Home » Misc » Marigolds and tomatoes

Marigolds and tomatoes


5 Reasons To Plant Marigolds With Your Tomato Plants

While tomatoes are incredibly rewarding to grow, like everything else in life, they are not without their pitfalls.

We are not the only ones who love tomatoes. There are other animals, birds, insect pests, and soil-borne problems that also love these vibrant, delicious plants.

It is also true that tomatoes are loved by other plants. You can help develop beneficial relationships for them.

Companion Planting – Symbiotic Relationships

Maybe you have seen an example of a symbiotic relationship in a documentary or nature show. It might be a gorgeous, majestic sea turtle that visits a certain spot every year. Interestingly, many species of fish come out to clean it. Or, a giant, deadly shark that has little fish swimming in and around its mouth. And they are cleaning its teeth!

These are just two examples of unique symbiotic relationships in the wild.

Plants Do It Too!

Incredibly, plants have many attributes that help out their neighbors.

A plant might be a nitrogen fixer. This means it takes nitrogen from the atmosphere and makes it available in the soil, improving the nitrogen uptake for all plants that surround it.

Or a plant might have long, deep, tough roots that help break up the soil. This allows it to release nutrients, making them more available for more shallow rooted plants.

As with wildlife, some plants are not good friends. One plant may grow aggressively, soaking up all the available nutrients and water and spreading all over the place. This essentially smothers nearby, less aggressive plants. Another plant might attract deer or rabbits to the garden. Then the hungry herbivores don’t discriminate and eat other precious plants during the visit.

In the case of marigolds, they do many friendly acts in the garden.

5 Reasons To Grow Marigolds With Your Tomato Plants

1. Marigolds attract bees and other tomato benefiting insects.

Who doesn’t love beautiful butterflies, bees, ladybugs, and other beneficial little beasts that visit the tomato garden?

Great to aid pollination, yes! Not only that, many of the insects that marigolds attract help to keep insect pests at bay such as aphids and caterpillars.

2. Marigolds act as a “trap crop” for slugs and snails.

Plant a row of marigolds surrounding your tomato plants and slugs and snails will never venture beyond the tasty foliage of your marigolds.

Slugs and snails love tomatoes. You may not even know they are there until you go to pick your juicy plump fruit. Then you find soft, squishy holes and the tell-tale slim trails left by these nocturnal robbers.

Luckily, they like marigolds even more making marigolds an effective “trap crop” for slugs and snails. The airy, fern-like marigold foliage make early morning search and destroy slug and snail hunting a breeze.

3. Marigolds deter animal tomato pests.

The strong odors that marigold plants make often deter other garden pests such as rabbits, deer, cats, and snakes. Okay, I don’t know that snakes eat tomatoes, but they can stay out of the veggie patch, as far as I’m concerned.

4. Marigolds help to keep soil healthy.

For the agricultural and home tomato grower, root knot nematodes can plague the tomato plants. They also bother some of their nightshade relatives such as peppers and eggplant.

Marigolds are extremely useful in this scenario. They trap and kill parasitic root knot nematodes. Plant marigolds thoroughly in areas known to be infested. Toxins in marigold roots seem to kill the nematode before it grows and reproduces.

5. Marigolds deter tomato worms.

Tomato hornworm eating tomato

There are many worms and caterpillars that love tomatoes. Large moths begin their life as the dreaded Tomato Hornworm.

The way marigolds help deter these pests is twofold.

First, their strong odor is thought to repel the moths, deterring them from laying eggs. Secondly, marigolds attract many beneficial insects including parasitic wasps which are harmful predators to tomato hornworms and other nuisance worms and caterpillars.

Tomato hornworm infested with parasitic wasp larvae

Marigolds and Tomatoes

So many great ways to use marigolds with tomato plants! They could be interplanted in the raised bed or hanging basket. They could form an impenetrable border around the tomato patch. Smaller varieties might be planted closer to the tomato plants, while larger marigolds could be planted slightly farther away.

