by J HERMAN
Having swarms of insects hover around your backyard is no fun. But not only is it an annoyance for you as you attempt to enjoy the outdoors – it can also be quite catastrophic for your plants. But fear not! There are several plants out there that actually fend off insects and can protect your entire garden. Read on to learn about six such plants.
Before we dive right in, let’s talk about the basic criteria we put together for this list of plants.
Each plant had to be easy to find, easy to grow, edible and, of course, repulsive to insects.
#6 – Borage
Borage is a great companion for just about any plant but it does an especially fantastic job at protecting tomatoes and squash as well as strawberries. Borage does a great job of enhancing the flavor and yield of strawberries. It also greatly repels worms that feed on tomatoes and cabbage while attracting helpful bees and wasps. Once borage decomposes, it also performs quite well as mulch for most plants. It is an annual plant, however it reseeds itself so easily that it can almost be considered a perennial. Sounds pretty awesome, right? It is!
#5 – Chives
Chives do an excellent job at helping out carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage, to name a few plants. The plant defends tomatoes from aphids and is excellent at repelling Japanese beetles and carrot rust flies. Experts recommend planting chives around apple trees for three consecutive years to reduce the risk of scab disease.
It is not recommended that you plant chives near to asparagus, beans, peas or spinach.
#4 – Radish
In addition to being incredibly easy to grow, radish is a trustworthy companion to many plants including beets, bush beans, carrots, cucumber and spinach, to name a few. They prevent plants from damage caused by rust flies and cucumber beetles.
A little handy trick you might want to try is planting radish beside your spinach to lure leafminers from it; the insects will eat the radish leaves and stay away from the spinach.
It’s advisable to keep radish away from cabbage, cauliflower and hyssop plants.
#3 – Onion
If you’re thinking of planting broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, cauliflower, radish, mustard or turnip, you might want to throw a few onion plants into the mix.
Why? Well, humans aren’t the only ones who find the smell of onions to be repulsive and pungent. Maggots and several different types of flies also become greatly disturbed by the smell of onions and try to avoid it. Be advised not to plant onions around peas and asparagus.
#2 – Marigold
Marigold is incredibly beautiful and easy to grow, putting it close to the top of this list. French marigolds repel white flies and actually kill certain types of nematodes. Mexican marigolds irritate many types of insects due to their smell.
Be warned that marigolds can attract spider mites.
#1 – Garlic
Not only can garlic scare your date away, it also does a terrific job of protecting many types of fruit trees from moths, Japanese beetles, snails and root maggots. Garlic can be planted throughout your garden bed and has benefits for just about every type of plant you can think of. That said, you may want to avoid planting garlic around your peas.
And there you have it!
Six easy tips for repelling insects from your crops, the natural way.
Don’t rely on chemicals or pesticides as a means of protecting your crops; nature’s always got a solution.
[h/t Paleo Mama]