Flowers & companions
Marigold
Pest deterrent among tomatoes and peppers.
- Outside
- Direct mid May, or set six-packs
- Where
- Bed edges, among tomatoes and peppers
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Drought barely registers; water when clearly dry
Marigolds hold the edges of the tomato and pepper rows, part pest management and part morale. The French types are the working ones, compact and unkillable from June to frost.
Growing
Direct sow in mid May or set out nursery six-packs; either way they bloom by late June and continue to frost if deadheaded. Poor to average soil is fine and drought barely registers. Below ground, French marigold roots suppress root-knot nematodes; that much is documented, and the rest of the reputation rides along. Slugs, ironically, adore marigold seedlings, so the deterrent spends its first two weeks needing a bodyguard: a dry, mulch-free collar gets them through.
Varieties
Durango and Bonanza are sturdy French series for edging; Lemon Gem and Tangerine Gem are the single-flowered ones the beneficial insects actually visit.