Plant an impenetrable border of marigolds around your tomato plants.

Types of Marigolds

There are over 50 marigold (Tagetes) species. The three most popular for use in the garden are African marigold (T. erectus), French marigold (T. patula), and Signet marigold (T. tenuifolia).

Pot marigolds are wonderful in the garden but are Calendula (Calendula officinalis) plants.

They don’t hold all the same beneficial attributes in the garden, although they do have many fantastic benefits too.

African marigolds are the tallest. They might be planted surrounding the tomato patch. These tough plants grow 1 to 3 feet (30 to 120 cm) tall with large double flowers in hot shades of yellows, oranges, reds, and whites.

French marigolds are more compact with fern-like foliage. They love the heat, have a long bloom time, and grow 6 to 18 inches (15 to 45 cm) tall and wide. Their blooms are double and also come in warm colors of oranges, yellows, reds, and whites.

Signet marigolds make small single flowers that bloom profusely and abundantly in fragrant mounds on plants of lacy foliage 12 inches (30 cm) tall and wide. Lemon gem and tangerine gem are excellent examples which are citrusy smelling heirlooms.

Which Marigolds Are Best For Tomatoes?

Each and every marigold plant in the tomato garden will have its benefits. If you are facing a particular problem, try:

Mix and match a variety of marigolds to see which ones you like best. See what works well to prevent potential tomato problems.

Quick Tip: In general, Signet marigolds do great without deadheading, where African and French marigolds bloom more with deadheading.

How to Grow Marigolds

Marigolds are an easy to grow frost-tender annual flower. Plants can be started indoors 4 weeks before the last frost date or by direct seeding in the garden after the last fear of frost has passed. They begin to bloom about 10 weeks later.

You can purchase many varieties of marigold seeds from here at True Leaf Market.

African, French, and Signet marigolds are a popular bedding plant so you can save yourself the trouble and buy transplants perfectly ready to plant near your tomatoes.

Marigolds like many of the same conditions that tomatoes thrive in. Marigolds prefer to stay evenly moist in well drained soil in full sun. This is a great start for both marigolds and tomatoes. African and Signet marigolds can tolerate hotter, drier sites. French marigolds tend to prefer moist conditions.

Depending on the type of marigold you grow you may have great success with pinching young plants for bushier growth and deadheading to encourage more blossoms.

Other Companion Plants That Benefit Tomatoes

Many other plants help your tomato plants thrive. Take a look at our list of eight beneficial companion plants to grow next to your tomatoes.

And, perhaps more importantly, make sure you keep these seven common garden plants far, far away from your tomatoes. You’ll see why when you read the article.

How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

Did you know that planting marigolds with your tomato plants can not only help your tomatoes stay healthy, vibrant & strong, it can also help you grow your most prolific crop of tomatoes ever?

It’s true! Marigolds are one of the best companion plants of all for tomatoes. Not only do they help to repel many of the common pests that can injure or destroy your tomato plants, they also serve as a calling card to bring in an enormous amount of pollinators and beneficial insects to the garden as well.

Marigolds have long been known as one of the most beneficial companion plants around. Not just for tomatoes, but for other vegetable plants, herbs, and perennial and annual flowers too.

There is no better partner plant for a tomato plant than a marigold. They help repel insects, bring in pollinators, and can even help keep out animals as well.

But perhaps best of all, with all of those great qualities, marigolds also bring incredible color and interest to any space. Whether in pots and containers, in flowerbeds throughout the landscape, or in the garden.

Adding to their allure, of all the annual flower choices around, marigolds also happen to be one of the easiest to sow and start directly from seed. See : How To Keep Your Marigolds Blooming Strong All Summer Long!

Here is a look at why planting marigolds in your garden should be a top priority this year – and how to do it with ease. One thing is for sure, your tomato plants will thank you with better health, and a better harvest!

