What to plant in the garden next to garlic: friendly neighbors
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Then you can plant the 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 opens up room for combinations and optimal plant alternation. This will save on fertilizers and significantly speed up the growing processes in crops.
It is best to plant garlic after cereals and melons (pumpkins, zucchini, squash), forage grasses, beans, peas. During their growth, these plants 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 the growth of the crop, allowing you to grow larger, healthier bulbs.
You can also plant the plant in the garden after early maturing potatoes. In a short growing season, potatoes do 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 nutrients from the soil and prevent the plant from developing normally. Onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes were also noted among the unfavorable neighbors. Eggplant does not show itself in the best way if it is planted next to garlic.
"Friends" of garlic
However, do not be upset that garlic does not get along very well with some crops. After all, he is friendly with so many plants! For example, beets and strawberries will become an ideal neighbor for him. This culture repels aphids well in the garden, so it makes sense to plant it in the interval between the rows with vegetables and flowers, which are very affected by aphids. In addition, the garlic aroma scares off the Colorado potato beetle, so you can plant it next to potatoes, which are very affected by the attacks of this insect.
You can plant it next to flowers such as carnations, gladioli, roses, asters as a prevention of black spot, downy mildew, gray rot. But the garlic itself from the onion fly saves calendula and chicory.
It is good to plant a crop in adjacent horseradish beds, as they mutually increase the concentration of vitamin C in the leaves.
Probably the best neighbor you can imagine for garlic is strawberries. The vegetable, through the phytoncides produced, protects strawberries from diseases caused by a fungus, as well as from underground pests. The strawberries, in turn, promote the formation of a large onion with an abundance of cloves. Among other things, garlic repels slugs and a bear, which allows you to grow a healthy strawberry crop.
Garlic also shows its antiseptic properties when paired with carrots. The phytoncides secreted by it protect carrots from carrot flies.In turn, the enzymes released by the carrots into the soil help the neighbor to maintain the greenery of the aboveground part for longer and contribute to the ripening of the larger bulb. In addition, space on the beds is significantly 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 schemes: staggered, alternate plants in the same bed, plant in the aisle, etc.
Method number 1: running meter.
You can plant any plants in this way. Saplings are located as spots on 1 square meter of the plot.
Method number 2: a chessboard.
As in the first case, you can focus on zones of 1 square meter, alternating seedlings of several plants friendly to each other.
Method number 3: row spacing.
You can plant garlic in between the beds of other plants. It is especially good in this case to intersperse it with strawberries.
Let's take a look at productive cohabitation using the strawberry example.
In the fall, when the beds are disinfected, cleaned and dug up with fertilizer, plant winter garlic in the strawberry beds, and then mulch both crops thoroughly. 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 fluffing 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 caring for them is facilitated by the close proximity.
When the garlic arrows form, break them off, as did the strawberry tendrils, so that both plants concentrate on forming a healthy, large fruit.
Consider another neighborhood option. Like winter garlic, carrots are sown in pre-fertilized soil for the winter. Fertilizers will have to be laid in one and a half to two times more to give a good start for the growth of carrots. At the end of September, both crops are sown, mulched and watered well. It is best to alternate the rows, leaving a free space of 15-20 centimeters between them. Leave a space of about 10-13 centimeters between the teeth. This is necessary so that in the spring and summer, when the aboveground part of the carrot grows, the garlic does not vegetate in the shade.
As soon as the snow melts from the beds, they should be covered with polyethylene to stimulate landscaping and active fruit growth. Plants live under the film cover until May. It is in May that the carrot fly looks for a place to lay its eggs. By removing the film from the beds, you stimulate the spread of phytoncides, which scare it off, which has a positive effect on the growth and development of carrots.
Despite the fact that winter varieties usually ripen in mid-July, the proximity to carrots prolongs their lifespan. Therefore, both crops are harvested at the same time. This growing method has a positive effect on the shelf life of both garlic and carrots.
Remember that even the most friendly plants require 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 a certain amount of toxins into the soil, lures harmful insects and fungal microflora. All this can easily lead to sad consequences, the result of which will be the loss of crops and sowing material.
Keep records that will be updated every year to prevent the same crops from growing in the same location.
Video "Planting winter garlic on strawberries"
This video will tell you about garlic in strawberry beds, why you need it there, and how to plant it correctly.