Garlic as a Pest Deterrent

I have a garlic update since I blogged about keeping rue and garlic together near your roses.

Japanese Beetle Deterrent

I've mentioned that you can grow garlic and rue with roses to keep pests like the Japanese beetle away. In a past garlic post, I admitted that I've never gotten a harvest of large bulbs from my garlic, probably because I plant them in spring. Spring garlic plantings won't develop well by fall and have to over-winter. In order to get nice chubby bulbs, you have to plant your garlic in the fall and harvest them the following year.

Eat Tender Garlic Shoots

Another note on the garlic front: You can eat the tender shoots of garlic, although they can get bitter as they mature. These unexpected and tasty benefits of keeping herbs and vegetables are a great reason to start your own vegetable patch. You won't find garlic tops in your local grocery. This goes for baby eggplant, squash flowers, sweet Brussels sprouts, baby snow peas and flavor packed tomatoes.