The Marigold Potager – A Zone 3 Prairie Garden

These next two weeks are perfect for a lot of sowing regardless of where you live in Canada.

I had an old customer reach out and say that she really misses picking up pollinator packs at the greenhouse. I gotta say, I miss being at that greenhouse and selling those pollinator packs… plus all the things.

The pollinator packs consisted of flowers you would put in your food garden. They were not for pots and planters, but instead to attract and feed the best pollinators and positive insects to the potager.

My pollinator packs were a flat of flowers, meaning 6 of the 6 packs, so 36 plants in total. This is what I used to include….

• 12 French Marigolds or Gem tagetes (2 x 6 pack)
• 12 Sweet Alyssum (2 x 6 packs)
• 6 Nasturtiums (I call them nasties, for short) (1 x 6 pack)
• 6 Calendula ( 1 x 6 pack)

• On occasion, I would change the nasties out with a 6 pack of zinnias or cosmos.
• You can also switch them out with single (ideally purple or white) petunias – the old fashioned ones that are sticky.
• Other good plants to use in the garden are snapdragons, nicotiana (especially white).

Why these flowers?

Marigolds – marigolds are often used as a companion plant, repelling unwanted insects and underground nematodes. As a bonus, the Gem varieties impart a wonderful citrus scent and are often used as an edible flower, too. The foliage is airy and pretty, so nice to add these flowers to a bouquet as a filler plant.

Sweet Alyssum – The fast growth of alyssum helps to smother weeds, fill the garden bed so that weed seeds have no place to land in your garden beds. It’s small flower clusters attract beneficial predatory insects that eat or destroy the bad bugs. Pollinators love the abundance of flowers.  

Calendula – attracts many of the predatory beneficial insects that will eliminate the bad bugs from your garden, especially the caterpillars of the cabbage moth. Do not scatter plant. When attracting beneficial insects, you need to grow a row or block of flowers for them to stay. I like to plant a row of three or four plants in between my brassica blocks.

Nasties – Are mostly used as a trap crop. Aphids will go to the nasty instead of on your broccoli or brussels sprouts. They are said to repel squash bugs, so plant them near your pumpkins and zucchinis, too.

• Petunias – emit an odor that helps to repel bugs like leaf hoppers, aphids, while attracting beneficial insects and hummingbirds that will eat the pest bugs.
• Nicotiana – (especially sylvestris) attract aphids, works as a lure plant. The sticky flowers make it a trap for the aphids. Other reasons to plant them is that hummingbirds love the tubular flowers and they are very fragrant, especially in the evening/night.
• Zinnias – attract pollinators.
• Snapdragons – grow with peppers and lettuce to attract predatory beneficial insects. They also attract pollinators.
• Cosmos – Attract pollinators (bigger crops).

PS – I always wanted to add herbs to these pollinator packs as herbs are great additions to the food garden for attracting pollinators and beneficial insects. Grow lots of sage in the brassica bed!

When To Start The Seeds

You want to start seeds 8 weeks before your last frost. This means that those of you on the west coast can be starting them this month, while those of us in the colder growing zones will be starting at the end of March.

Clean up…

Never the most interesting nor exciting part of growing, a clean greenhouse is a necessity for a healthy start to the new growing season. Best to remove all pests and diseases before you fill the greenhouse with tender new seedlings.

My greenhouse is unheated, so will not be cleaned up for another few weeks yet. However, my heated potting shed (and workshop area) is being readied for action.

If you did not do it in the fall, maybe you were too pooped out, or maybe you were stuffing it full of plants to over winter, this month is a great time to get everything spic and span. Wash the walls inside and out to allow in more sunshine, clean up tracks, corners, anywhere bugs may be hiding.

Start with clean, sterile plant pots and equipment. Wash with soapy water and rinse in a 10% bleach solution. Inventory your stash to make sure you have what you need when the seeds and plants start rolling in.

Wash tables, racks, and shelves, as well as, floors.

