types of plants to prevent bugs in the garden?

ducks4you said:
I've planted radishes, watched them flower (very pretty with white and pale lavendar) THEN watched them grow in feral monster giants that won't come out of the ground!! :rant
Anybody else have this happen to them?
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Yep. They will come out but it can take effort. A shovel can help. Try feeding them, leaves, flowers, seed pods, and bulbs to your chickens.

My icycle radishes reseeded also. That was a nice treat fairly late in the year.
 
Radishes are supposed to deter the cucumber beetle. I planted them around my cucumbers and didn't have any problems with the beetles.....but to be honest, didn't do real well with my cucumbers either. The beetles may have left them alone out of pity.:lau
 
Thank you for all the tips. I will add some of the herb suggestions to my garden this year and I have started some marigolds already.
Christie :)
 
mothergoose, I harvested nearly 2,000 marigold seeds from 2 plants that grew in 2009. I didn't touch them until a few weeks ago. Each flower left me over 50 seeds each. Though they're yellow--I'm much fonder of other Marigold colors--I now have a jar of them ready to plant. Save your Marigold seeds. I have other packages of other colors, too. I am NEVER going to buy Marigold seeds again.
 
I have never tried to save seeds, so it will be new for me this year, but I am going to try. i will need pointers though.

As for your marigolds, you have the best color! I love yellow flowers, any and all kinds.

Christie :)
 
ducks4you said:
Okay-I wasn't at ALL clear--must be on an early-sping rant :lol:--has anybody successfully used radishes to prevent bugs in their garden without "Chernobolizing" radish monsters that take over?!?!? :ep
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My radish were COVERED in destructive evil beetles that chomped them down to the point all I have left were pods on dead stalks. Mostly they were cucumber beetles. However, I planted them right near my cukes and cantelopes... and guess what, they left my cukes and cantelopes alone!!!

Best move I ever made. :D
 
ducks4you said:
mothergoose, I harvested nearly 2,000 marigold seeds from 2 plants that grew in 2009. I didn't touch them until a few weeks ago. Each flower left me over 50 seeds each. Though they're yellow--I'm much fonder of other Marigold colors--I now have a jar of them ready to plant. Save your Marigold seeds. I have other packages of other colors, too. I am NEVER going to buy Marigold seeds again.
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You are lucky... I've saved seeds from my french marigold last year (the tiger orange and red ones). I haven't gotten any to germinate.

Anything special I should do?
 
i have 2 books that are wonderful for companion planting, and it helps with other ailments of the garden like bugs and fungus.

one book is called 'Carrots love Tomatoes' and the other is 'Roses love Garlic'. the copies i have are from about the 80's but i have seen these still in print.

i've done zinnias in with my tomatoes one year and found i had no issues with pests attacking either plant. but the bees loved the flowers from both!
 
I have used companion planting lightly in the past with very good results, but this year I am getting into it a little deeper.

I have purchased the book mentioned above, Carrots Love Tomatoes, and hope to implement many of the companion suggestions therein.

I will let you all know how it all went. I plan on making a chart and laminating it to keep on my garden gate for a reference. This way, I can do succession plantings of items like lettuces, radishes, carrots, etc. at a glance and be able to rotate them into the more beneficial areas.

I find the book fascinating and have personally had good experiences with nasturtiums and marigolds in the garden, so it will be a learning experience to find out if the other suggested plantings yield the same results.
 
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