[dawnj]

I heard today if you put marigolds in with your brassiacs it keeps pests away what do you think?

[DavidT]

It`s called companion planting, the scent from the Marigolds deters aphids. The same applies if you use any member of the onion family.

[LivvyW]

Do brassicas suffer much with aphids?

[DavidT]

Not if you plant Marigolds.

[SnooziSuzi]

I used them last year to keep pests off my brassicas and they worked brilliantly at detering the whitefly; didn't see many aphids so they must have worked on them too! 

[yummy]

I planted a load out last week in the beds that we are going to use for curcubits as they are supposed to deter aphids (that carry mosaic virus). Didn't realise they deter whitefly too. Will get a load more then 

[rivkele]

are the things called "tajetes" the same as marigolds? they look the same but they seem to have a completely different latin name. will they work the same way in detering whitefly etc. does anyone know?

[Elcie]

Work for your tomato plants too

[dawnj]

thanks for your replys i will be at the garden  centre tomorrow......

[Kristen]

Tagetes erecta - "African" marigold - don't know if this is useful for anything

Tagetes patula - "French" marigold - very smelly which deters whitefly - companion-plant in greenhouse with tomatoes,  peppers, cucumbers, aubergines

Tagetes minuta - Mexican marigold - even more smelly, the most powerful of the insect repelling marigolds, but very tall (6' / 2M)

Calendula - English marigold attracts hoverflies (which eat aphids)

[strangerachael]

I grew marigolds right next to my purple sprouting brocolli last year and it still got badly infested with whitefly  maybe I grew the wrong type? I think they were Tagetes Patula

[mumofstig]

They only deter the whitefly, they can't protect against a determined pest

[rivkele]

Tagetes erecta - "African" marigold - don't know if this is useful for anything

Tagetes patula - "French" marigold - very smelly which deters whitefly - companion-plant in greenhouse with tomatoes,  peppers, cucumbers, aubergines

Tagetes minuta - Mexican marigold - even more smelly, the most powerful of the insect repelling marigolds, but very tall (6' / 2M)

Calendula - English marigold attracts hoverflies (which eat aphids)

thankyou kristen, that's cleared up my doubts! i'd only come across the tagetes since coming to spain, so i didn't know they were called marigolds too.
Problem is, now i've gone and planted calendula in amongst my tomatoes which is not much use! i shall go out and buy some tagetes tomorrow!

thanks again for your help

[Trillium]

It also helps to know that the plain, 'single' type of marigold is superior to the double 'ruffled' types of marigold and the war against pests. Personally, I've never had much luck with them as protection but I just plain love having marigolds around and plant them to enjoy. Don't even mind the smell. The bees definitely love them and that makes it worth while.

[Dal]

Just as a matter of interest, a couple of days ago I came across a video about allotments on the BBC website. Short clip by Terry Walton (the "allotment doctor"). However, he claimed that companion planting, incl. marigolds, was only useful in glass/greenhouses. Unfortunately, he didn't give reasons for his opinion.
 Any thoughts on this, as we've just sown Marigold seeds here for the specific purpose of companion planting.