10 Marigold Companion Plants In A Vegetable Garden

Home » What Are Marigolds Good For » 10 Marigold Companion Plants In A Vegetable Garden

Maybe your like

10 Marigold Companion Plants in a Vegetable Garden

marigold companion plants

Marigolds

As a kid, my least favorite flower was the marigold. Companion plants, pollinators, and wondering how the heck to keep rabbits out of my garden was still years away. Marigolds, on the other hand, were right there in front of me. So was the bee that stung me, along with a few of his fellow bees gathering pollen from the flowers. In my eight-year-old mind it was all connected: marigolds attract bees, bees sting you, therefore, marigolds were the worst flower ever.

There was still a lot I didn’t know about garden ecosystems, flower and plant fertilization, and how bees are basically responsible for probably three-fourths of the food in my pantry. It also turns out that there are quite a few marigold companion plants that create little dynamic duos in the garden.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

Yes! I want this FREE guide!

Why the marigold is the perfect companion

Companion planting is one of the oldest approaches to gardening. Different plants support each other in a myriad of ways, from adding nutrients to the soil to preventing pests and diseases to offering each other shade and keeping the soil moist. Some plants are a bit snooty about who they have as a neighbor. Others, like the bright yellow and orange marigold, it turns out, are the life of the party. The more the merrier for marigold companion plants. It’s also quite the benefactor for other plants. Why?

Marigolds attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. They attract predatory insects, like ladybugs, that feed on aphids and other pests. The limonene in marigolds can help deter whiteflies and their roots secrete chemicals that kill nematodes. And not only are they little pest-deterring workhorses, marigolds are easy to grow and they’re truly beautiful. Wow!

10 Marigold companion plants that belong in your garden (and 2 that don’t)

Okay, so the marigold is amazing, but what are the best marigold companion plants? Here are some of my favorites:

  1. Potatoes
  2. Tomatoes
  3. Cucumbers
  4. Eggplant
  5. Squash
  6. Carrots
  7. Onions
  8. Garlic
  9. Kale
  10. Cabbage

It’s important to point out, however, that not all plants work as marigold companion plants. For example, some gardeners swear that marigolds stunt the growth of pole beans. I’ve also heard that marigolds and cabbage don’t get along so well. Admittedly, I can’t say this is definitely true, but I also haven’t tried planting them close together because why take that chance? I do know that marigolds attract slugs and snails, although, if you set your flowers a little bit away from your vegetables, that can be beneficial.

Honestly, though, these are such easy flowers to grow, and they add wonderfully bright colors to your garden. There’s really no downside here.

What do you think? Have you tried planting marigolds as companion plants? I’d love to hear how that worked out and if you would do anything differently in the future.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

Yes! I want this FREE guide!

« How to Create Built-In Hillside Planter Boxes for Sloped Yards Children Provide the Most Funny Gardening Stories »

Related Posts

  • Hybrid Vegetables, Heirloom & GMO: What’s the Difference?
  • 5 of the Best Plants for Aeroponic Vegetable Gardens
  • 10 Beautiful Flowering Vegetables (and Herbs)

Tags

cabbage, carrots, companion planting, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, kale, marigold companion, marigold companion plants, onions, potatoes, tomatoes

Comments

  • Can any cultivar or variety of Marigolds serve this purpose? thank you

    Reply

    • Most cultivars are suitable for companion planting but French Marigolds are preferred.

      Reply

  • Marigolds grow abundantly in Ontario Canada. I think their favourite everywhere.

    Reply

  • Does anyone know if Marigolds grow year ’round in Florida? Zone 10A on the Gulf. Thank you.

    Reply

    • There is a shrubby variety of marigold this is a true perennial. However in warmer zones, “annual” marigolds can self seed so you get new plants every year.

