PLEASE EAT THE MARIGOLDS

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GROWING YOUR OWN

In order to have plenty of flowers during the gardening season, I start plants in flats about six to eight weeks before the last spring frost. For dwarf marigolds (which I use in quantity), I prepare four flats about four inches deep, filling them with a mixture of 3 parts garden soil, I part sand, 2 parts compost, and 1 part peat moss. I sow the seed thinly and cover the flats with plastic until sprouting occurs.

When the seedlings appear, I place the flats on a sunny windowsill, being careful that they don't burn or dry out. During cloudy weather, I set the plantings under grow-lights for about six hours a day . . . and if they become crowded, I transplant a few to a separate container.

Meanwhile, I start the seeds of larger marigolds in flats, too, treating them in the same way as I do the dwarf varieties until the second leaves have grown to a good size. I then transplant the bigger plants into individual paper cups filled with soil mix and give them lots of light. And I water all of my flower seedlings with manure tea or fish emulsion once a week.

About a week before the last spring frost, I prepare the bed for my early snap beans and the first flat of dwarf marigolds. I till the area thoroughly, open a deep furrow, and lay about an inch of rough compost in the bottom. Next, I draw an inch of soil over the compost and plant the bean seeds, spacing them about four inches apart. Every three feet or so, I skip a space in the bean planting and set a dwarf marigold seedling in the furrow instead. The bean seeds are then covered with an inch of soil, and the dirt is firmed around the flowers.

Setting marigold plants-not seeds-in with the beans helps mark the rows and in sures that the flowers will bloom in time to protect the emerging bean pods. (The cheery garden helpers have more bug-repelling power when they're in bloom.)

One week after that first planting-and again the following week-I repeat the pro cedure until I have all my rows of "marigolded" beans in the ground. About that time, I also set out tomato plants, spacing them approximately three feet apart in the row. In every other gap between the staked vines, I set a tall variety of marigold . . . with basil, borage, or collards filling the additional space.

As soon as I finish putting in the vegetable garden, I seed marigolds into my ornamental plots. Adding a thin mulch of straw or hay to this seeded bed helps keep moisture in and sprout-eating birds away.

My marigolds brighten the landscape of my South Carolina home throughout the summer and fall, right up to the first frost ... and often beyond. (I've enjoyed the blooms until Thanksgiving in years when I've planted some in a sheltered location and covered them against the chilly nights.)

Finally, I harvest flowers for drying during September and October, leaving the rest of the plants to provide a bit of protection for fall/winter cole crops as they get their start. The dried petals can be used-just like the fresh ones-for cooking and dyeing, and as colorful additions to potpourris.

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