Tradition
No chart mentions this pair.
Fava bean
Vicia faba
Fabaceae
Garlic
Allium sativum
AmaryllidaceaeCan you plant fava beans and garlic together?
It depends. The sources disagree about fava beans and garlic. Results on harvest were mixed in a field trial, while fava beans had less disease next to garlic in a field trial.
Why it depends
Mixed results on harvest. In a field trial, results on harvest were mixed.
Effect of faba bean-garlic intercropping on low-molecular-weight organic acids, yield components, and profitability under different spatial arrangements. (Hamoda A · 2026 · Scientific reports)Less disease. In a field trial, fava beans had less disease next to garlic.
Response of faba bean to intercropping, biological and chemical control against broomrape and root rot diseases. (El-Mehy AA · 2022 · Saudi journal of biological sciences)
What to plant with fava beans and garlic
Good neighbours of both, best tested first.
What to keep away from fava beans and garlic
- AsparagusWith garlic: Garden charts advise against it, not tested
The evidence in detail
For readers who want to dig in: every chart entry, study and yield trial behind the answer above, with the numbers.
Tradition, research and yield trials
Research
Mixed
avoidgood
2 papers found: 1 positive, 0 negative, 1 mixed.
yield / land usedisease suppression
auto-classified not reviewed by a person
Yield trial
No intercropping yield trial.
It's complicated
What happens above and below ground
Each animation illustrates a mechanism a study reported for this pair. Pick a card to focus on it.
Everything at once.
Companion plants for both fava beans and garlic
Plants that are good neighbours of each. Biggest harvest gain first; each cell links to the evidence for that pair.
| Plant | With fava beans | With garlic |
|---|---|---|
 Lettuce | 28% more harvest from the same spaceField trial, 1 study. Charts: not listed.Evidence for fava beans and lettuce | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for garlic and lettuce |
 Potato | Less diseaseField trial, 3 studies. Charts: not listed.Evidence for fava beans and potatoes | No trial foundNot tested. Charts: recommend.Evidence for garlic and potatoes |
Harvest from the same space compares a bed with both crops against the same area split into single-crop beds, counting the harvest of both crops (the land equivalent ratio in yield trials).
The evidence, with sources
- Mixedyield / land usefield trialauto-classifiedEffect of faba bean-garlic intercropping on low-molecular-weight organic acids, yield components, and profitability under different spatial arrangements.Effect of faba bean-garlic intercropping on low-molecular-weight organic acids, yield components, and profitability under different spatial arrangements. (Hamoda A · 2026 · Scientific reports)Relevance 97% · effect confidence 32%
- Gooddisease suppressionfield trialauto-classifiedGarlic helps Fava beanResponse of faba bean to intercropping, biological and chemical control against broomrape and root rot diseases.Response of faba bean to intercropping, biological and chemical control against broomrape and root rot diseases. (El-Mehy AA · 2022 · Saudi journal of biological sciences)Relevance 97% · effect confidence 86%
All neighbours of fava bean and of garlic, or every pair at once in the companion planting chart.
Have you grown fava beans and garlic together?
Tell other gardeners what happened: spacing, pests, harvest, or ask a question. Reader notes are not checked by us and do not change the verdicts on this page.