How to Use Garlic as a Companion Plant

Garlic is one of many great so called companion plants that you can plant in your garden to help it regain strength and combat weeds at the same time.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garlic cloves or seed garlic
• Vegetable garden

1. Know that garlic is a mainstay in most kitchens, but many people don't know it's fairly easy to grow as well. You can purchase "seed" garlic grown especially for planting or you can purchase garlic cloves at a nursery. Some types of supermarket garlic will sprout and grow as well. Many gardeners believe that garlic is an excellent insect repellent and they use it around roses to deter Japanese beetles and aphids.

2. Be aware that in the vegetable garden, garlic is especially beneficial near tomatoes, eggplants and cabbage. Don't plant it near beans, peas and other legumes.

3. Know that you need to plant garlic in the fall for the best growing results. Garlic needs to chill over the winter to produce a bountiful crop. Simply peel a head of garlic and plant each of the cloves in rich soil where they will receive full sun.

4. Harvest your garlic when the leaves just begin to turn brown and then check one head before you harvest your entire crop.

[chauqg]

on 3/6/2009 Planting garlic seeds (which I have done when I was increasing my stock) only produces one clove per seed. That clove if left in the soil will produce one clove (head of 8 or more cloves) after the second season. You can also pick the single cloves and use them for whatever. Then in the fall replant the single cloves. It is much more economical to buy garlic cloves to plant. It takes the same effort to plant one seed as it does to plant one clove. And the yield from the clove vs the seed is at minimum 8 to 1.