Learn how to grow garlic at home and enjoy the flavor and healthy it imparts! Growing garlic is a rewarding endeavor that can yield flavorful bulbs in your own garden, far superior to what you find at the grocery store.
There are several varieties of garlic, with the main types being softneck and hardneck. In this guide, we'll explore how to grow garlic from individual cloves, discussing the best time for planting, soil requirements, and maintenance tips for successful garlic cultivation.
Selecting Garlic Varieties
When it comes to choosing your garlic, you'll find both softneck and hardneck varieties. Softneck garlic tends to perform better in warmer climates, while hardneck garlic thrives in cold winters. Some popular varieties include Inchelium Red, Spanish Roja, and German Red, each offering unique flavors and characteristics.
Planting Garlic Cloves
The best time to plant garlic is in the early fall, typically late September for most regions, allowing the cloves to establish roots before the ground freezes. In milder climates, you can opt for early spring plantings.
Preparing the Garlic Bed
Choose a well-drained soil with good drainage and plenty of organic matter. Garlic prefers fertile soil with a pH around 6.5. To improve soil quality, add well-rotted manure or compost. Ensure there's good air circulation by spacing the cloves 4-6 inches apart within rows and leaving about 12 inches between rows.
Planting & Care
Plant garlic cloves pointed end up, about 2 inches deep in loose soil. Cover them with 1-2 inches of soil. Water them well, providing an inch of water per week until the ground freezes.
Maintenance Tips
- Mulch your garlic bed with grass clippings or straw to retain moisture, regulate soil temperatures, and deter weeds.
- Remove garlic scapes (flower stems) in late spring to direct energy toward bulb growth and ensure a milder flavor.
- Keep an eye out for fungal diseases like white rot and treat promptly if necessary.
- In cold climates, a chilling period during winter is crucial for bulb formation.
Harvesting & Storage
Harvest garlic when the leaves begin to turn brown, typically in late June for spring-planted garlic or early summer for fall-planted garlic. Carefully dig the bulbs using a garden fork, allowing them to cure for several weeks in a dry place with good air circulation. Once cured, store garlic in a cool, dry, dark location.
Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor
Homegrown garlic offers larger bulbs, with some bulbs containing larger cloves. These flavorful bulbs are ideal for a wide range of culinary delights. You can also save some of your largest cloves as seed garlic for the following year's crop.
Growing garlic is a straightforward process with a long growing season but a satisfying payoff. With the right care and attention, you can cultivate different garlic varieties in your garden and enjoy their delightful flavors in your meals throughout the year. Happy gardening!
Garlic Benefits & How To Grow Garlic at Home
When you learn how much garlic benefits you, you'll want to learn how to grow garlic at home so you can keep it around! Not only does it taste delightful, it's been used for thousands of years for its abundant health benefits! Garlic is one of the most valuable foods in the world!
Yes, garlic adds wonderful flavor to recipes, but it's also extremely beneficial to your health! In fact, garlic is probably the most popular herb in history. For example, Greek physician Hippocrates, 460-370 BC “The Father of Western Medicine”, used garlic to treat a large range of illnesses. Hippocrates prescribed garlic to treat: respiratory problems, fatigue, parasites and indigestion, for instance. (Source: Journal of Nutrition,)
I worked at a health food store for years, and always noticed something about the older ladies. We had several elderly ladies that were regulars at the Health Food store, and they all had one thing in common... They all had garlic breath. These ladies were in their 90's and still fully functional on their own, and an inspiration.
How To Grow Garlic
Garlic is an herb that always make it on the grocery list, but you can easily grow plenty in your garden too! Whether you use it cooked or raw, garlic provides a wonderful flavor to all sorts of food.
Where To Plant Garlic
Plant garlic in a well draining new area, that was not previously used to grow garlic. Garlic will det diseased, or rot in the ground if it gets soaked in water, so make sure it is a well draining area.
How To Plant Garlic
First, separate the garlic cloves. Then, plant cloves 4 to 6 inches apart. Make sure that each row of garlic is one foot away from the other. Place garlic cloves in the soil with pointed end facing up, and the blunt end facing down. Then, push each clove one to two inches into the soil. Pat soil firm around each clove. Water beds when dry, do not over water.
When Should I Plant Garlic?
You can plant garlic in the spring and fall. Before you plant, check out this resource! Just enter your zip code and it will give you the best time to plant in your area!
Fall Garlic Planting
In mid-fall, plant garlic in a sunny spot with well-drained fertile soil. Plant garlic cloves blunt or root side down four to six inches apart. Make garlic rows at least 1 feet apart, then cover with a couple inches dirt. In Northern areas, cover beds with six inches of mulch for cold weather protection. Your mulch will help prevent garlic roots from being damaged from freezing & thawing.
Garlic that is planted in the fall will begin growing in late fall - early spring.
Spring Garlic Planting
In the spring, plant garlic cloves as early as your can work the soil. This should be about the same time period as onion sets. When planting garlic in the spring, plant garlic cloves blunt or root side down four to six inches apart. Make your garlic rows at least 1 feet apart, and then cover with a couple inches dirt.
How to Care For Garlic Plants
After garlic leaves start growing, you should add fertilizer, or nutrition, to feed garlic plants and help them grow. 1-2 teaspoons of high-nitrogen fertilizer, like blood meal or Osmocote, that decomposes slowly, can be gently worked into the dirt by each garlic plant. After that, add another layer of mulch to keep moisture in and weeds out!
Later in the spring, some types of garlic grow a flower stalk with small bulbils. However, you'll want to cut the stalk off. Cutting off the flower stalk makes sure that the garlic bulb itself grows big and not the flowers.
Around June your garlic plants will stop growing new leaves, and they'll and start to grow bulbs. This is when you remove mulch, and stop watering! You want to stop watering because garlic will store much better when you let the dirt around garlic bulbs dry out!
When To Harvest Garlic
Usually you harvest garlic from the middle of July through August, but it differs for each climate. However, You know it's time when the garlic plant leaves turn brown! Don't leave garlic bulbs in the ground too long after leaves turn brown! If your garlic bulbs are left in the soil too long, they will separate and won't store good.
Carefully dig garlic bulbs out of soil, and lay them out in a shady area for two to three weeks to dry. Don't let your garlic get wet after this point, because they won't store well if they do. If it's going to rain, bring them in!
Once roots on your bulbs are dry, you can rub them, and extra soil, off.
How To Store Garlic Bulbs
Once your garlic is dry, you can store them beautifully by braiding the leaves. You can also store them un bunches or cut off the stems. You can hang bunched or braided garlic in a cool dry area, or store bulbs with stems removed in a tub. Garlic should be stored in a cool, dry area with good airflow... And, ENJOY!
Learn More about garlic benefits & how to grow at home garlic at home in how to start a garden!
If you use this info to grow and store garlic and love it, Tag me on Instagram @farmhouse_harvest with your crop!
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