There ’s no interrogation that garlic and tomatoes are a great combo in the kitchen , but do they wreak well together as garden fellow traveler ?
fellow traveller planting is the pattern of growing certain plants together to make a good , symbiotic kinship – and it ’s as honest-to-goodness as agriculture itself .
In varying mannikin , intercropping was embraced by a range of culture from North American autochthonal nation to ancient Chinese and Egyptian farmers and is still practiced around the world today .
associate plantingis one of the practiced ways to ditch commercial insect powder and savour the benefit of organic gardening .
For a pair of garden and kitchen classics like garlic ( Allium sativum ) and tomatoes ( Solanum Lycopersicon ) , it creates a mates made in heaven !
plant together , these favorites flourish in one another ’s company .
The pungentA. sativuminvigorates the soil and provides gadfly - repelling properties while the legal tender tomatoes keep the soil loose and improve drainage , which help oneself to forestall basal rot in the garlic .
This dynamical duo is an first-class choice for healthy , pest spare crops , but care needs to be taken in how and when they ’re implant to ensure both crops have the right potential conditions .
Are you ready to check about this beneficial brother system ? Then let ’s dig into the delightful subject of growing Allium sativum and tomatoes as garden companions .
Here ’s a quick look at what ’s onward :
What You’ll Learn
Pungent Pest battler
Hardneck or Softneck ?
Planting Together
Garlic realise an amazing companion to most plant thanks to its pungent aroma and many S compounds .
Compounds like diallyl disulfide and diallyl sulfide have powerful properties that interfere with the centripetal receptor of louse and other pests , causing disarray , freak out , and even death .
These compound also play as a strong deterrent to the feeding and egg position habits of many marauding bugs .
Other compounds , like allicin , have a strong odor and also contain antimicrobial and fungicidal property , which aid to revolt disease - make pathogen as well as pest .
It ’s these chemical compound that give ail the well - clear nickname , the stinking rose !
As garlic industrial plant turn , sulfurs collect in the soil , roleplay as natural fungicides that help to protect crop from soil- and airborne pathogens .
And garlic folio agglutinin ( ASAL ) is toxic to some vexatious sapsucker , protecting plants from ill-famed garden raider likeaphidsandwhiteflies .
discipline have show that intercropping withA. sativumcan help to ameliorate the soil by stabilize nutrient and pH , which in turn , improves the growth and nutrient content of tomatoes plant nearby .
plague from aphids andantstoslugsandspider mitesare put off by the pungent smell of garlic .
As for bigger critters , deer and field mouse do n’t like the look either andA. sativumis toxic to lapin , so they remain away too .
you may learn garlic as pest control here .
And as a bonus , if the scapes of hardneck varieties are allowed to flower , the clusters of lilliputian lavender , magenta , purple , or bloodless bloom are extremely attractive topollinators like bee .
Clearly there are many benefits to using this wild savor intensive as a fellow flora !
Tomatoes have their own good properties as well , keep the soil loose which improves drainage , helping to prevent bulb rot .
But most of the advantages of this combining are for the tomatoes !
When you ’re planning your garden , there is a slender complication as the planting timeline is unlike for both these species , depending on where you are situate .
Hardneck Varieties
In region with moth-eaten winters , the eccentric of bulb usually sold are the hardneck smorgasbord which have great cold hardiness and can be grown in Zones 2 to 9 .
Hardneck varieties have the same delicious flavor , wellness benefits , and pest - busting properties as pleach or softneck variety , but they ’re planted in crepuscule and harvested from early to June 21 .
This leaves the love apple without protection during the crucial fruit set and ripen phases .
Solanumvarieties are red-hot atmospheric condition plants , and in surface area with moth-eaten winters , typically are n’t implant out until mid to recent spring , depend on wintertime ’s duration .
you’re able to intercrop by planting the love apple in a bottom where garlic is already established , but this can be tricky .
Care ask to be taken to keep off interrupt the exist root systems .
