Garlic

Garlic will cause any zombie that bites it to make a disgusted face and sound effect, followed by them moving up or down to adjacent lanes at random. It is based on the plant Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a pungent member of the onion family, often used for cooking. It is the 37th plant you will receive and is obtained after beating level 5-5.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Garlic

Garlic diverts zombies into other lanes.

Usage: on contact

Special: diverts zombies into other lanes

Lane-diversion isn't just Garlic's profession. It's his passion. He carries an advanced Doctorate in Redirection from the Brussels University. He'll talk all day about lane vectors and repulse arrays. He even pushes things into alternate avenues at home. Somehow his wife puts up with it.

Cost: 50

Recharge: fast

Overview
The Garlic can take 21 bites and its appearance changes at 7 bites and 14 bites before being swallowed at 21 bites therefore it diverts up to 20 zombies into other lanes.

Usage
Place Garlic in the front of lanes to divert the zombies into other lanes, preferably those with greater defenses or attacks. Garlics only affect Zombies that bite them, so they will not stop Zombonis, Catapult Zombies, Bungee Zombies or Gargantuars, as they don't actually eat the Garlic, so plan accordingly. Also, Garlics will not stop Vaulting Zombies if they still have their equipment, since they will just jump/pole vault over it. Balloon Zombies with balloons will float over any Garlic beneath them without effect. Garlics may not stop Dr. Zomboss either; the player never gets a chance to do that.

If a Snorkel Zombie tries to eat a Garlic, it will move into another lane very quickly but while he's moving, his head will not go underwater for that second. It is a very unlikely chance that you could kill a Snorkel Zombie while it is moving into another lane because he is almost invincible when moving.

Strategy
Garlic is a useful plant on almost any level, because with careful use, it can funnel zombies down lanes with greater defenses. On Pool levels, they are especially effective, as zombies have only one other lane to swap to. It is often used in combination with the Gloom-shroom diverting zombies to the sides of the mushrooms, so that they will be damaged by the mushroom and not be able to attack it. It can also be used so that you don't have to defend as many rows, leaving more room for Sunflowers, Marigolds, etc. After taking a bite of the Garlic, zombies will not only shift over by one lane, but also advance slightly into the new column and make a disgusted noise. Zombies that have bitten the Garlic will also pause for a moment before changing rows. Also, add few defenses into lanes with Garlic that do not hit other rows, for they will not hit the zombies that have bitten the Garlic; however, again, with something like a Gloom-shroom, placing them behind Garlic is a good idea. Threepeaters are better used behind Wall-nuts or Tall-nuts to maximize the effect. Using Spikeweed and Spikerock with Garlic is also usually a successful plan, because the they can do maximum damage to large groups, especially with Snow Peas or Winter Melons. Be aware that if you are using adjacent Garlic in different lanes, zombies won't be held up indefinitely; they will still move through to the other side after from three to five bites. Also, use two Garlics in the same lane when dealing with Pole Vaulting Zombies, as they will vault the first one and then encounter the second. Do the same for Pool levels, too, by planting one between rows one to three and another at row four to deal with the Ambush Zombies.

In the Mini-game Seeing Stars, it is helpful to use a Garlic in the middle lane at the beginning so they will go into lanes where you are using defensive plants.

Keep an eye on the health of your Garlic. You can't replace damaged Garlic without digging it up, so try to be prepared for when it finally gets eaten, so you can replace it immediately. Garlics should be replaced shortly after their eyes start to water, which means they are almost completely eaten.

In the Last Stand Mini-game, Garlic is often used in conjunction with Gloom-shrooms, Pumpkins and Marigolds, to create an effective gold-farming strategy.

Be careful though, because placing Garlic in Pumpkins won't divert the zombies. This is because they are not directly eating the Garlic, but the Pumpkin instead.

Trivia

 * If a zombie bites a piece of Garlic when the "future" code is entered, it will not pause and make a disgusted face but it will make the "bleh" noise.
 * Garlic dies after 21 pea shots (meaning a pea to Garlic is effectively the same as a bite).
 * On the seed packet it shows eyebrows. However, when the Garlic is planted, it doesn't have any.
 * The Garlic is one of four plants mentioned that has a love life with the other three being Repeater, Threepeater and Cactus.
 * In the DS version the zombies will move to different lanes slower than on other versions, and instead of a "bleh", the zombies moan in a strange way.
 * Like the Tall-nut, the Garlic will shed a single tear before being eaten completely.
 * The Garlic is one of five plants that will slowly degrade as they are damaged. The others are the Wall-nut, Pumpkin, Tall-nut, and Spikerock.
 * This is the only defensive plant which can't be aided by Wall-nut First Aid. The other plant that changes appearance showing damage that can't be aided through Wall-nut First Aid is the Spikerock, mostly because it isn't defensive.
 * On the iPad version of the game, if a Zombie bites a Garlic, the zombie's head will move up.
 * Although it can withstand more bites from Zombies than most plants, the Garlic only takes six basketballs thrown by Catapult Zombie before dying, the same as any other plant.
 * If a Hypnotized Zombie tries to eat a Zombie that's not hypnotized, and there is a Garlic in the way, the Zombie and/or the hypnotized one will be disgusted and move to the other lane.
 * The Garlic is the only plant that can be eaten but could be passed by zombies. It is also the only defensive plant that Ladder Zombies do not place their ladder on, due to it being too small for the Ladder Zombie to climb.
 * When a zombie gives the Garlic its final bite, the zombie will continue walking in its lane. This may be because the zombies don't have to worry about taking another bite on it, which means the Garlic only diverts 20 zombies.
 * The Garlic has two teeth visible, but if it degrades to its second stage when bitten 7 times, only one tooth is seen. None are seen when bitten 14 times.PvZ Splitpea Garlic Tactic.jpg and Garlic Strategy]]
 * The Garlic and the Potato Mine are the only plants with two teeth.
 * The Garlic is the only defensive plant with a fast recharge.
 * In the DS version of the game, the Garlic seems to be frowning and is angry.
 * It is the only plant known to be married. This means that Garlic is a male.
 * Garlic is one of the three plants that cry. The others are Tall-nut when it is in its third stage, and Scaredy-shroom when it hides from a zombie.
 * If a zombie takes a bite of Garlic and almost instantaneously gets hit by butter, the zombie may end up taking a second bite of Garlic.Zombie garlic glitch2.png
 * Due to the fact that zombies change lanes slowly in the DS version, if a zombie dies just after biting Garlic, he may end up falling over between lanes.
 * There is a glitch where if a zombie bites a Garlic and makes a face and says "bleh" and at the same time you type the "future" code, the zombie will have shades but will not have its lower jaw. It remains like that even if you type "future" again and return it to normal until it dies.
 * Garlic is one of five plants whose purpose is to be chewed on. The other four are the Wall-nut, Tall-nut, Hypno-shroom and Pumpkin.
 * If a Dancing Zombie eats it, existing Backup Dancers stay in their original lanes.
 * Zombie, Flag Zombie, Conehead Zombie, Pole Vaulting Zombie, Buckethead Zombie, Newspaper Zombie, Screen Door Zombie, Dancing Zombie, Backup Dancer, Ducky Tube Zombie (except ZomBotany Zombies) and Zombie Yeti are the only Zombies that make a disgusted face when they bite a Garlic.
 * On the iPad version of the game, Backup Dancers' face stretches into an unusual shape after biting Garlic.