Raise Your Garden

Musings on the Seedier Side

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Planting Garlic

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PictureI even got organic garlic bulbs for my birthday! And a garlic slicer. Thanks Mom!!!

You know what fall means… crunchy leaves, pumpkin muffins, apple picking and garlic planting. And did you know?!….garlic is actually a vegetable. A delicious vegetable that you need for almost every savory recipe. And the jarred or freeze dried stuff just isn’t the same as fresh, now is it? Okay in a pinch but not ideal. Best of all garlic is super easy to grow and requires very little space. 

You don’t want to miss out harvesting next summer so you should plant now if you live in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8. Garlic loves full sun and loamy, crumbly soil with a slight acidic to neutral PH. 
This will be my first year planting garlic. Last year, I got so wrapped up in my Halloween costume that I forgot to plant. [Tom has once again refused to wear the banana costume which I find unreasonable]. And then summer came and I had zilch. So this year I vowed to do better. Since I’m new at it, I had to do a lot of research. 

So yes, here’s another infomercial for raised bed gardening. Garlic loves raised beds because of its fertile, well-drained soil. No stones. No clay soil. Yes compost. Yes manure. Yes fertilizer. 10-10-10 please!

So to get started, all you need to do is buy garlic bulbs, preferably from a roadside stand or farmers market. You can also order from a seed company or check out your local garden center. This part is vital! The garlic bulbs need to be fresh and high quality and if at all possible, organic. Unless you’re desperate, don’t use pesticide sprayed grocery store garlic. Another downside? Grocery store garlic bulbs are treated to make their shelf life longer, making them harder to grow. 

Each bulb is made up of several sections called cloves, held together by a thin, papery covering. Before planting, break cloves apart. Garlic is grown by planting these individual cloves. Each clove will multiply in the ground forming its own bulb of 5-10 cloves. 

And remember: Larger cloves = bigger garlic = larger crop. Don’t use squishy or soft garlic either. 

Don’t damage cloves at their base. If the base is damaged, garlic will not grow!

We’ve been drying our cloves in this box since summer and now they’re ready to plant! It’s important to keep the bulbs or cloves you intend to plant in a cool [40 degrees], airy place free of moisture or pests. We stored ours in the garage as our basement is too moist. Drying the bulbs also supposedly increases the flavor! Yay. 

How-to Plant
Separate the cloves from the bulb several days before planting. Keep the papery husk on each clove. Each clove should sprout into a garlic plant. This should help you gauge how many bulbs to buy. Your goal is to plant about one month before the ground freezes wherever you live. In Southern areas, February or March may be your best time to plant. 

Place cloves 4 inches apart and 2 inches deep in an upright position. Rows should be spaced one foot apart. Plant the cloves with the pointy end up and the blunt end or wide root side down. [That came out a little weird].


Picture

See the pointy tip on top? Make sure that tip is upright when you plant.

After you plant, you’ll want to lay down a protective layer of mulch (4-6 inches thick) that could include straw, chopped leaves or grass clippings. I love the chopped leaves/grass clippings option because they’re already in my yard and I can just chuck them in my garden. No need to leave the house! And they’re free. The mulch keeps the rather shallow planted garlic from being pushed out of the ground in colder climates where we get the alternating freezing and thawing cycle. But if you live someplace warmer than Buffalo, the mulch will help keep winter weeds at bay. 

Another tip? Newly planted garlic needs to be kept moist so the roots can develop. But just moist. Don’t overwater or your planted cloves will just rot on you. 

In the spring, when the ground warms up due to warmer temperatures, shoots will emerge from the ground. But I’ll save that blog for spring. Until then, enjoy planting! Are you a garlic fan? 

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“And he who waters will be watered himself.”
• Proverbs 11:25 •