Gardeners urged to plant £3 kitchen staple to lure pests from vulnerable plants

Gardening enthusiasts have been battling bugs relentlessly, but what if there was a simple yet effective way to deter feeding creepy crawlies for good? A TikTok creator has shared her method to protect growing vegetables - the secret being one additional plant.

Account Fountain Life Family "@fountainlife" posted their easy trick, gaining over a thousand views. Labelling the plant a "trap crop," the gardener suggests that households can chase away insects just by planting radishes, keeping the more vulnerable leafy plants like lettuce, kale and cabbage safe.

Fountain Life Family shared: "You're basically planting something that bugs would like more than the other stuff you're growing," explaining the radish plant as a more tempting deterrent from other garden vegetation. Showing their audience the radish plant, the user described how parts of the stem had already been consumed by hungry bugs. Therefore, by growing one extra plant around your prize plants, you can organically avoid infestations and the harsh price of pesticides.

This technique, bettwer known as companion planting, is adopted by many concerned over sustainability. Radishes become the perfect snack for flea beetles and other garden pests, with their smell preventing other bugs (who dislike the veg) from flying near. Guilt-free, crop trapping removes harmful chemicals that often lead to the death of insects, affecting the biodiversity of garden habitats, as well as preventing potential toxic residues that damadge both pollinators and human health.

Method

For the most effective results, The Cool Down advices gardeners sow radishes "around the perimeter of beds or near crops like squashes and lettuces". And for those who enjoy radishes themselves, do not fret as the salad staple is said to grow back quickly and can be continuously replanted throughout the season. Growers can find seeds and shoots for as little as £3 on Amazon, as well on sale on most garden websites/ in stores.

Benefitting the quality of your soil and the taste of your produce, chemical-avoidant gardening is said to increase the levels of a person's physical and mental health. Amusing viewers, the TikTokcreator joked that they were now feeding the green caterpillars, collected via radish plant, to the streets. They wrote: "To the streets. The neighborhood birds know what time it is" as a reply to a comment.

Viewer Eve exclaimed: "Never heard this.. Thanks for sharing it. Those lil worms demolished my broccoli plants and I had to restart for the fall. Next year.. planting Radishes for sure".