Tip of the Week: Plant This to Repel Pests

Certain plants repel pests. Planting them in or near your vegetable garden will reduce the need for pesticides.

Grow marigolds among vegetables. Marigold roots secrete a substance that destroys nematodes and eel worms.
Include garlic (Allium sativum) in the vegetable garden, or even garlic’s cousins, the ornamental alliums. Alliums of all sorts exude enzymes from their roots that are toxic to many pests.
Rue, mint, tansy, lavender, sage, rosemary and wormwood all deter a variety of pests. so include these herbs.
Nettles attract early aphids that provide food for emerging ladybugs. So the nettles keep the aphids off other plants, and encourage natural predators.
Nasturtiums are irresistible to aphids, so use them as a decoy. Plant them well away from the vegetable garden as the aphids’ private dining room.

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