An essential ingredient in many dishes, garlic may also be grown easily in the garden. During the fall is the optimum time to plant it. Learn how and when to plant garlic so that you can get the most out of your crop!
When to plant garlic
Most places recommend planting garlic in the fall. Garlic should not be planted until after the autumnal equinox, which occurs at the end of September. Garlic, like other members of the Allium genus, is a diurnal plant that grows best during the longest days of summer. In the spring, it will be among the first things in the garden to come up as a result of the fall planting.
Garlic Planting Instructions
In order to get the greatest and largest bulbs out of your garlic plants, you’ll need to make sure the soil is properly prepared. They require soil with a pH range of 6.4-6.8 that has been carefully cultivated, well-drained, and rich. Before planting, add 2-3 inches of compost and well-rotted manure.
Invest in high-quality seed garlic and plant a variety of strains in case one fails. Keep the cloves from drying out by separating them no more than 48 hours before planting. It stands to reason that the largest bulbs will be produced by the most massive cloves. Separate the cloves, leaving the peels on, and plant them pointed end up, two inches deep, six inches apart.
Seedless straw should be mulched 5-8 inches deep. It will be around 2 inches thick by spring and will assist to keep the weeds at bay throughout the growing season as it decomposes during the winter. Before the ground freezes solid, your garlic will begin to produce roots, but there will be little or no top growth.
It won’t take long before the ground thaws next spring, and your garlic will begin sprouting small green shoots.
Pre-Soaking The Bulbs Is A Little Secret
Before planting, soak your bulbs overnight to help them sprout and grow well. Add a teaspoon of baking soda to a quart jar of water. Then add the cloves and allow them to soak for a few minutes.
Preventing ground rot by soaking the garlic is a double benefit of this method. Many parts of the country have a lot of rain in the fall, and a little extra protection for garlic can go a long way.
Getting the Ground Ready
Garlic thrives in nutrient-rich, loose soil, just like most other crops. Compost should be added to the soil before planting in order to improve the quality of the soil.
Garlic thrives in a composted environment. In addition to helping to stimulate the soil with nutrients, it also aids in soil loosening, which is necessary for healthy bulb growth. When it comes to root crops, loose soil can make a huge difference between full-sized vegetables and stunted ones.
How to Take Care of Garlic Plants
When new shoots appear in the spring, feed the plants with a liquid fish emulsion fertilizer every other week until about June 1. Try to get an inch of water a week, including rain, throughout the early summer bulb-forming period.
During the summer solstice, if you’re growing hard neck garlic (the ideal type for New England), you’ll notice a seed stalk, or scape, coming up. Plants need to be encouraged to devote all of their energy to bulb production by cutting this off.
It is a delicacy to eat the stalks that form a loop. Any meal that needs a little garlic flavor can benefit from the addition of chopped garlic. Pesto made with a little olive oil and parmesan cheese is extremely delicious with these ingredients.
Consider leaving some flower stalks in place to assist you to determine the ideal harvest time. Stop watering the garlic bulbs in July, when the outer wrappers start drying off, around four weeks before harvest. The wrapper can be stained or even moldy if too much water is used at this step.
Diseases and Pests of the Garlic
If you have had problems in the past with wireworm or nematode infestation, avoid planting garlic there. Poorly draining soils are more conducive to disease growth.
Garlic Harvesting: When and How
To harvest your garlic, wait until it has become brown and wilted but has still had some green leaves on it at the end of July or early August.
If you’re not sure exactly when to harvest, the blossom stalks can be a great help. Harvesting is necessary when the leaves begin to turn brown and the scapes begin to uncurl and stand straight.
The Secrets of Garlic Planting – Mulching for Weed Control and Winter Protection
This additional straw mulch is applied after the crop has sprouted to protect it from freezing temperatures. Shredded leaves are an option as well, but make sure to cover the crop with something to prevent weeds.
Keeping mulch from competing with weeds is one of the most important mulch-growing secrets. Garlic harvests will be lower and the bulbs you harvest smaller if your patch is overrun with weeds, which fight for nutrients.
Drought is not a problem for the garlic because of its high water content. If there is a normal amount of rain, it will continue to grow healthily. Make sure to irrigate the crop when it’s dry for more than 10 to 14 days during the fall.
Garlic Storage
Garlic should be hung to dry in a cool, well-ventilated, shady location for 3-4 weeks to cure. Remove any loose soil from the leaves, roots, and outer wrappers before storing. Trim the roots to 1/4 inch and cut the tops back to an inch or two above the bulb. Hardneck garlic will keep for five months under ideal conditions of near-freezing temperatures and 65-70 percent humidity, whereas softneck garlic will keep for eight months.
Replant your largest cloves the next year. In the old days, garlic was said to “learn” since it adapts to the environment in which it grows and improves over time. It’s time to get your hands dirty and plant some garlic in the fall.
