5 reasons why plants love garlic

Quite a while back I wrote about all the uses for cinnamon in the garden and have been surprised at how many times that post has been viewed! It would appear that organic gardening is very popular right now and many people would rather use natural remedies then chemical, store bought ones. Who can blame them? After all any chemicals put on your garden ends up in your food, right?

Well I thought it was time we talked about garlic! Garlic (Allium sativum) can be used in lots of different ways in the garden also. Garlic is well known to have antimicrobial properties, but did you know it can inhibit certain fungus too? 

From chasing off herbivores to curing fungus, garlic is very versatile and of course...organic. After all who wants to be dousing their homegrown produce in chemicals, right? Especially since something natural can d the job just as well!

Plus garlic is super cheap compared to pretty much anything available in the garden center, right?

How to use garlic IN your garden

1) Critter control: rabbits, moles and deer don't like the taste of garlic at all! They also hate red pepper flakes so I started mixing the two and found it very effective. 

Crush 3-4 garlic cloves. Put in a quart mason jar with 2 Tbsp red pepper flakes. Cover with hot water, put the lid on loosely and allow to set for 2 days. Strain. Dilute with water 1 to 1 and pour into a spray bottle. 

Spray on foliage to keep grazing animals away. 

You can also sprinkle garlic powder around the perimeter of your garden to keep rabbits and squirrels away, but it will need reapplied after a heavy rain.

2) As a fungicide: if you're having problems with mold or fungus, crush 5 cloves of garlic in a garlic press and pour a pint of boiling water over it. Let cool and strain. Dilute 1 part garlic solution to 2 parts water and spray on infected plants.

3) Late blight is similar enough to a fungus that garlic seems to help control it. Using the same recipe for fungus, spray on affected leaves lightly. I like to reapply this spray every two weeks.

4) Pest spray: The garlic and water spray from #2 works to keep away ants, fruit flies, carrot flies, aphids, cabbage loopers, leafminers, Japanese beetles and grasshoppers also. Spray on and around any plants you want to protect.

5) Companion planting: Garlic is a great companion plant since it's a natural pest and fungus deterrent. Garlic gets along with just about everything but beans and peas. Plant rows of garlic in between rows of other vegetable plants for the best results.

I like to plant rows of garlic between rows of tomatoes, cabbage, lettuce and carrots especially. Both garlic and chives also attract beneficial insects. 

When using pesticides it's good to remember that while they do keep away the bad bugs they may keep away the good bugs too, so use sparingly. Even organic or natural pesticides are bad if they keep away pollinators and other beneficial insects. 

Nobody wants to be out there hand pollinating the zucchini, so go easy unless you see an infestation.

Another good reason to use garlic is that it isn't expensive at all, especially when compared to commercial fungicides and pesticides. I can usually find a 3 pack for around $1 at the grocery store. It might cost you a little more for organic garlic, but it shouldn't be much of a difference. 

Plus, a little goes a long way! I'm still working on the pack I bought in spring.

Of course you could just grow your own garlic....but I was slacking in fall last year and didn't get any on the ground. *sigh* It's almost time to plant the garlic again though...wish me luck!

~L



Want gardening and healthy living information sent right to your email weekly? Click right here to join my list and get new posts sent directly to you the day they're published!