Gardening influencer Ashley Nicole (@momjeansandgardenthings) has an easy tip for everyone having a hard time with their plants dying and getting destroyed by pests. It’s a time-honored technique called “companion planting,” where your main crop is surrounded by plants that repel bad insects and attract the good ones.
Nicole founded the blog Mom Jeans and Garden Things, where she shares “tips, tricks, and ideas on ways to grow your own herbal beauty routine.”
“If you’re a beginner gardener and you’re confused about companion planting, this simple formula is going to make everything make sense,” Nicole says in the clip. “There are three main components to companion planting. There’s the main crop … the flower, and the herb.”
For example, Nicole shares a pot featuring her main crop, a tomato plant, accompanied by onions, oregano, marigolds and chives.
Here’s how they work together: “The marigold is going to act as an attractant for pollinators, the oregano is going to act as a repellent,” she said. “Marigold also acts as a repellent. Now I have an additional herb here … our chives and onions, they are going to act as our herb and act as a repellent to pests.”
This unique arrangement keeps pests away from plants while attracting essential pollinators. Commentators praised Nicole for making a complex gardening technique simple and easy to learn.
“This was the best explanation I’ve heard since I’ve begun my container planting on my deck,” Meribah2022 wrote. “Simply explained,” Gabriela Dominguez added. “I tried this last year, and it worked beautifully.”