What To Start From Seed This Week…

Here are the crops that you can start indoors, or in your greenhouse now….

Brussels sprouts, onion seeds, leeks, artichokes, and kale.

For my west coast readers, cruciferous crops like collards, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. Salad greens and spinach. Stick to greens that are cold hardy.   

• Herbs to start now are chives, parsley, lavender, coriander/cilantro, nepeta (catnip), and mint.
• Peppers and Eggplants
• Onions, leeks
• Artichokes
• Asparagus (Yes, they grow well from seed, however, will be 5 years till you harvest!)

• Flowers from seed – petunias, geraniums, verbena, pansies and violas, lobelia, snapdragons…
• Please remember if you are starting them indoors rather than in a bright greenhouse, you will need a light source. A sunny, south-facing window will not be enough.

Check out winter sowing (Growing in milk jugs).

FAQ’S

As we get closer to sowing and growing time, I am bringing back the very popular frequently asked questions segment.

• Q – I sure do miss picking up pollinator packs from your greenhouse in spring.
• A – I sure do miss being there and chatting with you all as you pick up your pollinator packs. I have added the flowers that were in the packs, how and when to start your own.

If you want to start your own, they are all really easy to start. If you do not, pick up these flowers from your local greenhouse in spring and plant lots of flowers in your food garden. Plant them in rows or blocks to be the most effective.

• Q – How do you do your spacing?
• A – Great question! I always go a little bit tighter, little bit closer. For example, look at the back of the seed package. If it says to sow your seeds 3 to 6 inches apart, I will go 3 to 4 inches. Always towards the lower end of the recommended spacing.

I do this for several reasons. First of all, when they are grown close together, there is no room for weed seeds to blow in and germinate. If they do blow in, they do not get sunshine to help them germinate.

Second, the cover of the foliage helps to keep the soil damp longer. Less watering. If you have been reading my blogs and fb posts, you know that I only water once or twice a week, depending on what is growing in the bed, but I deep water.

Thirdly, it is very efficient. You can grow more vegetables in your space for increased yields. The plants support each other so that you have healthier, happier crops.

• Q – How do you keep cats out of your garden beds.
• A – Oh, those cats! Whether your own, or a visiting neighbour’s cats, no one wants poop in their veggie beds. I lay down inexpensive, expandable trellising from the dollar store.

These trellises can be made to be bigger or smaller so that they fit narrow beds or wider beds. I sow my seeds/plant my starters and then lay the trellises on top of the beds.

The plants nicely grow through the trellis, but cats do not like going in the bed as they cannot scratch, they have to tip toe through the bars. Once the plants get tall enough, I remove the trellises and pop them in the shed till next year.

• Q – I am very interested to know what your crop plans will be for this year, including varieties.
• A – I will be growing mostly the same crops as last year. I am trying to make the best use out of the gardens, only growing what we will actually eat or use for canning. I was super happy with the seed companies that I used last year, too, so will be sticking with them this year, too.

Year End 2025 Vegetable Seed Report Card – mostly these veggies. I do not think I mentioned potatoes, but would like to add that I tried Orchestra for the first time last year and we loved them!

2025 Year End Flower Seed Report Card – I’ll be growing mostly these same flowers, too, but changing up the colour scheme to be lots of white and lighter pinks, corals, and blush tones.

Canadian Seed Companies 2026 – the seed companies that I am buying from this year. I am sticking to Canadian companies again this year. It is my little way of making a stand.

If you are shopping from US sources, Baker Creek and Tomatofest are both fantastic companies. As is the Victory Seed Company and Wild Boar Farms.

Oh, and I will be growing loads of herbs this year. I want to fill my jars with dried herbs for winter next year! I started far too late with my drying last year, that amount of dill is not going to go far around here ; )

Send me your questions! If you are wondering, others are, too! Let me know what you are up to, what your garden plans are. I love to hear from you : )

More to come next week ~ Tanja