Ideas for pest control and attracting beneficial insects

[PunkRotten]

Hi,


So I am making plans to add some things into my garden that I hope will attract beneficial insects and repel bad ones. I have a small garden area. The area is about 20 foot long by 26 inches wide. The edges on both sides receive about 2-3 hours of direct sun at the most while the middle gets about 5-6 hours.

In Spring I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, leeks, basil etc. The tomatoes got attacked by hornworms, tomato fruitworms, grasshoppers, and other caterpillars. I did a good job of removing as much as I could by killing and removing by hand. But I can see if I have an abundance of food and nothing stopping them they are gonna go to town.


Anyway I was doing some reading on companion planting and other plants that attract beneficial insects etc. A few things I had in mind were marigolds, nasturtiums, yarrow, borage, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and dill.

I am having a hard time figuring out how I should plant all these. Thinking about growing conditions has made it a little challenge for me. Like I was reading how nasturtiums prefer poor dry soil, and yarrow can get large and also could get invasive. The borage gets too big for me to dedicate an area for it.

I plan to plant 2 tomato varieties, small melon, basil, and mini white cucumbers next Spring. I guess I am just looking for some direction. Maybe you can suggest me other plants that work good, or give me some suggestions on plant arrangement. Since I am growing 2 tomatoes and cucumbers and melons I am worried about cross pollination so that also adds a variable in the arrangement.

Help appreciated. Thanks

[nickolas]

Very good subject, I plant and or will plant Dill, fennel, angelica ,caraway, marigolds, dandelions, goldenrod, nasturtiums and comfrey
To attract Ladybugs, lacewings, parasitic wasps, assassin bugs, bees and others that like small flowers that are rich in nectar and pollen. I also plant 3 basil plants to every one of my tomato plants Basil is used with tomatoes and asparagus plants for flies, aphids, mites and mosquitoes. Helpful with tomato hornworms and asparagus beetles.

Here is a link to a website that was helpful to me.
https://www.farmerfred.com/plants_that_attract_benefi.html

[rainbowgardener]

Nice link, nick! Re planting the long narrow strip - I agree borage gets way too big for your space and when I tried it, it didn't work that well for attracting bees anyway. Dill is a nice herb for attracting insects, but carrots are in the same family as dill. Carrots and tomatoes are good companion planting and carrots take up less room than dill. I often put a row of carrots in front of my tomatoes. I do plant nasturtium with my tomatoes and they do very well in the very enriched soil my tomatoes are in. To make the space more productive, I usually plant broccoli in front of where the tomatoes will be, but very early. The broccoli goes in the ground a month or more ahead of the last frost date, as it is frost tolerant. By the time the tomato plants are getting big, the broccoli is mostly done and I pull it to make more room. Onions and garlic don't take up much room and help repel pests. Plant some lettuce and spinach all around the edges. They also go in early and are done once it gets hot. But they don't need as much sun and once it is starting to get hot, will benefit from the shade of the tomatoes.

[CharlieBear]

Just a warning on marigolds, if they are the newest varieties, studies have shown that they attact harmful insects rather than repel them. If you go with marigolds use the old heirloom types. I know people who tried the others. Another good attracter of beneficials is callendia, bees love it and you can eat the petals and make salves out of it (herb). Some people plant mustard right with their tomatoes and leave it until it wants to go to seed and then pull it, that seems to help protect them a little.
Companion planting is unfortunately one of those areas where very little real research has been done. Much of the info is anadotal so you will have to see what works for you. Best of luck

[PunkRotten]

Nice link, nick! Re planting the long narrow strip - I agree borage gets way too big for your space and when I tried it, it didn't work that well for attracting bees anyway. Dill is a nice herb for attracting insects, but carrots are in the same family as dill. Carrots and tomatoes are good companion planting and carrots take up less room than dill. I often put a row of carrots in front of my tomatoes. I do plant nasturtium with my tomatoes and they do very well in the very enriched soil my tomatoes are in. To make the space more productive, I usually plant broccoli in front of where the tomatoes will be, but very early. The broccoli goes in the ground a month or more ahead of the last frost date, as it is frost tolerant. By the time the tomato plants are getting big, the broccoli is mostly done and I pull it to make more room. Onions and garlic don't take up much room and help repel pests. Plant some lettuce and spinach all around the edges. They also go in early and are done once it gets hot. But they don't need as much sun and once it is starting to get hot, will benefit from the shade of the tomatoes.

Yes I am thinking about the carrots. I am going to be planting some of them soon and I want to leave a few to grow next year too. I hear the Do I have to wait till they are flowering to attract some beneficial insects?

ABout the lettuce, I can plant those both seasons? I only plant tomatoes in spring and keep them till late summer. And about the onions, can green onions/scallion work or should I used onions with big bulbs?

[PunkRotten]

Just a warning on marigolds, if they are the newest varieties, studies have shown that they attact harmful insects rather than repel them. If you go with marigolds use the old heirloom types. I know people who tried the others. Another good attracter of beneficials is callendia, bees love it and you can eat the petals and make salves out of it (herb). Some people plant mustard right with their tomatoes and leave it until it wants to go to seed and then pull it, that seems to help protect them a little.
Companion planting is unfortunately one of those areas where very little real research has been done. Much of the info is anadotal so you will have to see what works for you. Best of luck

Hi,

The marigolds I have are 'Queen Sophia'. I am not sure if they are an heirloom, but they are a French Marigold. I was looking at 'Lemon Gem' Marigolds cause I hear they are pretty good. Never heard of callendia, but I will look it up.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I think he meant Calendula ( Pot Marigold).

Here is a [url=https://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Double%20Dog%20Farm%20Nature/?action=view&current=BorageandBees002.mp4
]42 second video[/url] I made on my Borage today. You can see even with most flowers spent, there is plenty of bee activity. It maybe just the difference in climate between Rainbow and I.

There are some other nature photos if you like to browse.

Eric

[PunkRotten]

Cool video. I also browsed your pics, really cool too especially the ones with the Eagle. I figure with adding some flowers to my garden it will attract more bees. The Borage is just too big for my limited space. I could try planted it in other areas but don't know how effective that would be in getting bees closer to my garden.