Appreciation post: My dad's marigold trick for the veggie patch

His old tip saved my cabbages from caterpillars last spring.

3 comments

3 Comments

After reading this, marigolds seem like the unpaid interns of the garden world. They put in all the hard work keeping pests away while we take the credit for healthy plants. My own dad swore by this trick for years, and I always thought it was just his old-school gardening nonsense. But then my broccoli stopped getting eaten alive, and I had to admit he was right. It's almost too easy, like cheating at gardening without any nasty chemicals. Now I just picture the caterpillars showing up, seeing the marigolds, and turning right around in disappointment.

elliot_thomas821mo ago

Planted marigolds around my tomatoes last year.

nathan_shah1mo ago

Tried that exact same setup with my peppers and the difference was crazy. Those little orange flowers really do keep the bugs from taking over everything. I even noticed fewer rabbits hanging around the edge of the garden. It's one of those tricks that sounds too simple but actually works.