French Marigolds....(Tagetes patula)

[Just-Moxie]

Ok, so I am learning about French Marigolds. That they help maybe control nematodes... I have a garden spot that is pretty much all marigolds...they are different varieties. Now, my question is.....how does one identify a French Marigold? I can't tell the difference ..if I have any or not. The seeds came from a friend of MIL...all in an envelope...so, I don't know if there might have been any in there or not.


So, here is the same garden...scads of blooms. I was outside today collecting seed heads. Just made me wonder was all.

 

[thistlebloom]

I found a site that may help you a bit. I have to say, I didn't know the difference either, but this site has a list of named varieties that are french, which probably won't help you with the ones that were passed along to you, but if you buy any in the future at least you'll know what to look for.

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-garden/which-marigolds-are-french-marigolds/

 

[julieet1]

French Marigolds looks awesome. I love Marigolds . I have some idea about the difference of French Marigolds. pot marigold and French Marigolds are the same family of daisy and they are different planets. pot marigold is edible and often appears on lists of attractive edible flowers.Most French marigold varieties are not edible. French marigold is a nice companion plant in the garden, makes an effective bug spray and looks lovely in a border.

 

[897tgigvib]

Welcome to the forum Julieet1

 

[catjac1975]

I'm not sure they need to be French Marigolds to be effective. They need to have a strong odor. Th scent has been bred out of some marigolds.

 

[MeggsyGardenGirl]

I'm not sure I could tell the difference either. I plant French marigold seedlings throughout my veg gardens every year because of their size and color. They look so pretty, attract beneficial insects, and act as a trap plant for slugs and other ughs. I heard that some industrial chicken growers feed marigold petals to their battery chickens to make their skin more yellow for better grocery store sales. Poor things. I just want my chickens to recycle the marigolds into compost and they love them. We don't eat marigold blossoms because I also grow Calendulas and Nasturtiums among my veggies, which we do eat mostly in salads. We don't eat our laying hens when they get tired either, but they do provide my family with spectacular chicken broth, which we love and are grateful to have.

 

[Nyboy]

Check their passport!!

 

[so lucky]

Marigolds are also added to some commercial layer chicken feed. It makes the yolks more yellow, therefore looking more wholesome. Artificially.

 

[thistlebloom]

I was just taking a look again at Moxies picture, and it struck me that the clear yellow marigolds look like Lemon Gem, the orange could be Orange Gem. Maybe.

Moxie, do you remember if those marigolds had a pronounced citrusy fragrance?

 

[digitS']

Marigolds are also added to some commercial layer chicken feed. It makes the yolks more yellow, therefore looking more wholesome. Artificially.

And, it is the Tagetes marigolds that go in chicken feed.

Not the pot marigold (Calendula officinalis), altho' those blossoms can be used for food coloring . . . I think this is very strange and artificial!

https://www.crops.org/publications/cs/abstracts/43/6/2118

Steve