Why I Don't Plant "Sacrificial Crops"

Many viewers often suggest that I should deal with my pest problems by planting "sacrificial crops" that the pests will attack instead of my garden vegetables. I don't think that makes any sense.

I have many pests that visit my garden. In terms of insects, the main players are flea beetles, slugs, snails, and the caterpillar of the “cabbage white” butterfly. In terms of the four-legged furry creatures - the main players that sometimes find their way through my fence are small rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, and voles. Whenever I mention any of these creatures in my videos, I always get the suggestion that I should plant a sacrificial crop, so that they will eat that instead of my kale/cabbage/etc. As the title of this article suggests - I don’t bother with “sacrificial crops” because there’s no reason to think that they can be effective.

This pak choy is getting hammered by flea beetles. Adjacent plants that flea beetles also like are also being attacked.

What’s a sacrificial crop?

The concept of the sacrificial crop lies behind the notion that if a preferred food is offered to a given pest, it will attack that crop instead of the crop that is being grown for food by the gardener. A classic example is using marigolds as a slug magnet. The idea is to plant marigolds near plants that are typically attacked by slugs - such as kale - with the idea being that the slugs will go to the marigolds and leave the kale alone. I can say from personal experience that slugs do love marigolds! Another example is to plant a berry bush that birds like, so that they will leave other berries alone. There are many articles on the internet suggesting a wide range of sacrificial crops for all kinds of pests… and it’s all fantasy.