Tried planting marigolds next to my tomatoes after reading about companion planting on a gardening forum

The tomato yield went up maybe 10% but the real win was how few aphids I had to deal with all summer long, so has anyone else seen bigger pest control than yield boost from companion plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

jakem988d ago

My buddy Dave tried the same combo and said the pest control was way more noticeable than any yield bump. He swore the marigolds saved his whole patch from getting wrecked by whiteflies one year.

joseph5298d ago

Ever started a garden just to feed the local bug population too?

seth_martinez218d ago

I started putting marigolds around my tomatoes a few years back and it actually helped. The aphids that used to destroy my beans every July basically disappeared after I added them. Threw in some basil and dill too, which seemed to keep the hornworms from going crazy. The bug population still shows up, but now they hang out on the marigolds instead of my vegetables. Not a total fix, but I pulled twice the harvest last summer compared to before. Sometimes planting a few decoys is all it takes.