How marigolds are pest unfriendly Marigolds’ greatest claim to pest control fame is their effect, documented in numerous studies, on nematodes, which are a kind of worm that in some cases is destructive to plants. Featured Video A Sikh man dresses as a superhero to challenge what it means to be American (3:41) Most Read Life Stories Food & Wine declares Washington state's best barbecue spot They don’t own homes. They don’t have kids. Why millennials are plant addicts U.S. News & World Report ranks Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan as the nation’s best airline rewards program In a rapidly growing state, La Conner's pace of change is just right VIEW Cult-favorite bakery Milk Bar is coming to Seattle — for a day Like other members of the daisy family, marigolds also do their share in feeding nectar to beneficial insects, such as syrphid flies, who prey on aphids and other insects that attack garden plants. Members of the daisy family do not yield nearly as much nectar as flowers of the parsley family — dill, for instance — but daisy family flowers keep the nectar flowing longer. Other beneficial effects of marigolds are less dramatic or useful. They have been shown to have some slight effect in repelling cabbage worms from cabbage and their kin. And some marigolds, especially a variety called Stinking Roger, repel flies, except that the flies are the kind that bother cows and other domestic animals, not plants. Read and listen to claims made for marigolds, and you also could press it into service as a fungus killer, an insect killer, even a selective weed killer. Weigh pros and cons Hold on a second, however, before you blanket your garden in marigolds. Some of these claims have been blown out of proportion. Those marigolds that helped repel cabbage worms: They also stole water and nutrients from nearby cabbages. So which is better? Stunted cabbages, or those with some leaves lacy from caterpillar feeding? Marigolds, especially the Gem varieties, also are a favorite food of slimy slugs and Japanese beetles. As such, they have been used to stop Japanese beetle damage — by attracting the beetles away from other garden plants. Of course, such schemes commonly backfire by attracting more pests to the area than would have been there otherwise. And now, for some marigold reality If you really want their pest-controlling benefits, blanket your garden with oodles of marigolds. British studies showed that African marigolds killed weeds such as ground ivy and bindweed, but the marigolds were planted densely and early in the season, then allowed to grow 5 feet tall. Might not any tall, dense growth do the same? Similarly, marigolds suppress nematodes only when the marigolds are grown as a cover crop, that is, planted thickly and allowed to grow for many weeks. To sum up, marigolds seem to have little actual benefit in suppressing disease and above ground insect pests, except perhaps to woo certain insects away from other plants. Be wary of such claims as, “I planted marigolds in my bean patch and did not have any beetles to speak of, while my neighbor’s bean plants were devoured by Mexican bean beetles.” Was this gardener growing the same bean variety as the neighbor? Were soil conditions the same? Did he or she perhaps forget about the insecticide also applied? It happens. Below ground, marigolds do have some benefit — on nematodes, at least. However, you have to plant masses of marigolds to get this benefit and anyway, not every garden has nematode problems. So why are those marigolds in my vegetable beds? ‘Cause they look pretty. LEE REICH

Hey haven't seen you around in awhile 3orangeboys! Good to have you back! As for the larspur I was really disappointed. I planted two different kinds of them and in one bed a few really small straglers that may or may not bloom. The second bed I have 3 blooming now and a few others that are about to bloom but no where near what I was hoping for. I really think both the weather and the heavy rains right after I sowed them had a lot to do with it. I'm going to sow some next spring as well and hope I get a better show. Here are a few purples that are blooming but their are some others that haven't bloomed yet. Meghan

Thank you, green garden and kimmsr. I can see one of the problems is that I use the no till method- plant an area, put down newspaper and mulch in between plants and leave it alone- requires little weeding. Also, this being sand, the roots of whatever is planted adds organic matter. But, I am putting down some compost now and will do some raking in areas that are not so thickly planted- maybe that will help some. I would like to have a bad-tasting spray to put on the worst hit plants- start w/ that next spring and protect those plants before the grasshoppers destroy them. (Would you believe that the grasshoppers have done a lot of damage to a large holly shrub that I have? Why can't they eat the wild holly in my yard instead of my precious "Christmas Jewel" holly???) I don't know if it will make a difference but I hope I will be able to plant some rye this fall- at least that will improve the soil. Thanks again, Brandy.

Barbara, I'm pretty sure it is the cougar who's been prowling the yard and neighborhood, because all the coyotes have pretty much disappeared too as have some (but not all) of the deer. The rabbits are nervous wrecks and are coming out to eat in late afternoon a couple of hours earlier than usual, instead of waiting for twilight. Aside from me seeing the cougar in the yard, a neighbor has the biggest tracks he's ever seen on his ranch and a lot of us have noticed both wildlife and pets are extremely nervous and antsy and jumpy at night. We've started keats from scratch without a leader before and have had great success, but we keep them penned up for months before we let them roam. I've been around guineas all my life (my uncle raised them) and I love them and I appreciate how wonderful they are at bug control. I just can't see feeding them needlessly to the cougar though. I actually was thinking that the 7 mature ones we had last year, which we eventually combined with the 20 young ones we raised last summer, had gotten to where they roamed a great deal farther than any of the others we've ever had, so think the overly-bold old-timers may have led the younger ones off too far. I hope to train the next bunch to stick around a bit better, but that's a new challenge for next year. I'd say this last batch was wandering twice as far as the previous ones did. I guess all the acres of pastures around us, which are of course full of bugs, are just so tempting. We have an elderly neighbor up the road a couple of miles who has lost many of his guineas too, and he's got a lot more 'civilization' around him than we do, so it is just a horrible year here for predators. At least we haven't lost any of our dogs as some people have. At this point, a coyote hanging around the yard would be almost welcome....because if he felt it was safe, I'd know predators larger than him had moved on elsewhere. So, whether it is the cougar or something else, it has really scared off the skunks, possums and armadilloes for the most part, but I'm certainly not complaining about that either. I don't know the ultimate solution. Luckily, when we have a cougar problem it usually is only for a few months and then we generally don't have them around (as far as we know) for several years. During the previous bad grasshopper year here in the early 2000s, we did have grasshoppers eating our window screens and the cotton rag rugs on the porch. They also ate the peaches and plums right off the trees. This year, at least so far, they are not at all that bad, but it does seem like there's more than most years. I still can carry a couple of chickens from the fenced run to the fenced garden and turn them loose to eat in there, and might do that, but even the 7' tall fence won't keep some animals and predator-type birds from getting the chickens. I'm just tired of all the dead animals. It hasn't been this bad since our first or second year here. This is the only year I've ever had a coyote run into the yard, grab a hen right in front of me, and run off with the poor thing in its mouth. I am very concerned about the dogs and cats. My smallest dog is 60 lbs. so no match for a really big cat but at least the dogs are usually not alone--they have other dogs with them. However, even the largest kitty cat we have would be pretty defenseless if faced with a coyote or cougar. All our dogs and cats sleep inside either the house or predator-proof garage at night and none of them are allowed outside until well after sunrise, and are back inside before sunset. Living as close as we do to the Red River....it is on three sides of us.....we always have had and always will have abundant predators. Most years, we manage to keep the animals safe from them. This is just a worse than average year and I hope things return to normal soon. Dawn