Expert reveals simple method to keep pests out of your garden: 'Love this'

A companion isn't just good for people — your plants also thrive with a buddy system. Uncle Josh Gardens (@theplanttechie) showed his 87,000-plus followers three essential ones to grow together for amazing results.

The scoop

In the video, he describes the benefits of having basil, marigolds, and onions in your garden. 

@theplanttechie What's your favorite companion plants? 🌿✨ Let's talk about these 3 essentials! ✅ Basil: Fends off pests like aphids and whiteflies while boosting your harvest flavor. ✅ Marigolds: Draw in pollinators and keep soil pests away with their bright blooms. ✅Onions: Act as a natural repellent for carrot flies and add a lovely scent to your garden. 🪴 These three not only work together but also help your entire garden thrive! 💪🦋 What other companion combos have worked for you? 🌸🪴 #companionplanting #gardentips #growyourown #organicgardening #basil #marigolds #onions #gardeningcommunity #anyonecangrow ♬ original sound - Uncle Josh Gardens

Basil is perfect for planting alongside tomatoes to potentially boost flavor and protect them from pests. Repel hungry hornworms and have herbs for your pesto. This fragrant herb also attracts pollinators like butterflies and bees.

The sight and smell of yellow marigolds may be delightful to humans but not to mosquitoes, whiteflies, and cucumber beetles. You can prevent sap-loving aphids — a common pest in gardens — by placing these blooms between other plants like tomatoes as a repellent. 

The scent of onions has the same effect as the other two. According to Covenant Wildlife, onion plants can prevent rodents, moles, and deer from entering your garden.

As Uncle Josh Gardens recommends, disperse all three in the same garden bed for maximum effect.

How it's helping

Companion planting fosters garden biodiversity, which creates a thriving symbiotic relationship in the ecosystem. This technique protects a target plant from hungry pests, forgoing the need to spend money and time spraying harmful pesticides.

The video names three nonchemical repellents you can grow. Unlike a pesticide, you can eat onions and basil while enjoying the beauty of the marigolds. However, the benefits don't stop there.

Per the University of Minnesota, different root structures from companion plants can aerate the soil. As a result, crops can access more nutrients from normally inaccessible areas. For example, tubers and tap roots prevent soil compaction, making it easier for nearby shorter-rooted vegetation to pull in water and nutrients.

With protection from pests and better soil quality, your crops have a better chance of producing a better yield, making self-sufficient food production easier. As more people practice gardening, it reduces overreliance on store-bought mass-produced food, often grown using pesticides. 

When do you plan to start gardening this year? I already have 🧑‍🌾 In the next couple of weeks 🗓️ As soon as the ground thaws 🥶 Probably never 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Those supermarket items often leave a high carbon footprint from being transported as far as other countries. Per Stanford Magazine, American produce is shipped an average of 1,500 miles from its origin site to its final destination. That's a lot of gas burned in transit, and excess packaging waste is likely to sit in landfills.

It's no secret that a diet rich in nutritious produce is good for physical health. However, growing your own food can be just as vital to your overall mental health. Plus, there's the mental relief one can have in knowing they're not eating veggies laced with pesticides. 

What everyone's saying

Many commenters discussed how they're already using similar methods in the video to protect their gardens.

A tomato grower remarked: "Love this. All of my tomato plants have their own marigold, but I'm definitely going to invite basil to the mix."

Insects aren't the only pest to worry about. "I plant onion & chives as a border along my raised beds — great deterrent for deer too," one advised.

"I have onion circles surrounding my strawberry plants. So far, it's keeping bunnies and bugs away," said one.

However, some people had mixed results, as one said: "In my garden slugs eat basil."

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