Garlic: Plant This Pungent Bulb in Fall and Enjoy Next Summer
Garlic: Plant This Pungent Bulb in Fall and Enjoy Next Summer
BY DAVID OTTERSTROMWhile many vegetables are planted in spring, it is important to plant garlic in fall. Most varieties of garlic need a few months of winter weather to produce strong and large bulbs that will be ready to enjoy come summer!
Always buy garlic at the store only to use a couple cloves and forget about the rest until they start sprouting on your countertop?
That's okay!
You're already on your way to growing garlic at home, so plant some now and it will be ready in time for next summer!
While many vegetables are planted in spring, it is important to plant garlic in fall. Most varieties of garlic need a few months of winter weather to produce strong and large bulbs. There are hardneck and softneck varieties.
Hardneck garlic produces a garlic scape which can also be used in cooking. The softneck varieties do not produce garlic scapes. Their bulb necks are soft and can be braided together with other softneck garlic. Garlic leaves can also be delicious used in cooking.
How to Grow Garlic
The first step to planting garlic is purchasing garlic. Some garlic found in grocery stores can grow, but some has been treated to not grow anymore. I recommend buying garlic at your local farmer’s market because the garlic sold there is already adapted for growing in this region.
You can also purchase garlic from your local gardening store. Purchase the largest garlic bulbs of each variety you want to grow. This will make it more likely for the garlic you grow to also produce large bulbs.
Once you have your garlic, you need to pull apart each clove from the bulb. Try to keep the papery layer surrounding each garlic clove intact. If some falls off that is ok. The garlic clove is what you will be planting. Each garlic clove planted in the fall will produce an entire bulb by the next summer!
Loosen the soil you will be planting in. You can plant them in a garden bed, right in the ground or even in pots on a patio or deck. Choose how many garlic cloves you want to plant. You should plant them around mid-October in our region.
Plant each garlic clove about 3 to 4 inches into the soil. Plant the pointed tip of the garlic clove facing up. Space them 4 to 5 inches apart from each other.
Taking Care of Garlic in Your Garden
Once planted, cover them with soil and water the soil. Next you should cover the soil with around 5 inches of mulch, like leaves or straw. After that, just sit back and relax and wait till next spring for the garlic plant to start popping up out of the ground. If there is still a lot of mulch covering the plants by April, you can remove the mulch.
Water the plants periodically from April to July, whenever you notice the soil has dried up about two inches in depth. The garlic bulb should be ready to harvest in July or when you notice the lower leaves of the garlic plant have withered away.