Myths about marigolds

After the White Rabbit posting…

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Church secretary: A reader wrote in pointing out that marigolds cannot actually turn rabbits to stone.

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Tagetes patula

Archdeacon: There’s a lot of myths mistakenly attributing supernatural prowess to marigolds.

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Church secretary: But they do kill bugs, right?

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Archdeacon: Gardeners do say that if you plant marigolds near your veges, it prevents pests. And they keep nematode numbers down.

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Church secretary: Intriguing. How many marigolds should I plant?

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Archdeacon: It takes a lot of marigolds to deal with insects. And you need bushes of the Tagetes marigold to have any effect on nematodes. Science is more complicated than popular wisdom.

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Voice-over

A little knowledge simplifies. But over-simplification obscures.
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