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Marigolds: strike it rich with these easy annuals
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Marigolds head off pests eager to ravage my tomatoes Photos by Quincy Benton
I bought a couple of 4-packs of humble marigolds to plant near my tomato vines this year. I have not been a huge fan of marigolds, but I’d heard they will head off pests eager to ravage my tomatoes. It might have something to do with their awful odor—sharp and pungent and not at all what I want in a flower’s scent.
The last few years, I have planted white marigolds in containers in front of my house because they can take the intense heat and don’t mind the meager water rations. These “white” marigolds are not chalk white, but more a pale yellow.
I have not had the gold and orange marigolds in my gardens for many years, having shunned them as too common. But as I reconsider these easy annuals, I’ve grown fond of them again.
Members of the calendula family, this plant’s common name comes from “Mary’s Gold” because the flowers—native to South America--were used to decorate altars of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On the other hand, many of the French and American marigolds we grow are not calendula, but Tagetes, named after Tages, a grandson of Jupiter.
Whether Catholic or pagan plants, marigold roots exude thiopenenes, which kills nematodes, which is why marigolds are welcome in kitchen gardens, where they help keep vegetables pest-free.
One summer, when I was young and my hair was still naturally blonde, I harvested yellow marigolds to make a tea that I used as a rinse for my hair, giving me Goldilocks highlights.
Marigolds grow easily—some gardeners complain too easily—from seeds and will self-sow.
For more info: Learn to discriminate between the good and the bad bugs here.
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