One of the most important advantages to growing your vegetable garden is your ability to control what goes into it in terms of pest control and disease resistance. Your harvest will only require the cleaning that is needed to remove soil remnants unlike store bought produce where it is imperative that you wash, scrub and rinse to remove the nasty unknowns that are used in large scale operations.

Companion planting and interplanting are easy to accomplish with little advance planning in the square foot garden that I have previously discussed. Since all of your vegetable and flower squares are planted so close together, unlike conventional gardening, including pest-deterrent crops such as onions, garlic, marigolds and nasturtiums will have an immediate impact throughout the garden. For example, a 12"x12" portion of your 4' x 4' block planted with nasturtiums to deter aphids and several types of beetles, will not be more than 10 feet from the rest of your garden assuming you have planted 6 blocks. If your garden is larger, just add a few more small squares of companion plants. You can simply tuck in a small square among your vegetables providing a natural deterrent that is functional, edible and very attractive.

Directly or indirectly we can easily take advantage of how plants interact and use this knowledge to develop gardens that can stand on their own organically. It's easier than you think.