Garlic

Garlic will cause any zombie that bites it to move up or down to the next lane. It lasts approximately 21 bites, and changes appearances at 7 chomps and 14 chomps before being swallowed at 21 chomps.

Garlic, or Allium sativum, is a pungent member of the onion family, often used for cooking, and to keep vampires at bay.

Usage
Place Garlic in the front of lanes to divert the zombies into other lanes with greater defenses or attacks. Garlics actually affect zombies that bite them, and so they will not stop Zombonis, Catapult Zombies, or Gargantuars, since they don't actually eat the garlic, so plan accordingly. They will also not stop Pogo zombies if they still have their pogo sticks, since they will just jump over the garlic.

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

Strategy
Garlic is a useful plant on almost any level, because with careful use, it can funnel zombies down lanes with greater defenses. 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. Zombies that have bitten the garlic will also pause for a moment before changing rows. Also, add few (if any) 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 or perhaps a cob cannon (you might use garlic to defend those, if you use them), placing them behind garlic is a good idea. Threepeaters are better used behind wall-nuts or tall-nuts to maximize the effect. Be aware that if you are using adjacent garlic plants in different lanes, zombies won't be held up indefinitely; they will still move through to the other side after four or 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.

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.