      Reply

    • I grow huge ones all year round except for the cold months in zone 9 (ocala Florida) My seed stock came from Minnesota (ebay) and was told very little about it. Other than you will get lots of seeds. (yes you do) Mine love full sun, inferno heat and need water to grow over 4 feet plus tall. This is my 4th year growing them. I also grow them in the middle of veg plants to keep away various insects. Bees LOVE LOVE them too! Good Luck

      Reply

  • I am trying to make sense of your contradiction pertaining to cabbage and marigolds. “Yes, no, maybe …but I’ve never planted them together”, frankly, is not a help.

    Reply

    • Try not to get hung up on one vegetable;) you have 9 others Sounds like is a great starter garden to use with the marigolds.

      Reply

  • We’ve planted marigolds as a front path edging because I love the colours and because we grew up with them in South Africa. Now we’ve added them to our raised bed gardens where we grow tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, sweet peppers. Since we started doing this, no issues with bugs. And lady bugs still in abundance keeping aphids at bay.

    Reply

  • I am a huge fan of companion planting. I put marigolds with my cabbage for the first time last year and they were full of earwigs. Those that I planted in containers with no marigolds did not have any earwig issues. I will definitely keep using marigolds, but not with my cabbages.

    Reply

  • Haven’t had potato bugs since planting marigolds along side of them

    Reply

  • I have been saving my marigold seeds for over 40 years and I absolutely love them.

    Reply

  • I plant marigolds with my green beans (not pole beans, but they are runners). They do not stunt their growth. Year before last I put marigolds in both my gardens and everybody loved them. This years I did not plant them and that was a big mistake.

    Reply

  • Loved this article! I have a terrace garden that is 100 feet long by 12 feet wide. I have always planted marigolds on the outer edge of the terrace wall for more than 20 years now. I rarely have any bug problems in this garden and I know it is because of the marigolds. The other important thing that marigolds do is self propagate at the end of the season. When the flower heads start withering and shrink up into a tight seed head, that is when I get excited. Wait until the seed head is totally dry and brown before you pick it if you can. This last year our northern weather closed in really fast and I only got half of the marigold seeds gathered. So, this coming spring, I will gather any seed pods that have not been beaten off of the plants by the wind and snow and I will gather even those lying on the ground. When I plant them, I only remove about a 1/3″ of soil and rub the seed pods between my hands to free the individual seeds and sprinkle them on the soil and cover with the soil you removed. You need to know and remember that seeds you gather yourself will not have as high a germination rate as seeds you buy at the store. I don’t really know why this is true, but it is. Even with that downside to saving your own seeds, it is still a wonderful, money saving practice.

    Reply

  • How do they survive in the heat in Florida?

    Reply

    • Marigolds grow great in Florida, they can grow in zones 2-11 and love the sunshine.

      Reply

      • Do Marigolds grow year ’round in Florida? Zone 10A on the Gulf. Thank you.

        Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Δ

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • Worst Best Gardening Jokes Calendar
  • 5 Easy Healthy Carrot Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Lemon Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Salsa Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Apple Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Chicken Breast Recipes
  • Top 11 Food Gardening Tools You Need to Succeed
  • A Printable Companion Planting Chart
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart
  • Printable Seed Germination Temperature Chart
  • Printable Tomato Garden-to-Table Chart
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Printable Butterfly Garden Planting Chart
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Printable Composting 101 Charts
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • 10 Best Garden Poems of All Time
  • Vegetable Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Printable Flower Garden Companion Planting Chart
  • 10 Things You Can Grow That Your Pet Will LOVE To Eat!
  • Rose Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Printable Kitchen Garden Planting Charts
  • Sunflower Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Seasonal ArtPrints Collection Kit Sampler
  • Sampler: Gardening Humor
  • Sampler: Wit, Wisdom, & Learning
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • Sampler: Animals in the Garden
  • Sampler: Healing Gardens
  • Sampler: Joy of Gardening
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden

Browse Topics

Buyers Guides:

Authors:

Enter Your Log In Credentials

Email

Password

Remember MeThis setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at (800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
Go to mobile version

Tag » What Are Marigolds Good For