October 6th, 2008 - Growing garlic
Torina asked: Please do tell how you plant garlic! I have always wanted to do this and you may just inspire me to follow through with it :)
Garlic is one of the EASIEST things to grow. I never knew until a few years ago. I don’t know why my family didn’t grow it when I was a kid. But my parents didn’t know how easy it was until I grew it, either.
- Buy a bulb of garlic, preferably a good, heirloom variety, but even the stuff from the store should work (though it might not produce all that well). I recommend the local farmer’s market at this time of year. Places like Seed Savers Exchange are already sold out although other companies might still have them.
- Break it apart into cloves.
- Find an area of the garden/yard that won’t be disturbed through next July. IE, don’t plant it where you intend to have animals rooting (be it pigs or dogs).
- Break up the soil if necessary and dig a hole for each clove about twice as deep as the clove.
- Put each clove in with the pointy side up and the flat previously-connect side down.
- Cover with mulch about 6″ deep. I used weeds and plants pulled up from the garden at the end of the season. You can also use straw/hay.
- Wait until next July.
Honestly, that’s all there is to it! A few addition tips:
- Plant right about now, or close to the autumnal equinox (we’re a bit late at this point, but as long as you haven’t had a bad frost, you’re okay).
- When the scapes arrive, you can eat them (although I found mine hard and unflavorful); the scape is the twisty, usually round, leaf-like structure. You’ll know it when you see it as it doesn’t look like the rest of the garlic leaves. When the scape starts to bulb up to flower, remove the bulb so the garlic keeps growing underground.
- When the leaves start to die back or when they are 2/3rds done (I’ve seen both rec’s), dig your garlic. Every clove will have turned into a bulb. Unless you have really soft soil, dig them out. If you pull, the bulb will stay in the ground.
- When you harvest, set aside a couple of the best bulbs to replant. I recommend planting more than you think you’ll want since you never know how the next year’s garden will turn out. You can always give it away (or compost it) if you have too much.
Torina: If you don’t have a place near you where you can buy some garlic, send me your address (annmarie at new dot rr dot com) and I will mail you a bulb of garlic to plant!
One Response to “Growing garlic”
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October 6th, 2008 at 3:23 pm EDT
Thanks! I do love garlic and have some extra that I will plant. Who woulda thunk it would be so easy??