Little Gem

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Cutworms

Cutworms

Noctuidae

A seedling lying beside its own stump in the morning, cut clean through at soil level.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

, Ground beetles

Ground beetles

Carabidae

Night-active ground hunters, taking slugs, cutworms and leatherjackets at soil level.

to keep them in check — plant InulaGreat, LovageGreat and Purple ConeflowerGreat nearby.

Growing from seed

Direct-sow Little Gem outdoors about 4 weeks before your last frost. Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Grow in partial sun, spaced about 20 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 60 days.

Little Gem seed rarely stays viable beyond 5 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Wild indigo
  

  Wild indigoGreat pair

  • ❧Wild indigo fixes nitrogen in the soil that Little Gem feeds on
  • ❧Wild indigo roots deep while Little Gem feeds near the surface — no competition
  • ❧Little Gem acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Wild indigo
• 
  Winged bean
  

  Winged beanGreat pair

  • ❧Winged bean fixes nitrogen in the soil that Little Gem feeds on
  • ❧Winged bean roots deep while Little Gem feeds near the surface — no competition
  • ❧Little Gem acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Winged bean
• 
  Blue Sage
  

  Blue SageGreat pair

  • ❧Blue Sage attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Little Gem
  • ❧Blue Sage roots deep while Little Gem feeds near the surface — no competition
  • ❧Little Gem acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Blue Sage

How to grow Little Gem

1. Sow-4 weeks from frost
2. Germinates7 days
3. Space20 cm apart
4. GrowPartial sun
5. Harvest~60 days

Water: Medium · Height: 20 cm · Soil: Moist, well-draining, fertile