Garlic is one of my favorite plants to grow in the garden.
Garlic is also one of the best companion plants out there, meaning you can plant it with almost anything. This post will give you an idea of which plants work best with garlic, what they do for it, and how you should care for both together.
Common Problems & Pests That Impact Garlic
1. Nematodes
There are 4 main kinds of nematodes that impact garlic: the stem and bulb nematode, the stubby root nematode, the lesion nematode, and the root rot nematode. These can cause stunted growth of the plants, garlic bulbs softening at the neck, and decaying of the bulbs themselves.
NOT COOL GUYS!
Plants That Repel Nematodes
- Marigolds
2. Thrips
Thrips eat the garlic leaves and cause damage that can stunt the growth of garlic plants and the garlic bulb, and lead to even worse problems like wilting and possible plant death.
Plants that repel Thrips
Basil is a great companion plant and helps repel thrips. Not only are basil and garlic delicious together, but they are great companions in terms of helping the other with its pests.
16 Best Garlic Companion Plants
While garlic is a great companion for other plants, there are a few plants that can be beneficial to plant with garlic for a more robust harvest.
Chamomile
Chamomile is known to help improve the flavor of garlic, making it a great companion for this allium.
Yarrow
Rue
Rue is known for keeping flies and maggots away with its strong scent, and that’s no different when it comes to garlic.
Onion flies can be a huge issue for garlic. If you’re experiencing their eggs causing maggots to infest your bulbs, planting some rue nearby can help you out tremendously.
Plants That Benefit From Being Planted with Garlic
While the answer is “almost everything”, I wanted to be more specific and explain why these are beneficial to each other.
Beets
Garlic can help keep beets safe from Japanese beetles, snails, and coddling moths which all impact beets.
Broccoli
Cabbage moths don’t just love cabbage – they’re addicted to the broccoli in my garden as well!
Cabbage
Cabbage will benefit greatly from being planted near garlic. Some common pests that affect cabbage plants like cabbage loopers, cabbage moths, and diamondback moths are not attracted to garlic. So having some nearby in the garden will help mitigate these pests.
Carrots
Can carrots and garlic be planted together? Absolutely! Both take up little space in the garden and carrots benefit a lot from garlic since it repels aphids and beetles.
Cauliflower
Another brassica on the list! Cauliflower gets attacked by cabbage moths and cabbage loopers as well. Garlic to the rescue!
Eggplant
Snails, whiteflies, and slugs don’t like being around garlic. So if you plan to grow eggplants, plant some garlic around them to help control these pests.
Fruit Trees
All kinds of fruit trees can benefit from being planted with garlic. Fruit trees are often attacked by insects like the stink bug, which is not attracted to garlic. Apple trees suffer from apple scab, which can be mitigated with garlic nearby.
Kale
Another plant that cabbage moths adore. And having some garlic nearby is a great way to keep them from feeding on the plants before you get to.
Kohlrabi
Peppers
All kinds of peppers will benefit from being planted with garlic, as it can help keep away from fungal diseases like white mold, blight, and verticillium wilt. Plant peppers near garlic to help with aphids as well.
Raspberries
Garlic is a natural insecticide, so it can help keep harmful insects away from your raspberry plants. It also helps improve the soil quality. Most of the allium family make good companion plants for raspberries.
Roses
Roses can encounter a lot of pest issues. The good news is that the pests that love roses are not fans of garlic….at all. Plant garlic at the base of your rose bushes and you should see fewer issues.
Things like spider mites, snails, aphids, and ants can be mitigated by planting garlic around your rose bushes.
Strawberries
Spider mites are notorious for coming in and quickly destroying a strawberry patch. The good news is that garlic helps deter pests like spider mites, so you can enjoy more berries this season.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most popular plants to add to your garden, but they don’t come without their list of problems and pests that want to eat them before you do. Tomato worms are the worst!
Garlic helps keep spider mites, aphids, and rabbits away. Rabbits destroyed my Roma tomato plants this season, so I’ll happily plant some garlic a little closer next year.
Garlic also has been said to improve the flavor of your tomatoes, making garlic a great companion plant for tomatoes. In my opinion, you should always plant tomatoes near garlic as it encourages lush growth and even more delicious fruit.
What NOT to Plant With Garlic
While many garden varieties are good garlic companion plants, there are a few that might experience stunted growth when planted near garlic.
- Asparagus
- Peas
- Beans (Pole beans and bush beans)
- Sage
- Parsley
What is Companion Planting?
Companion planting is a great way to improve the health of your garden and keep unwanted pests at bay. It can help limit the need for using organic insecticide in your garden.
Garlic is an excellent companion plant, similar to basil, meaning it can be planted throughout your garden and will help with a wide variety of problems that might otherwise arise.
Since garlic takes up little space and will grow under almost any conditions, it can thrive as long as it has full sun.
Since garlic is typically planted in the fall to allow it to go dormant before growing as soon as the conditions are right in the spring, it’s one of the plants you’ll need to plan for early on if you want to grow companion near it in early spring.
What Are the Benefits of Companion Planting?
Organic Pest Control
Companion planting is a cheap, easy way to help keep unwanted pests out of your garden. You won’t be needing that herbicide or pesticide as much if you follow some of the simple guidelines for companion plants.
Attract Beneficial Insects
In addition to keeping OUT unwanted pests, it also attracts the ones you do want. These can be things like ladybugs or pollinator bees that help the growth of your plants.
Impact Flavors
With garlic having such a robust flavor, it’s been said to help the taste of your peppers, tomatoes, and other nightshades as well.
Companion planting is a practice that dates back to ancient times, and it’s been used by many types of cultures across the globe. The idea behind companion planting is based on improving soil quality while also attracting beneficial insects for pest management. Garlic has natural antifungal properties that can help ward off plant diseases in other crops nearby.
One of the best ways that you can help your garden produce more vegetables is by planting companion plants.
Problems & Pests That Garlic Can Help With
Garlic is great at helping other plants with common pests and problems they may experience. Here are a few common ones that garlic can help with.
Fungus Gnats
These usually impact indoor plants but can be seen outdoors as well. Fungus gnats are the little black bugs that fly around your houseplants if they’ve been overwatered for too long.
Spider mites
The first time I saw a spider mite, I just thought it was a spider web, no big deal. WRONG. Spider mites will destroy your plant if left untreated.
Aphids
Aphids are the glitter of gardening to me. They reproduce in what seems like seconds, and they can be challenging to get rid of. Once you find one of them, just know that there ARE more lurking in the shadows of your plant leaves.
Snails & Slugs
Gross, AND not to mention they are destructive. Garlic can help keep these two away from your prized plants.
Rabbits
My arch nemesis this season. I always think rabbits are cute and even call them “Peter” as in Peter rabbit. However, rabbits ate at least 6 tomato plants this year, so we’re not on speaking terms.
Thankfully, garlic is going to be my answer next year, and since we eat a ton of it anyway, I may as well plant as much as I can around the garden!
