiller13d ago

That trap crop idea works until it doesn't. I've seen those "few weeds" turn into a whole mess that takes over by mid-summer. Beetles might live there, but so do more slugs and other pests. A clean garden bed with good mulch has always given me better control. Letting weeds grow just feels like inviting trouble.