Description

French Marigold (Tagetes Patula) is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family and is cultivated as an easily grown bedding plant.

French Marigold is an annual flower and reaches 15-60cm tall. Its heads are beautiful and brightly coloured and contain mostly hermaphrodite florets (male and female organs), with oil glands that produce a pungent floral smell.

French Marigolds come in warm shades of red, orange and yellow and the plant is compact, bushy with semi-double, double or crested flowers and has many useful benefits in your garden.

Benefits

Marigolds Are Easy To Grow

• French Marigolds enjoy plenty of sunlight, but besides that they are particularly trouble free plants. They will grow in a wide range of different soils and conditions and when sowed, will germinate within 1-2 weeks.
• If left to go to seed, they will easily self-seed throughout your vegetable garden and bloom again next year.

Marigolds Produce Chemicals Effective Against Harmful Nematodes

• French Marigolds are excellent companion plants as they help neighboring plants by killing off nematodes that can be harmful to crops. Nematodes are tiny organisms, also known as roundworms, that are too small to see with the naked eye. Nematodes invade plant roots and cause various root deformities which can be especially harmful to root plants like beets and carrots, but can also affect plants like tomatoes resulting in poor crop growth.
• Marigolds contain nematicides and act as a host for the nematodes. The nematodes invade the marigold roots in the same way they invade a tomato root, however once the nematode is inside the marigold root, the natural nematicides of the plant kills the nematode and prevent it from breeding. Over time the population of nematodes decreases. 
• It is important to realize that marigolds will help control nematodes, not get rid of them altogether.

Marigolds Can Be Chopped and Dropped

• French Marigolds that have been harvested and not used can be dropped into soil at the end of the growing season to add organic matter to growing areas. This will help in the reseeding processes, as well as to add beneficial nutrients back into your soil.

Marigolds Attract Bees and Other Pollinators 

• Marigolds are known to bloom for quite a long time, making them an excellent addition to your garden for attracting bees and other helpful pollinators throughout the growing season. Marigolds are specifically attractive as they have oil glands that produce a spicy fragrance attractive to many beneficial garden pollinators.

Marigolds Attract Predatory Insects

• Marigolds aren't only great for attracting pollinators, but also predatory insects that help with organic pest control in your garden! Predatory insects help to keep an ecosystem in balance and keep pest problems under control.
• Marigolds are known to attract ladybugs, lacewigs, hoverflies, parasitic mini wasps as well as other predatory insects that eat aphids and other pests that can damage your garden crops.

Marigolds Can Be An Effective Trap Crop

• Trap crops are known to lure pests to them in order to keep them away from other, more valuable crops and Marigolds are great for this purpose.
• Slugs are known to love Marigolds, so if you're having a problem with them, Marigolds can be planted at the edges of a garden bed in order to protect other crops, as a sacrificial plant. Some Marigolds will be lost, but slugs are quite easy to spot and remove before they become a problem for other plants.

 

 How To Use

• Season: Spring (21 – 23°C) Seeds sprout best when the soil is warm.
• Germinate 7-14 days
• Depth: 4 mm
• Spacing: 25 x 25 cm
• Harvest: 8 - 10 weeks
• Height: 15 -60 cm
• Flowering Season: Summer
• Exposure: Full Sun

Ideal Growing Conditions

• Marigolds prefer well-draining soil.
• Water thoroughly after planting.
• Plants grown in pots or containers will require more watering.

 

1g marigold seeds = Approx. 315 seeds

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