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What Is Co-Planting?
The term co-planting ("companion planting") refers to growing different plants together
with mutual benefits to both. Garlic is an especially friendly plant
and can assist other crops in a variety of ways. Not only does growing
garlic result in your own crop for the kitchen, it can assist the rest of your garden.
The main benefits of garlic to the home gardener are its natural fungicidal and pesticidal
properties. These can help keep neighbouring plants healthy.
The powerful antibiotic and antifungal compound allicin is released
when garlic cloves are crushed. This also occurs when the clove is
bitten into. Thus pests attacking garlic are likely to release its natural
pesticide. Some have speculated that allicin evolved this way as a defence
mechanism for the crop.
Garlic co-planting is especially beneficial to lettuce (where it deters aphids)
and cabbage (deterring many common pests).
As well as protecting other plants garlic can also improve their flavour.
Beets and cabbage are reported to be especially good companions that benefit from this.
Friends and Enemies
Not all companion planting combinations are beneficial. Garlic doesn't seem to cooperate
well with legumes (beans and pulses), peas or potatoes. Try not to plant
these too near your garlic.
As well as co-planting the cloves themselves, you can use garlic extracts to protect
other crops. There is a long tradition of treating plants with garlic
solution. Recently, scientists at Newcastle University confirmed
scientifically that garlic oil is efective at repelling and even
killing snails and slugs.
These properties make garlic an excellent choice for the gardener
who wants to avoid artificial chemicals and prefers
to grow crops as near organically
as possible.
If you're interested in the subject of companion planting (coplanting) in general then I
recommend
Roses Love Garlic by Louise Riotte.
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