marigolds help control greenfly? can someone explain please

positivelymummy

i have spotted some greenfly and blackfly, i have sprayed with water and washing up liquid and also bought some bug spray, i spotted some this morning again (its always on the new shoots of all the plants etc) whats the story with marigolds? i happen to have some marigold seeds i bought for the kids. do i just sow them next to the infected plants and why? i know someone will know the answer!:D i'm still a brand new gardener!!

A_Clock

Its because of the smell of them i think...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_companion_plants#Flowers

pink.1970

Found this online to explain.....

The reason some flowering plants help prevent aphids is clear, the plants are the feeding favourite of the hoverfly. Hoverflies have short feeding tubes and they prefer plants have flat and open flowers. This helps the hoverfly to easily reach the pollen. After feeding, the adult hoverfly will then lay her eggs on colonies of greenfly and black fly. When the eggs hatch, the resulting larvae feed on the aphids with dramatic effect! Try it, it really does work.

teedy23

Excellent news! I can see a carpet of yellow now, all round my roses. This will make up for the lack of ladybirds I hope.

exlibris

teedy23 wrote: »

Excellent news! I can see a carpet of yellow now, all round my roses. This will make up for the lack of ladybirds I hope.

I know this isn't the times BUT I saw my first ladybird on Saturday!!

~Chameleon~

I used to have loads of ladybirds in the garden but have barely seen any this year, which probably explains why I've discovered an infestation of green and black fly on my pansies

Had to resort to bug spray, which I hate using, but don't want them to spread to my veggies or the greenhouse.

Have got lots of marigolds just sprouting in the greenhouse so fingers crossed once they go out the problem should be resolved

positivelymummy

thankyou my greenfingered friends:beer: off to sow my seeds...everywhere!!

emmilou

what do the 'baby' hoverfly look like I have marigolds in my greenhouse along with toms, strawberries and peppers which are being attacked by little beasties so I sprayed them (organic spray of course) just thought I hope i haven't sprayed any good bugs :rolleyes:

Another thought what do hoverfly look like are they a bit like small wasps? sorry having a blonde moment (no offence meant to fellow blondes of course!)

chimp_choker

positivelymummy wrote: »

i have spotted some greenfly and blackfly, i have sprayed with water and washing up liquid and also bought some bug spray, i spotted some this morning again (its always on the new shoots of all the plants etc) whats the story with marigolds? i happen to have some marigold seeds i bought for the kids. do i just sow them next to the infected plants and why? i know someone will know the answer!:D i'm still a brand new gardener!!

If you are using the french marigolds or Tagets ( I think) then these are good for companion planting as they give of secretions into the soil to deter pests. These secretions are taken up by the roots of other plants and thus the greenfly don't like it.

Frnch marigolds are also good for planting between tomatoes and Carrots for the same reason

A_Clock

emmilou wrote: »

what do the 'baby' hoverfly look like I have marigolds in my greenhouse along with toms, strawberries and peppers which are being attacked by little beasties so I sprayed them (organic spray of course) just thought I hope i haven't sprayed any good bugs :rolleyes:

Another thought what do hoverfly look like are they a bit like small wasps? sorry having a blonde moment (no offence meant to fellow blondes of course!)

Hoverflys look likes wasps but only have one main body (wasp has 2 half's) and they also hover and dart from side to side

weezl74

hello!

I have some marigolds which are about 3 ins tall. How near to my carrot seedlings should I plant them? The seedlings are in 2 drills approx 12 cm apart, can they go in between? They are in a big square plastic tub, but I'm not sure there'd be room anywhere else!

TIA,

Weezl x