Garlic Growing Information
Garlic is renowned for its broad range of culinary and medicinal uses, from
reportedly imparting strength to laborers who built the pyramids to
more modern studies about its antibacterial and beneficial
circulatory effects.
Where to Grow
Garlic is an annual or perennial cool season crop and is hardy to frost and light freezes. Plant cloves in a sunny location in deep, rich, well-drained soil.
Soil
Garlic prefers full sun, moist, well-drained soil, and is quite tolerate of a variety of soil types and textures. The preferred texture appears to be a sandy loam that is easily crumbled in the hand. It does best when the pH is in the 6.2 to 6.8 range, but it can tolerate a wide range of pH and still produce well. The soil should drain easily, as standing water could cause the bulbs to rot in the ground. As with other root crops, proper preparation of the soil is very important. The top 6-12 inches should be broken up well so the roots are free to grow. This is also a good time to mix in some organic matter or manure to improve the soil.
Planting
When:
Cloves may be
planted in either fall or spring, but fall plantings yield larger
bulbs the next summer than do spring plantings harvested in fall.
Garlic should be planted 4-6 weeks before last frost date.
The plants benefit from having some warm weather to allow good root
formation. it is a good sign to see the green shoots come up
in late autumn, they can tolerate very cold weather.
How:
Although it can be started from seed, it's easiest
to grow from individual cloves. The bulb should not be "cracked" more than 48 hours before planting. Splitting the
wrapper and separating the individual cloves prior to this causes
them to dry out and loss their viability. Bigger
cloves tend to produce bigger bulbs, so save the largest cloves for
your garden if you prefer large bulbs. The smaller ores are
reported to taste better anyways.
The tips of the bulbs should be placed 2" below the soil surface
(3-4" for elephant garlic), pointy side up. They can be spaced
in rows 4-6" apart, with rows 12-15" apart.
Culture
Remove any flower buds as soon as they develop. Garlic likes the soil to be moist, but not soggy. Regular
watering in the fall is essential for proper germination . If
dry, watering in the winter may also be required. Stop watering once
the bulbs are finishing development to allow bulbs to dry out before
harvesting (about 4 weeks before harvest). Like onions, garlic
does not compete well with weeds, so it is important to keep the
weeds under control with mulch and constant weeding as required.
Garlic does appreciate fertilizer, and a general 10-10-10 works well,
at a rate of 3 pounds per hundred square feet. This should be
worked into the top few inches of the soil. One of the real
keys to success is mulching. Mulching is essential to increase
the plants tolerance of very cold weather; the colder it is, the
more mulch is required. The mulch should be applied
immediately after planting, perhaps after a good soaking. The
garlic shoots should have no problem coming through several inches
of mulch, it should help keep the weeds down as well. If the
mulch is extra thick, you could remove some of it in the spring
time, leaving enough to control the weeds.
Harvest
Garlic bulbs mature in an average of 6 to 10 months.
Many people wait too long to harvest garlic bulbs. Once the
lower 1/3 - 1/2 of the leaves have turned brown, and there are still
mostly green leaves near the top of the plant, it is ready to
harvest. Watch your plants carefully to ensure you pick them
in their prime. Generally speaking, they should be dug up,
pulling on the stalks will just break them off. Use a pitchfork to
loosen the soil around the plant, which allows the entire plant to
be lifted out of the ground freely.
Garlic will need to be cured before long term storage. A
properly cured garlic clove can be safely stored for up to 6 months.
The entire plant will need to be dried in a well ventilated
location. The simplest way is to tie up several plants
together in a bunch, and hang them for a few weeks. Do not
wash the bulbs, or allow them to be exposed to any water. Throw away
moldy bulbs as soon as they are noticed. Once curing is
complete, cut the tops off about 1" above the roots. Garlic is
stored best between 50-70F and a relative humidity of ~ 50% seems to
be ideal. They can be stored in a onion-type mesh, or burlap
bag hung in a well ventilated room. Do not store at high
humidity or in the refrigerator, they will sprout in a hurry.
The soft neck varieties tend to have a longer shelf life.
Pests
None of major concern
Disease
None of major concern
