Marigolds in tomato beds

[Penellype]

My experience of french marigolds is that they provide a banquet for slugs and snails. There is rarely anything left by the morning after planting, even when the plants are big enough to be in flower.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I’m planting a tomato in the two corners of one of my raised beds (square foot system). I was planning to grow marigold and some basil in the square between them and maybe dotted around them, I hear both are beneficial companions.

[Dynamo]

My experience of french marigolds is that they provide a banquet for slugs and snails. There is rarely anything left by the morning after planting, even when the plants are big enough to be in flower.

I grew some a few years ago to fill up some bare ground under some benches and attract bees etc and thankfully I don't remember slugs being a problem with them so hopefully I won't get too bothered with them this time around either. I'll keep an eye out for them though.

[Bigmallly]

If you are worried about them robbing nutrients from the bed, grow the marigolds in pots & just place the pots on the bed.

[bramble]

I grow most of my tomatoes in containers and plant a marigolds along side
Never seem to have problem with aphids.
It's definitely worth giving it a try,

[Dynamo]

If you are worried about them robbing nutrients from the bed, grow the marigolds in pots & just place the pots on the bed.

Yeah that's a good idea Mally but I don't think I'll bother. I think I've read enough here to believe that there'll be enough nutrients in the soil for all the plants. I'd also guess that the tomato and marigold plants will probably use different minerals. The proof will be in the pudding though. I guess I'll find out at the end of the growing season.

The main reason though is that I find that plants grown in pots buried in the ground tend to require watering a bit more often.

[Mr Bones]

Do you just sow a few seeds when you transplant the tomatoes, or grow in modules as you grow the toms?

We always start off in modules to give them a chance against slugs then plant out when they're big enough. Any in pots placed on the surface do tend to dry out readily but they put roots down into the soil through the drainage holes.
Just have to keep an eye out for botrytis as the plants get bushy.

[Dynamo]

I've bought these. Managed to get 90 from the pack of Keez Orange which was supposed to have 75 sowed today.

[rary]

If you as feeding your tomatoes with a liquid feed on a regular basis there will be enough surplus feeding for any flower plants

[Dynamo]

I've bought these. Managed to get 90 from the pack of Keez Orange which was supposed to have 75 sowed today.

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Since I posted that I also sowed 200 Marigold Bonita seeds. Not bad considering there was only supposed to be 150 in the packet. There's still a shed load left in the packet too. I think they'll be saved for next year.

[Bigmallly]

You'll also get 1000's of seeds from the plants.

[bramble]

Since I posted that I also sowed 200 Marigold Bonita seeds. Not bad considering there was only supposed to be 150 in the packet. There's still a shed load left in the packet too. I think they'll be saved for next year.

Wow, fair play but I don't know how you managed to count all those seeds.

[Dynamo]

Wow, fair play but I don't know how you managed to count all those seeds.

Quite easy. I have 5 trays with 40 cells in each and one seed in each cell for the Bonita and a larger tray with 75 cell's for the Keez.

[Dynamo]

Finally finished sowing the Marigolds. Today I sowed 200 Crackerjacks. It's probably overkill but I could pop them into any gaps for the bees and/or I'll probably give some away. Here's them all in my greenhouse.

[Chris11]

Good to see people growing companion plants like this

Wildlife friendly gardening and companion planting has made a massive difference to my garden. Lots more bees, and also things like ladybirds and hoverflies which are great predators of the aphids.

Poached egg plants are particularly good at attracting hoverflies, and I now have plenty established from self-seeded plants. Have both Calendula Pot Marigolds, and Tagetes French Marigolds, and agree with P. about slugs/snails being more attracted to the Tagetes French/African types.

Calendula Marigolds are much more hardy, don't seem to be affected by slugs/snails, and also self-seed quite happily. Although I also save seeds to share, and to grow a few extra to have in pots in the greenhouse initially before then planting out in gaps in the garden.