The Many Benefits of Marigolds For Tomato Plants

As you will see below, the list of benefits for growing marigolds with your tomatoes is certainly lengthy. But right up front, one of the most important issues that marigolds can help with when it comes to protecting your tomato plants is with the dreaded nematode.

Nematodes are extremely destructive pests, especially when it comes to tomato and pepper plants. Living in the soil, nematodes feast on the roots of plants. As they do, they take energy from the foliage and fruit above.

Nematodes slowly drain life from the roots, causing decay in the root structure of the plant. As this occurs, the foliage and fruit above slowly wilt away until they ultimately die off completely. It is a slow and steady decline for the plants, but one that marigolds can actually prevent.

Nematodes destroy the root systems of tomatoes, peppers and many other garden plants. But planting marigolds can stop them in their tracks!

The roots of the marigold plant produce and secrete a chemical substance that is toxic and deadly to nematodes. In fact, in short order, it can wipe out an entire population of nematodes.

In the process, it can save not only your tomato and pepper plants, but many of the other vegetable plants they feed on as well.

Attracting Beneficial Insects –
How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

Marigolds attract a long list of beneficial insects to the garden with their pungent foliage and colorful blooms. That list includes honey bees, butterflies, moths and most importantly, wasps.

Why are wasps so important for tomatoes? Believe it or not, the paper wasp is one of the best pollinators of tomato plants. In addition, parasitic wasps are also beneficial to tomatoes because they are one of the few insects that can help control tomato hornworms.

Tomato hornworms can decimate a tomato plant and crop quickly. Not only do they strip plants of foliage seemingly overnight, they will also drill right into your tomatoes on the vine.

But parasitic wasps can help fight hornworms naturally. For starters, they lay their eggs on the back of hornworms. When they do, the young larvae hatches, feeds on the hornworm, and it eventually dies.

But not only do marigolds help bring in the wasps that help control hornworms, their pungent smell is also offensive to hornworms, and it helps keep them out of your tomato patch right from the start!

Marigolds Deter Other Common Tomato Pests Too –
How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

Marigolds can protect your garden from far more than just the dreaded tomato hornworm. Their smelly blooms and foliage also help repel and protect against squash bugs, cabbage worms and aphids as well.

As if that wasn’t enough, many common animal visitors to the garden are not exactly fond of marigolds either. That list includes rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, raccoon and even deer. Talk about a blooming plant that can protect like no other!

Where To Plant Marigolds –
How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

So where are the best places and locations to plant marigolds in the garden. The short answer is anywhere and everywhere! After all, they do provide amazing color wherever they grow.

But when it comes to protecting tomatoes, the closer you can grow marigolds to your tomato plants, the better. For traditional garden plantings, that means planting right in the same row.

Pom Pom marigolds and other varieties like the Inca II are wonderful for a big splash of color in the garden. They also help protect it from pests as well!

We now sow marigold seeds right in the same growing rows as our tomato plants on the same day we plant our tomatoes. The soil at this point is warm, and the seeds will germinate, grow, and begin to protect fast.

For our row plantings, we sow 8 to 12 seeds about 12″ inches around the circumference of each plant. As they sprout we thin to 4 to 5 plants around each tomato.

For container plants, we use either seeds or small marigold transplants in the containers right beside the tomato plants. With containers, we usually plant or leave one or two growing alongside, depending on the container size.

For the Love of French Mari
golds – How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

Our favorite for protecting tomatoes are the French Marigold variety. Not only are many of the varieties in this family compact (making them perfect for protecting container plants), they are known to be among the best of the best of marigolds when it comes to deterring pests.

French marigolds also happen to be one of the easiest to grow, and are extremely tough and durable against drought, excessive sunlight and heat. Product Link : French Marigold Seeds

The French Marigold is not only beautiful, it is one of the most effective of all marigolds for protecting your garden from pests! There are a whole slew of colors, styles and sizes to choose from within the French Marigold family.

