companion plants & trap crop this year

[KKinAL]

Just wanted to let anyone know who might be interested in these to control bad bugs. I've tried some companion planting the last couple yeas, but I tried to really research & try more this year, & it seems like it really works. I've had very few aphids, japanese beetles, stink bugs, or leaf footed bugs (nothing compared to past years). I have had some stink bug damage to tomatoes--- you can't totally stop them. (that would be a miracle!) Here's what I planted to either attract beneficials, repel, or trap crop to attract off of the veggies:

white sensation cosmos
lemon gem marigolds
parsley
cilantro
basil
millet (trap)
sunflower (trap)
oregano
dill

[habitat_gardener]

I haven't had many bug problems in my garden, but I've always mixed in lots of herbs and flowers. I especially like native wildflowers (gilias, clarkias, poppies) in the spring, herbs in the summer (oregano, garlic chives, parsley, echinacea, bronze fennel, lavender). I don't know if they support many beneficials, but I have lots of small bulbs in late winter, as well as some herbs (rosemary, nettles, comfrey, calendula, borage).

I grew cosmos one year because it was recommended in so many places as a bug magnet, but it took up too much room! Your post reminded me that I happened upon a wonderful substitute: blue globe gilia reseeds itself, fits into smaller spaces, blooms much of the year with water (which it gets because it's growing between plants that get watered), and has the tiny flowers that attract many beneficials.

I may have to sacrifice one tomato-growing spot next year so I can grow some millet or amaranth. I also want to play around with some cover crops, such as vetch and buckwheat.

[TZ-OH6]

I planted cosmos and sunflowers but the deer ate them. The cosmos that did grow inside the fence haven't bloomed yet, so they are pretty worthless, but I left a wild patch of the Queen Annes Lace unmowed, which started blooming in early June and pulled in lots of ladybugs and hover flies to the garden. Nausturtiums have been blooming like crazy and are just now starting to get aphids to draw in and feed ladybugs, the flowers also draw in bees, and are edible (but deer won't touch them).

Radishes have worked well as a trap crop for flea beetles and I get a second crop after they bolt because the seed pods are edible.

[KKinAL]

I googled the blue globe gilia ( i had never heard of it)
It's really pretty , but do you think it would grow here? I bet it's probably too humid. I'll try some other herbs next year too-- thanks for your ideas.

[habitat_gardener]

TZ, I'll have to try radishes. I do get flea beetles on the lower leaves of my tomato plants. They're not a big problem, but if I want to grow eggplants next year, I'll have to do something about them. (We had an old doberman who loved to eat crunchy nasturtium stems!)

KKinAL, instead of globe gilia, maybe there's a wildflower native to Alabama that will grow effortlessly for you? The key is to look for tiny flowers, often found in the disc flowers of sunflower-family plants, most mint-family plants, and all parsley-family plants. I started with two 4-inch plants of globe gilia I got from the local native plant society, and once they'd gone to seed they started spreading. I also grow some small native perennials, which take a little more room, but with a variety of them (from different plant families), I can attract a greater variety of insects. If I had room, I'd grow a hedgerow of shrubby natives for pollinators and beneficials as well as for bird cover.

The annuals in my garden that self-sow are the ones that stay! If I have to replant every year, often I don't get around to it. So I have dill and cilantro only when I plant them. I planted parsley only one time and have had it ever since. I plant celery every year or two, but this spring I noticed some celery volunteers, so I've let some celery plants go to seed again.

The bee expert at UC-Berkeley says that bees like a good-sized patch of the same flower (maybe 10 square feet?), which helps them to gather pollen more efficiently.

The Gilia capitata has traveled from one end of my garden to the other, and where it gets regular water next to the beans, it's still in bloom now. It might not like a summer-rain or hot-summer climate, though. It produces prodigious amounts of seed; two summers ago, I collected about 4 ounces of seed, gave a lot away, and left a lot for the birds and to resow itself. The only thing I do to help it grow is to thin it out. It's also easy to transplant when small, and I've given lots of plants away. In my garden, it seems to bloom longest in areas that are watered a couple times a week, but during the rainy season it will sprout in any space that's unplanted, and it especially likes to come up in mulched paths. But some people tell me they can't get it to grow in their gardens even around here.

[Moonglow]

i'm a fan of companion planting! all my tomatoes are growing with either basil, thyme, marjoram, marigolds, and nasturtiums!

it must be working since i do not have bug problems this season.