Marigolds?????

Why was I told to plant Marigolds in my veg garden?

They are a good companion plant. They help keep away pests. Whiteflies hate them.

I had heard that marigolds are supposed to disuade some unwanted insects due in part to their strong smell. When I went searching for this information, I found some articles that say that there is no proof that marigolds actually do this. Here's several links that I did find.

http://www.aces.edu/dept/extcomm/specialty/marigolds.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29097/prevent_garden_bugs_no_pesticide_pest_pg2.html?cat=5
http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/marigolds-just-a-pretty-flower-or-much-more/

None of these seem to really believe that marigolds with deter pests.

When i purchased some veggie plants last year - they were giving marigolds away for free.
I tried it - didnt see a difference at all.
Its still popular belief that they will keep away bugs I guess.
I would say try it yourself, besides marigolds grow easy and plentifull from seed.

They brighten up a veggie garden too!!

A lot of people say that it's the fragrance of marigolds that repels vegetable garden pests.

Here's some information on companion planting: http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html I ran across this link somewhere on DG today.

Companion planting, basically, is the practice of planting stuff that works well together. Often, companion planting suggestions are based on gardener's observations over the years. Other times, it's based on science - or both.

I had heard that marigolds are used for controlling nematodes. The fourth paragraph in this article talks about this. http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/fallgarden/nematode.html Also, if you read through the article it does say that marigolds do not repel insects.

I planted twice as many marigolds last year compard with the previous year, because I thought that they would help to repell bugs. Instead, I think that they actually caused my slug population to increase - marigolds were the only plants that they seemed to be regularly devouring in the spring. After the slugs were taken care of, then I had leafhoppers in late summer - once again, it seems that the marigolds were magnets, the other flowers didn't really seem to be aftected.

I will still continue to grow marigolds from seed, and plant them throughout my garden, but only because I like the flowers.

They're pretty around the perimeter of a vegetable garden. I used to always hear that the marigolds would deter rabbits -- but that is not true. I don't like them as landscape plants in my cottage garden beds, but I love them around the veggie garden!

Beautiful garden Figaro52

Pennefeather, thank you!

I like marigolds, I think they are pretty. There's not a whole lot of annuals that compare with the bright yellow and orange. figaro52-gorgeus garden-I noticed no weeds. Got a secret or is it just a lot of hard work?

beautiful gardens figaro52. I don't think I'll ever get to get out and get my hands dirty! the weatherman says we are getting up to a foot of snow here by Saturday. Until I can, I will keep coming back to gaze at your gardens!

We have a chance for light snow Sunday. I thought we were done and spring was finally here.

Melissa and Babeegirl, thanks for your compliments. Actually, I do have weeds! 2 of my biggest problems are grass creeping into the beds and, of course, Creeping Charlie is trying to take over!

I made the mistake of placing a birdfeeder near a prickly pear cactus -- very dangerous trying to pull those weeds! I think it's time to try Preen!

Speaking of marigolds - if anyone has some lemon gem seeds, I'd love to trade or send a postage paid envelope. They're so pretty but I can't find them around here!

I like marigolds because they're so easy to start from seed that I feel like I have a green thumb even when all my tomatoes fail.

My dad swore they kept rabbits out of the garden. The first year I started from seed, I had the lushest, most gorgeous marigolds... with a family of bunnies living in the middle.

There goes THAT wive's tale!

figaro--back when I had bird feeders up I would microwave the seed for a couple minutes before putting it out, that will prevent the seeds from germinating.

Ecrane, what a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing this. Those cactus spines can be murder! I've even tried pulling out the sprouts with barbecue tongs! LOL!

Saved my marigold seed from last year, orange and red flowers!
They flowered into Oct. and did better than the mums!!
Have started some plants and they are growing well...

We had a real problem with moles tearing through the vegetable garden. An older gardener told me to plant the old fashioned marigolds around the edges, close together. The mole runs would go right up to the edge of the garden and change direction. Then my darling little boy "picked" the flowers, pulling several plants up from the roots. Within just a day or two, the moles were back in my veggies. I always plant them now out of habit. Perhaps it is the old fashioned marigolds that work best, not the fancy new-fangled ones?

Figaro52 -- that's not your backyard I gaze longingly at when I'm traveling northbound on Central from 103rd St., is it? If you ever need to thin out any of your perennials, send me a Dmail. I'm around the corner from you in Beverly and am just starting out building my perennial beds. ;)

Indy, I am starting some lemon gems that are a couple of years old. If they are good, I will send you a dmail.

Hi jcoakley!

Small world! No that is not my garden on Central. I live on the western edge of town -- near Oak Park Ave. I'd be delighted to share perennials with you. I'll keep in touch by Dmail.

figaro52,
What are the tall flowers in the back corner of your bed?

Hi Bobyrd -- Those tall flowers in the corner are hollyhocks.

They are very pretty. I haven't had any luck with those down here in humid, hot Conroe!

Thanks. I've had pretty good luck with them, but I'm not going to hold my breath about this year's crop. A rabbit took up residence in my backyard during the winter and ate most of the foliage from the plants that would produce this year's flowers. Only time will tell.

Figaro, my heart nearly stopped when I saw your garden! I did have to wonder about the creeping grass problem---has anyone ever solved it? Seems to me you could sink some sort of deep barrier (I had some old pieces of fiberglass lying around), but I always tend to try and solve these sorts of problems after the garden is established. Then It's kind of disheartening to go digging stuff up. Figaro, how did your garden grow? From a formal plan or just piecemeal adding plants you love? Straight from a magazine! Maybe I can just copy yours......

BTW, my marigolds almost always seem unable to take care of themselves, let alone any companion plants! The master gardeners told me that was one of the yummiest plants in the slug salad bar, so I'm careful of that. I suspect earwigs, as they love to chomp away every night on anything I'm trying to nurture. They adore mums---the actual flower. My best luck was with one of the tall, giant pom pon varieties of marigolds. Maybe the altitude was too much for the wee beasts. Then again, I did find slugs on my ginkgo tree!

Hi Velveteena, thanks for the compliment. My garden grew mainly one plant at a time with no real plan. I started by developing the perimeter of the backyard with a perennial border. Later I put a gazebo in the center of the backyard, which gave me an excuse to surround it with yet another perennial border! After that, I needed a sunny spot to plant a rose -- alas! my first island bed was born! and another and another. I'm at the point now where I don't dare rip up any more grass! Despite having no plan, I tried to give the island beds an interesting shape by using lots of sweeping curves and keeping square corners to a minimum. Everything has fit together OK. I have nothing against formal gardens -- they're quite beautiful. But since my taste in plants is so varied -- I want some of everything -- so I need to stick with the cottage garden style. My daylily and iris collections are growing faster than anything else.

Hines,

We plant marigolds because they are easy and beautiful>

Dale, they're stunning in a mass planting. Beautiful photo!

Dale-WOW! How long did it take to plant all that lol ? Beautiful lawn !

The above photo was taken in SF's Golden Gate Park. This one at the nursery where I shop>

Marigold question - how far apart should French Marigolds be planted in rows? And in a group or mass setting?

Thanks

Jerry

6"-12" depending on climate. Since you are between Austin and SA I would say 12".

Hello,

I have used marigolds forever in my rose garden and vegtable garden. It seems to keep the pesty bugs away. I have also used the past few year garlic bulbs at the back of my flower beds and at the corners of my veggie garden. That works wonderful.