Growing Garlic for Beginners

Growing Garlic for Beginners

I really don’t know too many people who don’t like, if not love, the taste of garlic. We easily use 25-30 bulbs of garlic a year and that doesn’t include the seed for the next crop! I use it in everyday cooking, pressure canning recipes, and pickle some up on the side, too! Garlic is one of those plants that is very newbie friendly and forgiving if you mess up a little. Even if you live in an apartment, you can grow garlic in containers in the window if needed! Here is a quick look at growing garlic to show how easy it is with some pointers on getting the best crop for your efforts.

General Garlic Information

Garlic is a cool-weather loving plant. There are two varieties: hardneck and softneck. Softneck garlic is typically what is sold in grocery stores and has a more mild flavor. Elephant garlic (technically a leek) has enormous cloves and is also a very mild garlic. Hardneck varieties tend to be stronger in flavor. Their skins are more of a hard shell and can range in color from white to shades of red and purple. We have grown both types and prefer the hardneck.

Planting in Autumn versus Spring

I have planted garlic in both the autumn and spring and have found that autumn plantings end up producing larger bulbs and cloves of garlic. The spring planting still did well and we enjoyed fresh garlic all winter long! If you plant in autumn, you want to get the cloves in the ground, pointy side up, a couple of weeks before the first freeze. It will give it time to get established so they can over winter. If planting in the spring, you want to plant when the soil is workable and the chance of a hard freeze (below 25 degrees F) has passed.

How to Plant Garlic

Planting garlic is extremely simple! Your soil should be loose and well turned. Make sure some fertilizer was added and mixed prior to planting. You will not need to feed while the plant is growing or maturing. The soil should not be heavy in clay or anything that will compact tightly when watered as this will impede the growth of larger cloves. Take a bulb of garlic apart but leave the skins intact on the cloves. Choose the larger, fully skinned cloves to plant. Planting cloves with torn skins or exposed garlic runs the risk of rotting. Plant the clove pointy side up (rough side down, this is where the roots will grow out from) about 2 inches deep. You want to have an additional 4-6 inches of soil under the clove. Give it a good drink and wait about a week. You should start seeing leaves poking up in short order!

Do not keep the soil saturated but neither should it ever be overly dry. If too wet, rot can form. If too dry, the cloves can crinkle and single the plant that it is mature and time to go dormant. You may need to add some soil around the plants after a couple of months to ensure the stalks have support to keep upright.

Harvesting and Drying Garlic

Most garlic takes about 6 months to mature. The plant lets you know when it is ready when the leaves turn brown and curl. When about 25% of the leaves are browning, stop watering to let the soil dry out some. Depending on how compact your soil has become, you can simply grasp the stalk at the soil line and pull up! If you notice that a lot of the skins are tearing off the bulbs, stop yanking and grab a fork or spoon. Gently excavate your bulbs and keep as much of the protective skins intact. This is what will keep your garlic preserved once it has dried.

Get the clumps of dirt off as best as you can. The garlic will need to cure, roots, leaves and all for 3-4 weeks in a well ventilated area and preferably in the shade, too.

Once they are cured, grab some utility scissors and cut the roots and stalk off. You can also braid the stalks after harvesting for the curing process. They make a great gift! Garlic prefers to be store at cool temperatures of less than 50 degrees, ideally. There are varying factors such as humidity that can change the storage needs and you will have to do some research on your own area for the best results.

Other Tidbits, Tips,and Tricks

You can grow garlic in containers if space is an issue. Ideally, you would want to have it growing in the coolest place possible. Garlic will not form a bulb if not exposed to cooler than 45 degrees for several weeks.

Garlic scapes are a delicious treat! When the plants reach a certain maturity, they will put up a thick inner stalk that will form a flower on the end. These are edible and add superb flavor to soups, stews, vegetable dishes, even raw! The stalks will curl and once a circle has been made, it is time to harvest! Cut down as far as you can without harming the leaves of the plant at an angle. We use the flower bulb in making vegetable stocks but most people cut them off and toss them. You can freeze or dehydrate them for later use, too. For more information about garlic scapes, go here.

Growing garlic is easy, low maintenance, and incredibly satisfying! You know how it was grown and processed plus receive all the bragging rights that go along with it!

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