In addition to planting in the rows and in containers, you can plant the border of your garden in marigolds as well. For these areas, we usually select large varieties that bring big color and interest. Marigold types such as Inca II, with their huge pom pom blooms are always a hit.

The Ease of Planting –
How To Plant Marigolds With Tomatoes

What really makes marigolds a perfect choice for planting in the garden is just how easy they are to plant. Although you can purchase marigold transplants, they grow so incredibly well from seed it simply isn’t necessary.

Marigold seeds can sprout in as little as 5 days after planting, especially if the soil is warm. Within a few weeks, they can already be a solid four to six inches tall, and emitting their unique and protective aroma from their foliage. And by six to eight weeks, they are usually blooming strong.

To plant, sow seeds directly into the soil and cover with 1/8 to 1/4 inch of soil. Water the seeds in gently and sit back and wait. If the soil is near 60° Fahrenheit or more, the seeds will usually pop up within a week.

Best of all, they will germinate and take off in nearly any soil or growing condition you can throw at them. Perhaps best of all, the seeds of marigolds are easy to save and use year after year – making them not just beautiful, but extremely economical too.

Here is to planting marigolds with tomatoes this year, and to your best tomato harvest ever! Happy Gardening, Jim and Mary.

As always, feel free to email us at [email protected] with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.

🍅 Tomatoes with marigolds for the winter - a step by step recipe with a photo. The author of the recipe is Natalia Reshetnik.

Natalia Reshetnik @velereya

Gomel, Belarus)

It would seem the most incredible recipe for harvesting tomatoes for the winter.
But when I took a chance and cooked it, I realized that there would be no other tomatoes on our table in the winter.

A big plus of this method of harvesting tomatoes is that no spices are needed. No dill, no garlic, no horseradish, nothing but marigolds. nine0003

Marigolds are one of the favorite spices in national Georgian cuisine... they are called "Imeretian saffron".

#cookpad_gomel

More

popover#show mouseleave->popover#hide" >

Save this recipe for later.

Edit Recipe Add cooksnap

Add cooksnap

Share

Share

Ingredients nine0025

  1. Tomatoes

  2. 4 marigold leaves in a liter jar

  3. 4 Marigold flowers in a liter jar

  4. Marinade per 1 liter

  5. 1 liter Water

  6. 2 tablespoons Sugar

    7. nine0028

    1 tablespoon Salts

  7. 1/2 teaspoon Vinegar Essence (or 2-3 tbsp 9% vinegar)

How to cook

See how to cook this dish

Emotions

Lana_M and others responded

Cooksnaps

Author

Natalia Reshetnik @velereya

Gomel, Belarus)

Make your own 2020 calendar 😜https://cookpad. com/en/challenges/6532 I love to get creative in the kitchen 🤪 using budget ingredients. Delicious and cheap is my motto))) my Instagram page 🤗 @sladosti_ot_natalii page of the community of authors in Gomel @cookpad_gomel join 😜 Gomel residents

More

More recipes from the author

Chocolate spread

Steamed cabbage

Feijoa jam and skins for tea

Apple Marshmallow

Tomatoes with Marigolds - step by step recipe with photos. The author of the recipe is Svetlana Dmitrievna.

Svetlana Dmitrievna @cook_18964093

Amur region ..I like to do salting ..I cook 500-600 cans of different spins ..I have my own recipes, nine0003

Hello everyone! Today I can offer YOU a recipe for a tomato with flowers .. The marinade is very tasty .. amazing tomatoes .. By the way, marigolds or they are Imeretian saffron in Georgia are used as a seasoning.

More

popover#show mouseleave->popover#hide" >

Save this recipe for later.

Edit Recipe Add cooksnap

Add cooksnap

Share

Share nine0003

Ingredients

  1. Tomatoes and marigold flowers

  2. water and vinegar

  3. salt and sugar

How to cook

See how to cook this dish

Emotions

Lyubov Dorokhina and others responded

Cooksnaps

Author

Svetlana Dmitrievna @cook_18964093

Amur region .

Learn more