An experienced gardener knows this. They bury spent African marigolds in the soil

African marigolds, stinkweeds, or velvet marigolds. These are all names for the same flower, which can be found in many gardens. It thrives both in ornamental flower beds and often among vegetables. The reason is quite clear. It’s excellent at fighting various pests. Marigolds are also very pretty and perfectly liven up the space. But they can help in many other ways as well. Particularly interesting is a gardening trick that involves burying marigolds in the soil after they’ve finished blooming. The reasons are quite practical.

Inexpensive and Simple Homemade Fertilizer

Nothing could be simpler. Just let the marigolds finish blooming. Then all you have to do is bury them in the soil, and they’ll continue to help. How? By perfectly nourishing the soil. They provide nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Marigolds also change the soil’s structure. The soil will be somewhat softer and lighter.

Photo: Radek Stepan

How to use the plants?

Chopping them up is ideal. This way, they can be used as green manure. However, if you bury the entire plants in the soil, you won’t do any harm either. Before burying the tagetes plants in the ground, though, it’s essential to inspect them. They must not be infested with any diseases or insects. In such a case, you would do more harm than good to your garden beds. Over the winter, you can be sure that the plants will decompose and the soil will become loose.

Tip: Start repelling pests as soon as possible. Aromatic plants will drive them away.

Don’t forget to plant marigolds next year!

Exactly. Marigolds must be an integral part of your garden next season as well. In a vegetable garden, they primarily protect plants from nematodes and other dangerous pests. Marigolds have a distinctive scent that pests simply cannot tolerate. It’s ideal to plant marigolds among tomatoes and peppers. We did just that this year, and we definitely didn’t regret it.

Sources: Author—grower

Photo and photogallery: Radek Stepan