After which crops can garlic be planted in winter?

Fertile, non-acidic soils and sunny locations are ideal for planting garlic. Vegetable rotation in the garden is also important. Let's consider which crops can be planted after garlic in the fall to ensure a bountiful, healthy harvest.

The benefits of proper planting planning

What awaits gardeners who neglect plant compatibility rules:

1. Poor harvest.
2. Increased morbidity.
3. Weed invasion.

If you plant plants with similar needs one after the other, they will suffer from nutrient deficiencies. Compensating for this deficiency with fertilizers is difficult in a home garden. Plants extract nutrients from the soil in varying proportions, and it's difficult to compensate for this deficiency with standard complex mineral fertilizers.

Annual plants are expansive, they strive to occupy new areas, almost all crops are reluctant to grow after themselves, since they release specific substances into the soil.

Weed seeds are always present in the soil, but some plants suppress the growth of young weed shoots (cabbage, zucchini, potatoes), while others do not. Proper vegetable rotation reduces the amount of weed control work.

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The type of fruiting is also important. "Tops" should not be planted after "roots," and vice versa.

Is garlic capricious?

Garlic, onions, and shallots aren't too picky about neighbors or previous crops—they can be planted in the fall, regardless of what was previously planted in the same spot. They're also excellent partners, not depleting the soil. Any vegetable grows well after garlic.

Onions and garlic belong to the lily family. This family is actively cultivated in home gardens, but usually as ornamental plants. So, if you plan to plant garlic in the winter after flowers such as tulips, hyacinths, eremurus, ornamental onions, and lilies of the valley, it's worth considering. It's best to plant vegetables after these, such as zucchini, cucumbers, and pumpkins.

Bad predecessors

In small plots, scientific crop rotation is difficult. However, garlic generally doesn't require large areas. Whatever the plot size, you can find a good spot for garlic.

List of vegetable crops that you shouldn't eat after plant garlic before winter:

1. Garlic. It's harmful to plant any crop in the same spot for years. Garlic is no exception. It should only be planted in the same spot after four years.
2. Onions. They actively draw potassium from the soil.

Undesirable predecessors for winter garlic and onions: any surface-dwelling root crops. What are these crops? Carrots, beets, radishes, potatoes. They deplete the topsoil and share common diseases with garlic. After potatoes, garlic often suffers from fusarium wilt.

Useful precursors

The best ones:

1. Any legumes: alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, beans, lupine, sweet clover.
2. Cereals and grains: wheat, rye, sorghum, millet, fescue, ryegrass. Exception: oats and barley, which greatly deplete the soil.
3. Green manure from other families: phacelia, marigold, buckwheat, amaranth.
4. Squash, zucchini.

These plants either have deep root systems or enrich the soil with minerals. Garlic, which feeds on the topsoil, will grow well after them. It can also be planted before winter in place of berry crops such as gooseberries, currants, or raspberries.

Acceptable predecessors:

1. Pumpkins and cucumbers. They use a lot of nitrogen from the soil, but their root system is quite deep.
2. Early and late varieties of cabbage.
3. Nightshades: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.

Garlic diseases and pests when planning crop rotation

Every plant has its own set of pests that invade its surroundings. Bacteria, larvae, and insect eggs accumulate in the soil, which will attack plantings of the same species or family the following year.

At the same time, plants with a different "set" of diseases and pests will be indifferent to them or may even destroy them. For example, the carrot fly hates onions. And the onion fly hates carrots. These two plants, when placed side by side, protect each other.

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Garlic and onions are affected by:

1. Onion fly. It primarily attacks onions and garlic. The best precursor crops for pest control are cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
2. Tobacco thrips. They also attack cucumbers and can even completely destroy the crop. Tobacco thrips are carriers of the cucumber mosaic virus. If this disease has been detected in a plot, it is not recommended to plant garlic after or before cucumbers.
3. Stem nematode. A universal pest. It invades the stems, leaves, and underground organs of vegetables (potatoes, tomatoes, parsnips), spices (parsley), cereals, legumes, and flowers. Crops affected by the nematode should not be returned to their original locations for at least three years.
4. Onion moth. Specializes in all varieties of onions, alliums, and garlic.
5. Onion root mite. Omnivorous, but prefers root vegetables: carrots, beets, potatoes. Often attacks the roots of flowers, grapes, and cereals.

Garlic diseases:

1. Bacteriosis. In garlic, it is caused by several species of highly specialized bacteria. Preventive measures include regularly rotating the location of garlic, not planting garlic after bulbous plants, and promptly treating other plants for bacterial rot.
2. Asperillosis. This disease is caused by fungi of the genus Aspergillus. It affects humans, birds, and other domestic animals. In garlic, it is commonly called "black mold." Aspergillus can infect any vegetable stored inappropriately. Prevention: carefully inspect the planting material, store garlic properly, and discard damaged bulbs.
3. Fusarium wilt is caused by fungi of the genus Fusarium. There are 705 species of fungi that can cause vegetable diseases. Garlic is particularly susceptible to attack by only a few of them. However, it's best not to plant garlic after wheat, potatoes, strawberries, or tomatoes affected by fusarium wilt to minimize the risk.
4. White rot. Similar to fusarium wilt, it attacks garlic bulbs much more quickly. One of the most serious diseases of garlic and onions, it's a commercial problem. It's caused by the fungus Sclerotium cepivorum, or more precisely, one of its stages, Stromatinia cepivora. It's called southern sclerotial rot. Besides bulbs, it also attacks cantaloupe and squash. In southern regions, garlic should not be planted after these crops.

You can ignore crop rotation rules by planting garlic and onions before winter after other unsuitable vegetables, but in this case, you'll need to pay extra attention to ongoing care and pre-cultivation of the soil. For example, you can apply fertilizer after carrots and only then plant garlic. However, it's certainly better to let the plot recover naturally by sowing green manure.