The further away you have to engraft the tomato , the less beneficial impact the sulfur compounds from the Allium sativum will have .
you’re able to also sacrifice some or all of your hardnecks and shunt harvest home altogether , permit the shaft to bloom and attract pollinators .
This gives a longer period of auspices , but the tone , grain , and quality of the incandescent lamp diminishes when the plants are permit to flower or when they ’re leave in the grime too long .
you could also seek to establish hardnecks at the same time as the tomato plant go out , but they do n’t generally do well in summertime ’s heating .
In hot conditions , they falter and scramble , and the stunted growth is less effective at repelling problem insects .
An easy workaround is to use softneck varieties .
Softneck Varieties
Softneck varieties do n’t produce stiff flower scapes and the floppy foliage is well braided forcuring and storage .
And because softneck types typically have a better storage life than hardnecks , they ’re the 1 most readily available in grocery stores .
Softnecks do n’t tolerate freezing temperatures as well as hardnecks do , so they are worthy for finish in Zones 5 to 9 .
bet on the region , they ’re plant in dusk , late winter , or spring , then reap from spring to midsummer .
For all - season protection , you ’ll need to inseminate the softnecks at the same prison term you plant out the tomatoes .
Since they have better heat tolerance than hardnecks , they can be left in the ground over summer to be glean later on in the grow season .
The electric light might not mature quite as large as ones that were institute in other spring , but they ’ll still have the same amazing sapidity and powerful pest repelling property as early plantings .
The hitch is , if you garden in hardneck territory it can be operose to encounter softneck bulbs in spring . I look every year , but they ’re never available at my local garden memory board .
However , they are readily usable from many reputable online garden supplier . opt from ‘ Polish Red , ’ ‘ Chet ’s Italian Red , ’ or ‘ Nootka Rose , ’ among others .
Another option is just to buy a few softneck electric light from your foodstuff entrepot or market to embed out with the Lycopersicon esculentum .
If you go this path , I suggest using only constitutive produce .
Non - organic bulb that descend from abroad generator have often been treated with chlorpropham ( CIPC ) , an herbicide and growth regulator that inhibits sprouting .
tomato plant and garlic make bang-up companions , and both enjoy a full sun location with moderate sum of water .
But when constitute , you want to keep an eye on space and positioning to insure plants are n’t contend for nutrients , have enough elbow room to produce , and to prevent the taller plant from cast a vestige on the ail .
To set out , educate the garden soil by loosen it to a deepness and width of 18 to 24 column inch , incorporating enough room for both species .
Mix in a shovelful of compost to enrich the soil plus a shovelful of grit to better drainage if needed , using materials such as pea plant gravel or pit Saratoga chip .
habituate atablespoon of bone mealper industrial plant to give the roots a potent , healthy start and improve bud set .
Plant and spaceS. lycopersicumas outlined in ourguide to growing tomatoes .
If growingindeterminate varieties , countersink cage or stakes in property for each plant as needed .
farm theA. sativumon the south side of the bed or in front of the tomato plant life to ensure they receive full Lord’s Day .
Plant out as per ourgarlic grow guideand quad the cloves six inches apart and six to 12 inches in front of the toms .
In areas with very raging summers , you could point the garlic to the west or southwest so they ’ll receive some light good afternoon shade sick by the marvelous plants as the sun go .
After that , water , fertilize , and mulch the flux plants as you would for individual crop .
If you wish togrow your tomato plant in containers , just pop two to four Eugenia caryophyllatum six to 12 inches in front of the toms when planting , placing them on the sunny side of the container .
Beneficial Buddies
plant garlic and tomatoes together as comrade plants is a smart and easy way to keep pesky gadfly at a lower limit .
settle the garlic clove at the front of the love apple so they get full Lord’s Day or give them a western orientation for some light afternoon shade .
This comrade planting system gives fantabulous protection for yourSolanumplants , and planting softneck assortment at the same time is the best way to give them powerful back for the intact spring up time of year .
And for more information aboutgrowing garlic in your garden , correspond out these guides next :
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Lorna Kring
