Are you thinking about whether can you plant leeks and garlic together? On paper, leeks and garlic should grow well together, yet in practice, this might not always be true when space is at a premium. A no-dig garden offers better ways to utilize its soil than interplanting competing species.
Can You Plant Leeks and Garlic Together?
So, the answer to whether can you plant leeks and garlic together is yes. Leeks and garlic can certainly coexist without harm to either plant; however, as with all gardening issues, there may be advantages or disadvantages in both approaches.
Leeks and garlic should not be planted together primarily to save space; each should be spaced 30cm apart from the other if planted together. Leeks work great when planted closely with fruit bushes or strawberries while garlic makes great companion plants for carrots.
However, if your bed has already been properly prepared and you’ve reached the stage of crop rotation between legumes (beans and peas) and solanums (potatoes and tomatoes), alliums such as garlic or leeks make an excellent bed partner to prepare the soil for potatoes.
Pros And Cons of Growing Leeks and Garlic Together
You can certainly grow leeks and garlic together without any harm coming to either vegetable. Every gardening question comes with pros and cons that must be carefully considered before answering this query.
Pros:
- Leek and garlic both share similar growing patterns; both should be added after beans or peas and before potatoes or outdoor tomatoes in an ideal crop rotation plan.
- Additionally, both prefer well-drained, slightly acidic soil rich with organic material for easier soil preparation.
- Leeks and garlic should both be planted 1ft apart to grow into neat rows of parallel planting.
- Leeks and garlic both need watering every 7-10 days; onion fly (Delia Antiqua) can be an annoying pest on onions and leeks but is far less damaging on garlic plants.
- Planting both crops at once may help confuse onion flies and minimize maggot damage to both.
Cons:
- Alliums can serve as an effective break in crop rotation and should be spread out over multiple beds to provide some respite between roots and brassicas, though by doing this you limit rotational opportunities by grouping them all together.
- There are more effective companion plants that could fill in between garlic rows more effectively, creating smaller gardens. Watering should stop 2-3 weeks before harvest (continuing to water leeks may reduce storage options for garlic).
- Leeks and garlic should be harvested regularly throughout the year, though garlic must be harvested before early fall to prevent gaps from developing in its beds, making cultivation challenging.
- Leeks and garlic share many of the same pests, so if slugs have become an issue for you they are more likely to attack garlic when planted alongside leeks. Thrips infections can also increase in severity by planting alliums together in clusters.
How to Grow Leeks and Garlic Together
All alliums differ significantly in sowing times between garlic and scallions and harvest time between leeks and onion harvestable for eating purposes, and harvestable onion harvest ready. Leeks and garlic share many similar traits: they both require long sowing times before maturity is reached for consumption; both can have yellow flowers when ready; harvest time also differs significantly when dealing with onion vs leek harvest for edible consumption etc
Leeks and garlic share many of the same traits:
- Leeks and garlic both thrive in similar soil and conditions, drawing together in harmony in terms of pest prevention.
- Both share similar pest problems when grown together close.
- Leeks and garlic share similar growing requirements, making growing them together an easy choice.
- Both types enjoy similar soil conditions (good drainage, slightly acidic pH levels, and loose enough that their roots can freely expand underground).
Leeks and garlic share many characteristics, which can bring both advantages and drawbacks when grown together in one bed. Onions attract onion flies while garlic remains relatively immune. This could serve to divert their attention away from leeks which attract them all the more!
However, both also attract thrips. Should your garden already suffer from excessive levels of this problem, this would compound it exponentially by late summer when grown together!
Spacing Leeks and Garlic
Since leeks and garlic both grow at approximately the same depth, their nutrients should be distributed accordingly in their beds rather than being planted densely and arranged alongside each other as is often expected when companion planting is carried out. So planting should occur 30 cm apart instead of in dense rows for best results.
Companion plants for Leeks and Garlic
If space constraints prevent you from cultivating both leeks and garlic together, there are still excellent companion planting solutions that could work to your advantage.
Garlic pairs beautifully with carrots. Both varieties thrive when planted together in tightly packed beds that benefit from deep soil nutrients, with garlic helping the carrots reach for those deeper down while confusing carrot flies.
Leeks grow well alongside strawberries, and it has long been suggested they enhance their flavor. Garlic emits an unpleasant odor when near strawberries or other soft fruit crops and should therefore be kept at a distance from these areas.
Common Issues When Growing Leeks and Garlic Together
If you intend to store garlic after harvesting it should not be grown with leeks as their water requirements make harvest time critical. Similar to onions they need to be harvested just right for their skins to dry off properly for storage purposes; stopping watering two weeks prior would do just the trick – however sharing beds will prevent proper storage resulting in crop failure or wasted effort and time!
Leeks and garlic both thrive even in Zone 5, especially milder areas of Zone 6 with temperatures not dropping below -12degC/10.4degF in the ground temperature. Both crops can easily be started indoors in late fall, or purchased as young plants in early spring from local nurseries for easy addition to shared beds.
Leeks and garlic present unique harvesting challenges due to their different harvest times; leeks can range from young tender plants in early summer to overwintering mature ones in late winter before returning into growth during their second year of growth.
Also discover Do Potatoes Need to Flower to Produce Tubers?
Final Thoughts on Can You Plant Leeks and Garlic Together?
I do not plan on planting leeks and garlic together anytime soon due to my passion for tight vegetable beds; due to an unprecedented annual influx of carrot fly, garlic serves to protect my carrots so for now at least, I won’t combine these vegetables in one planting bed.
But don’t let my cautions dissuade you; nothing scientific or rational prevents planting two alliums together. They will co-exist happily while making soil preparation much simpler!