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What are best plants to plant in your garden to keep away harmful pests?

i meant warms,catapillars...fries..

Public Comments

1. Wormwood - esp at the perimeter will discourage cats and other mammals from trying to get in. Here are more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_repellent_plants
2. Aromatic herbs are the best companion plants for repelling garden insect pests. They work by "jamming the radar" of adult pests looking for host plants to lay their eggs on. Insects find your vegetables by keying in on chemicals they give off, and aromatic plants like basil, thyme, oregano, summer savory, sage, dill, and rosemary give off chemicals that mask the smells of your vegetables. You can plant them in borders around your vegetable beds, but it's good to plant them in among your vegetables as well. Many of these plants also attract beneficial garden insects, and planting them near your vegetables draws these garden allies in to patrol the leaves of your vegetables for pests. Or you can plant them in pots--most of these herbs grow well in pots--and move the pots around in your vegetable bed, where ever you have a pest problem. For more information, see http://www.grow-it-organically.com/natural-garden-pest-control.html
3. First, worms are good, although larvae, the young of some moths and butterflies, do eat plant parts. To keep harmful pests away, plant marigolds- the dwarf French kind. They germinate, grow and bloom early and it if you remove the faded flower heads (deadheading) they will flower until hard frost. Tansy repels mosquitoes as does the citronella plant- a variety of geranium with inconspicuous flowers. One very good garden practice is to do companion planting, This means that if a pest attracts one plant but likes another plant better, you plant that plant close to the one you want to grow. In effect you invite the pests to a more desirable buffet. You also keep pests away by good gardening practices: cleaning up debris which can be pest breeding grounds, maintaining good watering practices- healthy plants will be able to protect themselves from pests, and water is a good way to dislodge pests you see on leaves and stems.