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1:50 pm
January 11, 2010
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One of the websites I'm looking at to buy a garden package has a package that includes flowers. "Flowers are included in this package to help draw pollinating insects into your garden. This will insure maximum production from your vegetable crops."
These are the flowers they include:
Flowers (26 varieties): Asters, Black Eyed Susan, Calendula, Candytuft, Cornflower, Cosmos, Cottage Pinks, Forget-me-not, Four o’clock, Gloriosa Daisy, Hollyhock, Large Grey Sunflower, French Marigold, Signet Marigold, Morning Glory, Nasturtium, Oriental Poppy, Ornamental Peppers, Portulaca, Purple Coneflower, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Shasta Daisy, Snapdragon, Strawflower, Sweet Pea and Zinnia
Besides for pollination, are there any other reasons to include flowers in your vegetable garden? Do any of these repel unwanted garden pests also?
1:55 pm
December 14, 2010
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Yes! They are pretty.
2:11 pm
June 1, 2010
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Some well-known anti-pest flowers:
Marigolds repel cabbage moths and some beetles. They also eliminate nematodes (microscopic worms) that live in the soil and prey on plant roots. Marigolds are strongly scented and insects avoid them.
Nasturtiums act like an aphid trap—aphids feed on nasturtiums, leaving other plants and flowers alone.
Geraniums are another plant with a pungent odor some insects avoid. Geraniums will reduce a Japanese beetle infestation and keep cabbageworms from vegetables.
4:00 pm
January 11, 2010
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Ross – I figured that! but can only do pretty and useful this year… :)
bonita – thank you!! will add them to my list.
4:40 pm
December 14, 2010
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Bird houses are also a good means of insect control. All birds feed their nestlings on insects. Wrens are especially adept at cleaning bugs from plants. I have watched sparrows eating aphids from plants .
5:51 pm
April 1, 2009
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When I plan your little veggie garden, I put plenty of marigolds in the garden as well, we also have loads od birdshouses amoung the trees, probably to many, I love building them. So far we have had no problems with any infestations.
7:25 pm
December 28, 2008
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Vinca (the annual, not the perennial) discourage deer and bunnies from our garden.
We have had very good luck with things marked deer resistant also being somewhat chicken resistant. Our flock free ranges and sometimes likes to wander in the garden beds. It's not foolproof, but we leave paths in the garden for them, and they mostly keep to those paths. Sort of.
Yes, marigolds are terrific in vegetable gardens. I usually will buy some of the brightest and biggest ones for the pretty factor.
8:42 pm
February 10, 2009
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Nasturtiums DO attract aphids and whiteflies, which is why I always planted them a ways AWAY from the garden, so they don't spread to the good stuff, also, chickens LOVE them and will eat them (and the bugs) right up, so either plant them where the chickens can't get to them, or else plant LOTS of them… though really, you couldn't plant enough so they'd survive a chicken attack. Maybe planting them where the chickens would have a hard time getting to them, or make a circle of chicken wire around them so they can only get to the ones that overgrow the chicken wire. 
10:10 pm
December 28, 2008
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Glad to read that, BG! I've never had any luck with nasturtiums in either baskets or pots and had planned to try them this year planted directly in the ground. May not be such a good idea!
11:30 pm
February 10, 2009
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Oh they're pretty and very prolific, and tasty for US to eat too in salads and such. Just plant them off to the side in a chicken wire "barrel". In fact, I think I'll do that myself, near a pole, and I have some extra chicken wire someone gave me so I'll make a ring with it and let them go to town. Maybe some up by the mailbox too!
1:15 pm
April 18, 2012
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I have two books by Louise Riotte called Carrots Love Tomatoes and Roses love Garlic that are nice little books to read and have on hand.
Also, Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway is a good read.
I find that companion planting is very helpful!
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