Welcome to the 2025 Season!
New Gardener Orientation Meeting
We’ll be meeting at 5:30 pm this coming Wednesday 2/26/25 to welcome new and returning gardeners. This is a great opportunity to get familiar with our agreements for the season, ask questions, and start planning for the year ahead.
Below you’ll find the 2024-2025 Garden Plan for the area of the garden we’re working with.
Each row has a comment added to it that includes possible companion plants to consider, and row cover we’ll consider using, and their reasons.
Crop Plans for the Season
If you signed up before February 21st you’ve got free reign to plot out a hugel row!
See below for a graphic of our row layout which highlights where garlic is planted, and shows what was grown in that space last season. Perennial crops are shown in italics and will remain in those rows.
Whether you’re returning or joining us for the first time, here’s what you need to know about our approach this year.
Garden Practices & Soil Health
In the area of the garden we’ll be working with, we will continue to practice no-till gardening, which helps maintain healthy soil ecosystems and reduces disturbance to beneficial microbes and fungi. Instead of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, we rely on companion planting, mulch, and natural amendments to support plant health and suppress pests.
Cover Crops for Weed Suppression & Soil Fertility
To keep our soil thriving year-round, we’ll rotate a variety of cover crops that improve fertility, suppress weeds, and support pollinators:
Nitrogen Fixers (for soil enrichment): Clover, Field Peas, Hairy Vetch
Weed Suppression & Winter Protection: Winter Rye, Oats
Quick Biomass & Pollinator Attraction: Buckwheat, Crimson Clover
Soil Aeration & Nutrient Scavenging: Daikon Radish, Sorghum-Sudan Grass
Companion Planting Notes
We’ll be growing a mix of vegetables, herbs, and flowers, with a special focus on alliums (garlic, onions, leeks) and potatoes this season. If you’re planning to grow tomatoes, peppers, or basil, you can plant them near garlic, but be mindful of spacing—garlic deters pests, but planting it too close can stunt their growth.
A good strategy would have been to plant garlic along the edges of tomato and pepper beds, with basil in between as a bridge plant…. that isn’t what happened. We went for a maximum amount of garlic, leaving little space for planting tomatoes. However, we didn’t plant garlic in all the rows, just several! Read on for ideas about what we can plant in the rows that have garlic in them.
Sunflower & Sunchoke Area
If you’re looking for a space to plant beans, cucumbers, or lettuces, the area where we’ve grown sunflowers and sunchokes in past years is a great option. Sunflowers can have some allelopathic effects, so we’ll focus on crops that can handle those conditions while benefiting from the natural trellising they provide.
Best Companion Plants for Garlic Rows
Garlic works well with plants that:
✅ Tolerate its strong root system and do not require deep soil space.
✅ Repel or deter common pests (aphids, spider mites, cabbage moths).
✅ Are small or shallow-rooted to avoid overcrowding.
Interplanting in Garlic Rows (Between or Alongside)
These plants can be directly interplanted within garlic rows if spaced appropriately:
1. Leafy Greens (Spinach, Lettuce, Arugula, Mustard Greens)
Spacing: Plant 6–8 inches away from garlic (can be between every second or third garlic plant).
Why? These shallow-rooted plants won’t compete with garlic, grow fast, and benefit from garlic’s pest-repellent properties.
2. Carrots & Beets
Spacing: 6–8 inches apart from garlic bulbs (can be staggered in gaps).
Why? Garlic deters carrot rust flies, and root vegetables can grow alongside garlic without much interference.
3. Strawberries
Spacing: 8–12 inches away from garlic (at row edges).
Why? Garlic repels aphids and spider mites that commonly attack strawberries.
4. Basil & Chamomile
Spacing: 8–12 inches apart, planted in small gaps.
Why? Basil enhances garlic’s growth, while chamomile attracts beneficial insects.
5. Calendula (Pot Marigold)
Spacing: 8–10 inches apart, best planted at row ends.
Why? Calendula attracts pollinators and repels pests.
Plants to Grow Alongside Garlic
(Edge of Rows or Between Garlic Beds)
These should be planted outside of thickly planted garlic rows, keeping a 6-12 inch buffer zone:
1. Peppers & Tomatoes
Spacing: 12–18 inches from garlic row edges.
Why? Garlic deters aphids but can stunt growth if too close.
2. Brassicas (Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli)
Spacing: 12–18 inches from garlic rows.
Why? Garlic deters cabbage worms and aphids.
3. Bush Beans & Pole Beans
Spacing: 12 inches from garlic rows (bush beans) or on the outermost edges (pole beans with trellising).
Why? Garlic repels bean beetles, but beans can stunt garlic growth if too close.
4. Cucumbers
Spacing: 18 inches from garlic rows.
Why? Garlic repels cucumber beetles but can interfere with cucumber growth if planted too closely.
5. Nasturtiums
Spacing: 12 inches from garlic row edges.
Why? Acts as a trap crop for aphids and enhances biodiversity.
Plants to Avoid Near Garlic
❌ Avoid Legumes (Peas, Beans) if Too Close – They don’t thrive near garlic due to growth inhibition.
❌ Avoid Potatoes Next to Garlic – Both are heavy feeders, and garlic can stunt potato growth.
❌Asparagus – Competes for nutrients, inhibiting growth.
❌Sage & Parsley – Garlic may hinder their growth.
Summary: Spacing & Placement
Within Garlic Rows:
Spinach, Lettuce, Arugula (6-8” apart).
Carrots & Beets (6-8” apart).
Strawberries, Basil, Chamomile (8-12” apart).
At Row Edges or Gaps:
Calendula (8-10” from garlic).
Peppers, Tomatoes, Brassicas (12-18” from garlic).
Beans, Cucumbers (12-18” at garden edges).
Do you want to study gardening in advance, from the comfort of your own home?
Check out the Victory Garden Course from the University of Idaho, a great resource for gardeners of all experience levels! Register for free at https://bit.ly/idahovictorygardensonline and you can access the course until December 31, 2025.
From Ariel Agenbroad “This is a self-guided course, but I am here to answer your questions or connect you with an Extension Horticulturist near you. Enjoy!” You can connect with Ariel and other gardeners via the TVCGCoop FB Group page.
Looking Ahead
As always, we’ll be working together to make sure our garden thrives through shared knowledge, collaboration, and community support.