Marigolds - Nature's home guard??

**magz.mccarthy** · 23-03-2009, 11:04 AM

Hi,

I've read a lot of mixed reports about marigolds. They are usually a companion plant for potatoes, the reason being either that the bugs that like potatoes hate marigolds, or else the bugs that like potatoes like marigolds even more, and aim their distruction in that direction instead. But there's a real mix of views on whether it's effective or not.

I've planted my potatoes down a little hollow, and as they grow I'm going to earth them up by filling the hole. When it gets to ground level i'll put marigolds between and around them to see if it makes any difference.

Best of luck if you are companion planting with them! I think you can eat the petals too in salads, and they are pretty tasty.

Margaret

**womble** · 23-03-2009, 11:12 AM

It's certainly effective in greenhouses against whitefly and brings in beneficial insects in on the main plot and into the greenhouse.

**Demeter** · 23-03-2009, 11:19 AM

French marigolds are stinky and as I understand it they help to repel or confuse pests that find our veg by smell e.g. cabbage whites, carrot fly, onion fly all find food with their noses. But i don't think the marigolds are very effective for that really... not stinky enough!

Mexican marigolds apparently secrete something from their roots that deters or interferes with other plants - good if they are weeds, not so good if they are your precious veg. Never tried this but it might work.

Any kind of marigold will also be good for attracting pollinators and also may help attract predators like hoverflies (which eat aphids) so maybe they would be best in your bean patch? Other flowers will also do this e.g. limnanthes.

**Irie Jan** · 23-03-2009, 11:22 AM

Have a look at this link, it explaines a lot about companion planting.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ing_29290.html

Enjoy!

**womble** · 23-03-2009, 11:45 AM

Originally posted by Demeter View Post

Any kind of marigold will also be good for attracting pollinators and also may help attract predators like hoverflies (which eat aphids) so maybe they would be best in your bean patch? Other flowers will also do this e.g. limnanthes.

There was a thread on here saying that french marigolds don't like to be next to french beans.

**djhs196** · 23-03-2009, 01:21 PM

In addition to the greenhouse / whitefly use mentioned above, I also found a use for the last year amongst the lettuce crops. It wasn't so much "home guard" as a seemly irresistible decoy / sacrificial crop.

With French marigolds inter-planted amongst the lettuce, i would find all the slugs (small black var.) on the Marigold rather than the salad crops during the nightly slug runs. It wasn't intentional, but worked exceptionally well - the lettuce was hardly touched even by the time it was harvested.

**womble** · 23-03-2009, 01:27 PM

Yes the first couple of years I tried to grow marigolds they all got eaten by slugs and snails. I have learned to let them get as large as I could before putting them out, which means starting them off quite early inside.

**Jardiniere** · 23-03-2009, 07:17 PM

what is a french marigold? They arent called that here?
I grow tagetes (what i call african marigold) and calendula (pot marigold) all over my garden..............i bought some tomato plants in the week and the label said...and i translate cos it wos in french....grow these toms with oillet d'indes (tagetes) and basil. so i plonked some seed in.......................

**Flummery** · 23-03-2009, 07:39 PM

Certain tagetes types are called French marigolds, Jardiniere, and others African. They are both tagetes. I can't be doing with the smell of these. I love the English pot marigolds though.

I thought the title of the thread referred to rubber gloves!

**tiachica** · 23-03-2009, 08:03 PM

I read somewhere that marigolds badly affect the nematodes in the soil, even after the plant has died... now I am not so sure anymore about planting them...

**nelliegemini** · 23-03-2009, 08:29 PM

I understand that pot marigolds suppress couch grass - never tried it though. Apparently other ways of getting rid of couch are growing potatoes or keeping pigs. Bit all or nothing really!!

**JimmerG** · 24-03-2009, 08:55 AM

Flummery - I'm having a good laugh about hanging rubber gloves all over the place to deter bugs.... a nice idea.

Thanks everyone for the advice, maybe I'll stick a few marigolds around a 'control area' and see what happens. In reality, however - I very much doubt I'll actually get round to doing it at all. The next 5 weekends are a bit critical in the allotment and incrediby they've all been filled with various socail events.... WHAT AM I TO DO?!??

**SarzWix** · 24-03-2009, 09:14 AM

I always have marigolds in the greenhouse and never had much problem with whitefly, but that could just be coincidence

I'm planning to try them round the cabbages this year too, as they always seem to have clouds of em

I hope it works!

**zazen999** · 24-03-2009, 09:48 AM

Originally posted by JimmerG View Post

Flummery - I'm having a good laugh about hanging rubber gloves all over the place to deter bugs.... a nice idea.

Thanks everyone for the advice, maybe I'll stick a few marigolds around a 'control area' and see what happens. In reality, however - I very much doubt I'll actually get round to doing it at all. The next 5 weekends are a bit critical in the allotment and incrediby they've all been filled with various socail events.... WHAT AM I TO DO?!??

Pop a few seeds in a pot now and put them in when you get time...or the garden centres usually have modules of them selling over easter. For the price [�1.99 for 6 ish] they are worth their weight in gold.

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Marigolds - Nature's home guard??

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