Marigolds are one of those plants that anyone who loves to make medicinal remedies should have in their garden. So here are our tips for sowing and caring for marigolds.
The marigold, which has always been native to Europe, is one of the best-known medicinal plants worldwide and is now even professionally cultivated in many places due to its proven healing effects. We will tell you here how you can plant this great medicinal plant in the garden and what you need to consider when caring for and harvesting it.
Planting Marigolds
Marigolds are annual plants and must therefore be sown again every year. We recommend outdoor sowing after the frost days, around May.
» Tip:
Marigolds can also reproduce naturally by self-seeding, but only if the plant is allowed to remain in the garden bed until the seed has ripened!
Otherwise you have to loosely scatter the commercially available seeds (can also be sown in rows) and cover them with a layer of soil of about 2 centimeters.
» Tip:
If the seedlings are too close together after germination, you can easily thin them out and even plant them somewhere else.
Care for Marigolds
Casting:
The extremely easy-care marigolds do not require much care. This means, among other things, that you should only water the flowers in the morning and evening if possible on hot days.
Flowering:
When the plants are about 50 centimeters high by June, buds form which lead to bright orange-yellow flowers. If you cut off these flowers immediately after they have faded, they can even flower again in the same year of cultivation.
Fertilize:
You don't have to fertilize the marigolds. However, you can work a little nutrient-rich soil (compost) into the bottom area.
Fighting aphids:
If the marigolds are occasionally attacked by aphids, you can fight them with nettle manure.
Using marigolds as a medicinal plant
You should only ever harvest the flowersof the marigold, which you can process into ointments - can be used for skin diseases. You can also use the flowers to make marigold honey, which you can use to treat digestive problems, among other things.
» Tip:
You can also sprinkle the intensively colored petals of the marigold on salads.