If you’ve been looking for a simple way to level up your vegetable garden, one TikTok gardener has the answer — and it comes in the form of a flower. Companion planting, or growing certain plants alongside each other, can help improve soil quality, boost yields, and even keep pests away naturally. One flower in particular — marigolds — is gaining attention for doing all of the above.
“One of the most common questions I get … is how do I keep my garden so pest-free and beautiful,” began TikTok creator The Zen Hen and the Honey Bee (@thezenhenandthehoneybee), before sharing a clever and aesthetically pleasing planting technique.
@thezenhenandthehoneybee Traps crops like Sunflowers can mean the difference between a successful harvest and an unsuccessful one. #organicgardening #naturalgarden #pestfree #sunflowers #trapcrop #growyourownfood #companionplanting #selfreliance ♬ original sound – TheZenHenandTheHoneyBee
The scoop
They shared that planting sunflowers in their garden is a smart “trap crop” hack. “If you’re unfamiliar … trap crops are a form of companion planting,” said the farmer.
The sunflowers attract the pests toward the sunflowers and away from other flowers, which are vegetables. The TikToker then explains that once or twice a week, they go through their garden with a pair of gloves, plucking off pests and removing them from the sunflower, where they’ve congregated.
Sunflowers are multi-functional in a garden, besides blooming into large beautiful flowers, this gardener also loves them because “they’re also edible!”
How it’s helping
For home gardeners, sunflowers are native plants that are an easy addition that will save time and money by reducing the need for pesticides or herbicides. They also improve biodiversity, which helps vegetables to grow and even taste better.
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Better crop yields mean more fresh produce straight from your backyard — which also means fewer expensive trips to the grocery store. Growing your own food can improve your health by getting you outdoors, increasing physical activity, reducing stress, and providing fresher flavors to cook with.
Companion planting is a great hack for reducing toxic pesticide use on your food and decreasing reliance on mass-produced, store-bought, and globally shipped produce, lowering your overall carbon footprint.
What everyone’s saying
“Thank you for this knowledge. For years, I have not planted sunflowers which I absolutely love… This year I am planting sunflowers,” wrote one gardener.
“I literally have sunflowers just BARELY sprouting and there are already stink bugs around them,” one commenter said.
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“Birds love them too! Win/win/win,” wrote another.
“Thanks! I didn’t know,” said one commenter.
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