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No matter how dozens of articles describe that “it is important to choose a landing site so that it is like this and like this”, it is equally important to properly equip the neighborhood in the beds. Plants don’t grow in a vacuum. At the same time, one should not blindly plant different crops side by side, as this can lead to disastrous consequences. About who gets along well in the garden with garlic, and who is better to keep away, we will talk in this article.
Then you can plant garlic
Agree, we rarely think about how to properly alternate plants in the beds. Basically, the thought process in this area is limited to a simple rule – do not plant garlic after garlic. However, minimal research leaves room for combinations and optimal plant rotation. This will save on fertilizers and significantly speed up the vegetative processes in crops.
It is best to plant garlic after cereals and melons (pumpkins, zucchini, squash), forage grasses, beans, peas. These plants during their growth saturate the soil with micronutrients, do not deplete it, but, on the contrary, have a positive effect on the mineral composition. This is good for crop growth, allowing you to grow larger and healthier bulbs.
You can also plant a plant in the garden after early ripening potatoes. For a short period of vegetation, the potato does not have time to significantly deplete the soil, so you can take its place with garlic.
“Enemies” of garlic
Among the enemies of garlic, after which you should not plant a crop, are: onions, late-ripening potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, cabbage.
Peas and beans should not be planted next to garlic beds, as they actively take all the nutrients from the soil and prevent the plant from developing normally. Among the unfavorable neighbors, onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes were also noted. Eggplant does not perform well if planted next to garlic.
“Friends” of garlic
However, do not be upset that garlic does not get along very well with some cultures. After all, he is friendly with so many plants! For example, beets and strawberries will become an ideal neighbor for him. This crop repels aphids well in the garden, so it makes sense to plant it in the gap between rows with vegetables and flowers, which are very affected by aphids. In addition, the garlic aroma repels the Colorado potato beetle, so you can plant it next to potatoes, which are very affected by the raids of this insect.
You can plant it next to flowers such as carnations, gladioli, roses, asters as a prevention of black spot, downy mildew, and gray rot. But the garlic itself from the onion fly saves calendula and chicory.
It is good to plant a crop in neighboring horseradish beds, as they mutually increase the concentration of vitamin C in the leaves.
Probably the best neighbor imaginable for garlic is the strawberry. The vegetable, through the produced phytoncides, protects strawberries from diseases caused by the fungus, as well as from underground pests. Strawberries, in turn, contribute to the formation of a large bulb with an abundance of cloves. Among other things, garlic repels slugs and mole crickets, which allows you to grow a healthy crop of strawberries.
Not worse shows its antiseptic properties of garlic and paired with carrots. The phytoncides secreted by him protect the carrot from the carrot fly. In turn, the enzymes secreted by carrots into the soil help the neighbor maintain the greenery of the aerial part longer and contribute to the maturation of the larger bulb. In addition, space in the beds is noticeably saved, and the keeping quality of fruits also increases.
How to plant
It is important to know how to properly plant friendly plants so that the positive effect is manifested in full force. To do this, you can use different planting patterns: in a checkerboard pattern, alternate plants on the same bed, planted in the aisle, etc.
Method number 1: running meter.
Any plants can be planted in this way. Seedlings are located as spots on 1 square meter of the plot.
Method number 2: chessboard.
As in the first case, you can focus on zones of 1 square meter, alternating seedlings of several plants that are friendly to each other.
Method number 3: aisle.
You can plant garlic in between beds of other plants. It is especially good in this case to intersperse it with strawberries.
Let’s look at productive cohabitation using strawberries as an example.
In the fall, when the beds are disinfected, cleaned and dug up with fertilizer, plant winter garlic on strawberry beds, and then carefully mulch both crops. You can use rotted organic fertilizer with ash, hay, tops, sawdust.
In early spring, when the snow melts, and the strawberries and garlic grow, the mulch is removed, and the beds are watered with a solution of potassium permanganate, followed by plowing the earth. Just be careful not to damage the sprouted garlic cloves and roots!
The care needs of garlic and strawberries are the same, so care for them is facilitated due to their close proximity.
When the garlic arrows form, break them off, as you would the strawberry tendrils, so that both plants concentrate on forming a healthy, large fruit.
Let’s consider another neighborhood option. Like winter garlic, carrots are sown for the winter in pre-fertilized soil. Fertilizers will have to be laid one and a half to two times more in order to give a good start to the growth of carrots. At the end of September, both crops are sown, mulched and well watered. It is best to alternate rows, leaving between them a free space of 15-20 centimeters. Leave a space between the teeth of about 10-13 centimeters. This is necessary so that in spring and summer, when the aerial part of the carrot grows, the garlic does not vegetate in the shade.
As soon as the snow comes off the beds, they should be covered with polyethylene to stimulate landscaping and active fruit growth. Under the film cover, the plants live until May. It is in May that the carrot fly is looking for a place to lay its eggs. By removing the film from the beds, you stimulate the spread of phytoncides, which repel it, which has a positive effect on the growth and development of carrots.
Despite the fact that winter varieties usually ripen in mid-July, the neighborhood with carrots prolongs their life. Therefore, both crops are harvested at the same time. This method of growing has a positive effect on the shelf life of both garlic and carrots.
Remember that even the friendliest plants require an annual crop rotation. It is not enough just to swap their beds, you should radically change the location.
In addition to micronutrients, each crop releases some toxins into the soil, attracts harmful insects and fungal microflora. All this can easily lead to sad consequences, the result of which will be the loss of crops and seed.
Keep records that are updated every year to ensure that the same crops do not grow in the same place.
Video “Planting winter garlic on strawberries”
This video will tell you about garlic in strawberry beds, why it is needed there, and how to plant it correctly.
