Planting flowers in between garlic - Ask Extension
I'm growing a bunch of garlic in a raised bed. The garlic is spaced about 12" apart. It was planted last fall and should be ready early summer....
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Planting flowers in between garlic #927484
Asked April 04, 2026, 10:36 AM EDT
I'm growing a bunch of garlic in a raised bed. The garlic is spaced about 12" apart. It was planted last fall and should be ready early summer. I like to plant edible flowers in the box normally but wasn't sure if they will interfere with the garlic bulbs or not. I generally plant wild bergamot, dwarf sunflowers, and borage all from seed
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
There might be some competition for moisture and nutrients the more crowded plants become (with the mix of species in this case), and as the flowering plants grow, their foliage will also cast some shade on the garlic foliage, which may affect plant vigor. (Since the crop will be ready to harvest around the time the flowers get taller, though, we expect that light competition to be less of an issue than if the two plantings overlapped for longer.) It's probably fine to overlap the crops in the way you're proposing, since there won't be much time when the two plantings are directly in competition with each other.
Miri
Miri
