Companion plant with garlic for a healthier and stronger garden!
As gardeners, we’re always searching for ways to boost the productivity and resilience of our crops, but did you know that companion planting with garlic is a highly effective and natural technique to achieve this? Garlic acts as a powerful protector in the garden, emitting a strong aroma that deters common pests like aphids, snails, and Japanese beetles, while even helping to ward off larger nuisances like rabbits and deer.
Its benefits don’t stop there—garlic releases sulfur compounds into the soil, which has antifungal properties, helping nearby plants stay healthy by preventing diseases such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, and blight. The best part? Garlic takes up minimal space, making it the perfect companion for a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
In this post, we’ll look at plants that are greatly benefitted by garlic as well as plants that help garlic thrive! Be sure to read to the end to learn about companion plants to avoid!
Table of Contents
Companion Plants That Help Garlic Grow
Before diving into the plants that benefit from garlic, let’s look at some that help it grow well:
Chamomile
Chamomile is a great companion plant for garlic because it can enhance garlic’s flavor and overall growth. Chamomile releases natural compounds into the soil that improve nutrient uptake in nearby plants, helping garlic grow more vigorously. Furthermore, chamomile attracts beneficial insects such as ladybugs and hoverflies, which feed on common garlic pest like aphids. Chamomile can also increase the essential oil content in garlic, intesifying its flavor!
Yarrow
Yarrow is a beneficial companion for garlic. This flower can enhance soil quality by accumulating nutrients like potassium, calcium, and phosphorus, which garlic can then absorb. Yarrow also attracts predatory insects such as ladybugs and parasitic wasps that help control pests. In turn, garlic keeps harmful insects away from the yarrow thanks to its strong scent.
Rue
Rue is an herb that is used for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Its strong aroma makes it a great companion plant for garlic. Rue helps to repel harmful insects such as onion maggots and aphids from laying eggs on your garlic.
Summer Savory
Summer savory is a fragrant herb known for its peppery flavor and is often used in cooking. As a companion plant, it benefits garlic by repelling harmful insects like aphids and cabbage moths that can damage garlic. Additionally, summer savory improves the flavor of garlic when grown nearby and enhances overall garden health.
Dill
Dill is an excellent companion plant for garlic as it attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps, which help keep pests at bay. Additionally, dill enhances the flavor of garlic. Garlic, in turn, will keep pests away from dill.
Companion Plants That are Benefitted from Garlic
Now let’s take a look at all the plants that benefit from garlic:
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce make excellent companions for garlic. The strong aroma of garlic helps keep harmful insects, such as aphids and caterpillars, away from these greens, allowing them to grow more vigorously. In return, the leafy greens serve as a living mulch, providing ground cover that helps retain moisture in the soil, creating a more favorable environment for garlic.
Since they share similar growing conditions—cool weather and well-drained soil, you can plant leafy greens around garlic rows in the spring for mutual benefits, optimizing space and improving the productivity of your garden!
Brassicas
Brassica, which include vegetables like cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli, thrive when planted alongside garlic. Garlic serves as a natural pest deterrent, repelling common pests such as cabbage moths, diamondback moths, rabbits, and deer. In turn, the robust foliage of the brassicas provides excellent ground cover, helping suppress weeds and retain soil moisture.
Fruit Trees
Garlic is a fantastic companion plant for fruit trees due to its natural pest-repelling properties. Its strong scent helps deter common pests like aphids, mites, and deer. Garlic also help protect trees from fungal diseases such as apple scab and leaf curl.
Roses
Planting garlic around your rose bushes can help protect your beautiful blooms from common rose pests such as aphids, spider mites, and Japanese beetles. This can reduce the need for chemical pesticides. Moreover, garlic can help prevent fungal diseases like black spot and mildew, which are often problematic for roses.
Potatoes
Companion planting with garlic can also be very beneficial for potatoes. They can help prevent fungal issues like blight and potato scab and deter Japanese beetles.
Raspberries
Garlic and raspberries make great companions in the garden! Garlic helps raspberries thrive and enhances their flavor, while raspberries provide a shaded environment and keeps the soil moist. Additionally, the decaying leaves from raspberry plants serve as natural mulch, enriching the soil with organic matter.
Carrots
Garlic is a natural deterrent for pesky carrot flies, which can wreak havoc on your carrot harvest. In turn, the deep roots of carrots help aerate the soil, providing the perfect environment for garlic to thrive. Plus, both crops flourish in similar weather conditions, making them an ideal duo for your veggie patch!
Cucumbers
The strong scent of garlic helps deter pests like cucumber beetles and aphids that can threaten your harvest. It can also prevent fungal diseases like powdery mildew and downy mildew.
Companion Plants to Avoid
Asparagus
Garlic and asparagus are not the best companions. This is because they tend to compete for nutrients and root space. This rivalry can result in stunted asparagus stalks, leaving you with less-than-ideal growth. To ensure your asparagus thrives, it’s best to keep these two apart and give each plant the room it needs to flourish.
Legumes
Avoid planting legumes such as peas and beans alongside garlic as it is known to inhibit their growth.
Parsley and Sage
Garlic will also inhibit the growth of herbs such as parsley and sage so it’s best to avoid planting them together.
FAQ
Is it okay to plant garlic near tomatoes?
Yes, planting garlic near tomatoes is fine. Garlic can help deter pests that commonly affect tomatoes, such as aphids and whiteflies.
Is it okay to plant onions next to garlic?
Yes, planting onions next to garlic is perfectly fine! Both belong to the Allium family and can benefit from being grown together, as they help repel similar pests and diseases.
Can I plant garlic in the same spot every year?
It’s not recommended to plant garlic in the same spot every year. Rotating garlic to different areas helps prevent soil-borne diseases and pests that can build up over time. Ideally, you should wait at least three years before planting garlic in the same location to maintain healthy soil.
Does garlic need full sun?
Yes, garlic needs full sun to thrive. It grows best in areas that receive at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day. Adequate sunlight helps produce large, healthy bulbs and enhances the flavor of garlic.
What grows best after garlic?
After garlic, crops like leafy greens (such as lettuce and spinach), carrots, beets, and brassicas (like broccoli and cabbage) grow particularly well. These plants benefit from the nutrients left in the soil after garlic is harvested. They also help improve the soil health through crop rotation.
