Planting Garlic

Photo credit: ccharmon on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-ND

This is a good time to get garlic bulbs in the ground for harvest next season. If you’ve never grown your own garlic before, you will find that it is an easy process. Garlic is a pest-free crop so you do not have to worry about critters or bugs.

Culinary garlic (Allium sativum), is divided into two types – softneck and hardneck. Hardneck garlic has a rigid central stem and fewer, but larger, cloves. It has a shorter storage life but boasts more flavor. Softneck garlic is the opposite, with softer stems, more cloves and longer storage life.

Select a sunny area for planting. Loose, well-drained soil is best (soggy, wet soil will rot the bulbs). If you are planting in the ground, dig the soil and add compost, aged manure or our 3-way mix to enrich and loosen the ground. You can also plant garlic bulbs in raised beds or containers.

Break the bulbs into individual bulblets. Select only the largest for planting.

Add a handfull of organic fertilizer (such as alfafa meal) under each bulb. Plant the bulbs, pointy side up 2-3 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart. Ideally, the top of the bulbs should be covered with one inch of soil. If you are planting in rows, place the rows about 12-18 inches apart.

After planting, cover the area with mulch and water well. Garlic is tough and can withstand the winter temperatures and even snow and ice.

Although you may get leaf growth during the winter months, most will occur next spring as temperatures begin to warm up. Apply a nitrogen-rich fertilizer around the foliage in late winter to early spring. Apply fresh mulch and keep the area clear of weeds. In late June, the bulbs will begin to ripen. At this time, stop watering. In mid July – August, the stalks will begin to die. The garlic will be ready to harvest when at least half of the green tops have died. Cure bulbs for up to two weeks in a warm, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight.