Pictured to the right is the current desolate state of our garden. Only the fence, trellis poles, assorted pots and buckets, and remains of last year's crops (that I never got around to cleaning up) are visible now. But under that icy blanket of snow are nearly 200 cloves of garlic (16 different varieties) that I planted this past fall, beginning around Columbus Day and continuing until just before the ground froze solid in early November.
It doesn't take much to plant garlic, just some cloves of garlic and something to dig a 2-3 inch hole to plant them in (I use my thumb ;-) I prepared the soil first by spreading about an inch of compost over the beds. I have 3 foot wide raised beds so I planted 3 foot sections of 4 rows each with 3 cloves per row (1 section for each variety), spaced the rows and cloves 5-6 inches apart, marked each section with short sticks, and noted the placement of each variety in my garden journal so I know what comes up where next year.
Don't ask me to explain the differences of each variety since I can't say much more than that some are more spicier than others, that the very great majority of them are hardneck garlic, and that they all taste great and store well. Some day, I'll sit down with friends and we'll do a taste test of them all and see if we can categorize them but all that's fodder for a future post.
Once I planted all the garlic, I sprinkled some bone meal (garlic loves phosphorus for root growth) over the rows of planted garlic, covered the entire bed with straw to insulate it for the long cold winter, and then gave it a good watering. Don't worry if some of the garlic sprouts over the fall or winter (some of those that I planted earliest did sprout this year) because the garlic sure don't mind.
Last year, I planted 70 cloves of garlic (10 each of 7 different varieties) and 69 developed into beautiful garlic heads that I harvested by the 3rd week of July (see them drying on our porch in the photo). I planted them all within a week of Columbus Day. This year I got behind in my planting schedule and planted garlic all the way into November. I'm curious to see if that will cause any problems. Next year, I might try planting earlier (if I have the space). I read in Lee Reich's book, Weedless Gardening (Workman Press, New York), that he recommends planting garlic in late summer. He says and I quote: "It's commonly recommended to plant garlic in late fall, but when cloves are planted earlier, they establish more roots before growth is arrested by the cold. An abundance of roots keeps the plants well anchored into the soil through winter, and can fuel more growth next spring."
One of the other things I've heard about growing better garlic is that planting big cloves of garlic will yield big heads of garlic and I always try to follow that rule. However, I also overheard a garlic vendor at last year's Hudson Valley (Saugerties) Garlic Festival say that big garlic comes from planting garlic in 4 inches of compost and changing where you grow your garlic crop every year so I guess good soil and good gardening practices count, too ;-) But, in general, all interested in growing garlic should read and heed The Twelve Steps to Growing Great Garlic (which I originally found on the The Garlic Store Web site but doesn't seem to be there anymore):
Twelve Steps to Growing Great Garlic
12. Always start with quality planting stock. Plant the biggest cloves - they yield the biggest bulbs. Eat the smaller ones!
11. Planting in fall is best, though many have good luck with early spring planting. Full sun preferred.
10. Garlic likes friable soil, near neutral pH, with some composted manure. Incorporate a little bone meal at planting.
9. Plant cloves about 5-6 inches apart and 2-3 inches deep.
8. Mulch your garlic with straw, alfalfa, leaves, etc. Don't worry if shoots emerge during winter.
7. Keep the soil moist. Don't let it dry out, even during the winter.
6. Garlic hates weeds!
5. Garlic likes a few foliar feedings in spring, but do not fertilize after early June.
4. If growing hardnecks or elephants, cutting the scapes just as they start to curl will increase bulb size.
3. Harvest when the leaves on the lower third to half of the plant have largely turned brown.
2. Be sure to cure your garlic by hanging in shady, well ventilated place for 3-4 weeks.
1. Then, Enjoy Garlic and Enjoy Life!
Sounds good to me!
5 comments:
Leo, I'd be interested in hearing what you've read about the best way to store your garlic harvest so that it lasts until the next crop comes in. My crop seems to be holding up OK, but I am only keeping it wrapped in a closed paper bag.
Hi Leo, I used to braid my garlic, it not only looked pretty but was easy to hang for storage and to give as gifts.(hint,hint) Am enjoying your blog! J.
Hey Pfeif and Jeannette, I've been trying to comment on Pfeif's original post since yesterday but there appear to have been technical problems ;-) Anyway, after we've dried our garlic, we gather it up and put it in labeled mesh bags (the kind you find onions in at the market) that we store in open, woven (to limit light) baskets that we place on an exposed beam in our kitchen. This seems to work rather well though we worry that heat from our wood stove, travelling along the ceiling, might keep the garlic warmer than we would like. We have thought about moving the garlic into a different, cooler room in the house but haven't acted on that yet.
Your collaborative blog is gorgeous already! I'm looking forward to my first garlic harvest this year (scapes first and then the beauty of cloves, hopefully!)
Hey Rachel, mmmm, scapes! Salad with scapes fresh from the garden is one of the highlights of summer! And it's a sad day when they're done ;-)
Let's hope we have a great garlic harvest this year.
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