After spending hours planting tomatoes in the greenhouse, carefully trying to fit every plant into its “perfect” place, I stood there looking at the remaining empty spaces between the beds and thought…
“Well… surely I can still squeeze something else in here.”
And that is how I ended up scattering calendula and marigold seeds all around the greenhouse.
Mostly because:
- these flowers are actually good companions for tomatoes,
- I had empty spaces bothering me,
- and I had few paper bags full of seeds I collected myself last year.
So naturally… into the soil they went.
The funny thing about self-collected seeds is that they always come with a tiny surprise. I honestly have no idea what colors or varieties will appear anymore. Over the years everything has happily mixed together. Maybe bright orange marigolds. Maybe pale yellow calendulas. Maybe something strange in-between. Future greenhouse me will find out eventually.
Calendula and marigolds are often recommended as companion plants because they can help attract pollinators and beneficial insects, while also making the greenhouse feel a little less like a tomato jungle. Whether they truly work magic or not — honestly, I just enjoy seeing flowers growing among the vegetables.
Also, if they all will grow I can always plant them outside or in the pots!
Gardening at this point feels like: “Let’s put this here and hope everybody survives.”
Now all that’s left is waiting to see what actually decides to grow!
Ilze
Discover more from a day in the life of a latvian mom
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
a day in the life of a latvian mom 
When I used to grow tomatoes, I always planted marigolds along with
them, and never had any problems with pests. I love the concept of
companion planting, just love it.
LikeLike
I can relate!!! It always make me feel so rich when I have seeds in abundance. My experience is that marigolds make a huge difference when it comes to deterring pests. I usually have them all over my garden.
LikeLike
I hope these will grow and I can plant them out all over my garden 🙂 Will see! There is planty to do… and I might forgot to water them or prick out… How is the weather – did you get the rain?
LikeLike
I am sure they will. I sprinkle them over the garden beds I want them, usually while there’s still patches of snow out. Marigolds are so tolerant to everything.
No rain yet…
LikeLike