Garlic Growing Lovers

Wow! I planted my garlic from last season 6 days ago and it is already over an inch tall! So I planted on Sunday, April 23, 2017 on a gloriously beautiful sunny afternoon. I didn't plant very deep. I barely pushed them under the soil (MM with a fresh layer of leaf/grass compost that is at least two years old that has been sitting in one spot for a long time. It had worms and it is mostly dark brown and fine grained, with some black. I still have a at least two five gallon buckets of it left!)
I (we- my daughter has been a big help again this year!) have kept it watered and have had 1.7" of rain in the last week, so it should be in a prime spot to grow, and it is growing.
Is there anyone out there who has a method to grow garlic that they want to share? I am hoping to read more and entice the newer folks on SFG to comment here, on a new thread and compare it with what has already been put out in other garlic threads from the past that are here in SFG.
I will be posting a pic later today with the sun is higher in the sky for a better pic.

People like me and you are considered to be garlic growers in the North.  I plant mine in October to get the largest possible bulbs and cloves around July.  It is a 9 month growing effort from clove stage to bulb stage. 

I would think if you prefer to plant cloves now that is your choice and I suspect you will have smaller cloves.  The northern varieties of garlic need a good cold snap in the ground to grow to their fullest potential.

I hope others chime in with their thoughts.

llama momma wrote:... I plant mine in October to get the largest possible bulbs and cloves around July.  It is a 9 month growing effort from clove stage to bulb stage. 

Me too. I plant in October.  This is my second year of growing garlic. 

BTW don't forget the delicious garlic scapes.

https://cedarcirclefarm.org/tips/entry/garlic-scapes

I'm also in the North and get much better results planting in the fall than in the spring. I did replace a few this spring that didn't come up (and planted them shallow since they don't need to survive the winter), but I will probably use them as green garlic for poaching fish, rather than for cloves.

I plant my cloves sometime after the first frost, but before the MM starts to freeze (so October or November). I carefully peel my cloves and ones with discoloration or soft spots (and those that get damaged while peeling) get used for cooking, not planting. I soak my cloves in water overnight, followed by a brief 5min soak in rubbing alcohol, before planting 3-4" deep. I plant huge cloves at 4 or 5/sq and regular ones at 9/sq. One could probably plant the tiny cloves at 16/sq for the purpose of harvesting them as green garlic (i.e. like green onions) in the spring if one has extra cloves and an extra square. Then, I mulch the bed thickly with straw. The straw needs to be pulled back in the early spring so the sun can warm the MM - later I put the straw back again, around the now tall green shoots. I gave a snack of a little blood meal and some wood ash last year, so I'll probably do it again this year ...  last year's journal says I'm actually a little late on that, so thanks for the reminder!
I pull the scapes (that TD mentioned while I was typing) off (and eat 'em!) when they happen in early June, so that the garlic puts energy into the bulb instead of flowers.
I think I stopped watering at the beginning of July, and I harvested my garlic mid-July last year.

Back before I heard of hard neck garlic I regularly planted my bulbs in early April or late March.  There is enough cold snaps to do a fine job telling the bulbs to divide.  Soft necks don't over winter here.

Year before last I just totally forgot to plant until it was too late.  So I planted a couple squares with bulbs that had over wintered well on my desk, in early APril.  I got nice big bulbs.  So I don't think fall planting is as important as we tend to think.  However it is a great spur in October to figure out the next years garden enough to plant the garlic.  It is not only getting one thing done, it is starting the brain to think ahead again.

This year I planted in the fall, and for the first time I soaked the bulbs in a baking soda solution to kill fungus.  I had been noticing a growing problem with mushy bases in my garlic.  This time I used new stock, and the soak, and planted somewhere where there has been no onion/garlic before.

I planted Ace Hardware garlic 2 falls ago.  Not one made it.  I put it in a container, round plastic.  But I think it froze and thawed so many times it was just destroyed.  

Last fall, I put 3 squares of German Hardneck from Pinetree seeds in at 4/SF in my 4x4 and they are looking great!  Will harvest when everyone on here tells me to!

Just wanted to get my .50 worth here to all Garlic lovers. This is a close up pick of my garlic after 13 days, I planted them just below the surface! The quarters are to show size.

Nice!

Plus, I am glad to be growing garlic because I just read on FB....I know, that 31% of our garlic comes from China, and they grow using pesticides and, umm, unusual techniques, and it can really taste very chemically/plastic-ish.  

Grow your own, people!

Yup, I kinda wonder if they still "Mao Tea"? You also have to remember they are just trying to put something on the market just to make money, so the product is suspicious at best. I loath having to be negative about it, but it has so many ramifications when money is the most important aspect of a business.

I ran out of my home-grown stash.

Since most of the varieties I've seen only store for u; to 6-8 months, my new strategy will be to plant a couple of squares in the spring. 

Now, if I could just find some organic seed garlic this late in the season....

Meanwhile, last fall's planting is really thriving!

Hey Donna, I am always looking for new seed garlic. I have found that if you go to the supermarket and find garlic grown in the USA, it is not irradiated and will grow. I am also finding that no matter what kind of garlic you start with, after 3 or more seasons of growing it in the same area, it tends to take on it's own flavor or personality. Not that I have any scientific evidence, and this is just a guy looking at food, noticing some subtle differences, but it starts to loose or gain color at times. I had some red (ish) garlic that is now more pink, and the white garlic I had is now turning pink (ish) after four years of growing it in the garden. It is probably the pollination. 
BUT, next time yo go to the market check it out, it should say it is grown in USA. Just a thought.

Thanks!

I'll start at the local Whole Paycheck market, I think.  And then, there's always the Internet.  Markets generally stock only softneck garlic, which generally isn't the best in cold climates.

Another comment Donna, again, no scientific evidence, but I have heard that if you continue growing a garlic from the stock you get out of your garden in the same area, it gets better with each new year you plant it. Also, I read, and not sure if this is correct, but others have wrote that it all turns to hard neck in cold climates. Remember, I read that on the web, "so its gotta be true, right?" Either way you go, or think about it, whether it is hard neck or soft neck or no neck, whatever, if it grows and tastes good, and it is garlic, OK.

I've read the same thing about growing garlic in the same area. 

I'm not familiar with the remainder of what you wrote.

Last year, I did plant a hardy soft-neck variety, Polish White, and it did fairly well.

donnainzone5 wrote:I've read the same thing about growing garlic in the same area. 

I'm not familiar with the remainder of what you wrote.

Last year, I did plant a hardy soft-neck variety, Polish White, and it did fairly well.

I have some partially sprouting hardneck from last fall that I don't have room for.  If you want it, PM me!  I have 4 cloves.  Unknown variety but makes it in the cold.

Hey Donna, take up the offer from SR- she is one of the pillars of this site. If you do, and you like what she sends you, then next year I will be honkin' my horn at you for a couple of cloves to try here in New Hampster

I purchased and planted $40 of seed garlic last November. Not one clove sprouted. Not.One.   The container has really good drainage, but water was trapped for a few days during the heat wave in March, when the ice melted unevenly. I think the garlic rotted.

I don't know when (if) I'll try again.

Wow GB, I am sorry to hear that. That would make me not want to plant them again too. I have never done well with container gardening, some mediocre success with easy things, but loosing that many really hurts. I would say to you, don't try anymore container gardening with garlic, find a few RIGHT NOW and throw them in the ground to see where it takes you. Go to the local grocery store and find "Grown in USA" garlic and try it.
I will send you some when I get them this summer, assuming I have some.

bigdogrock wrote:Wow GB, I am sorry to hear that. That would make me not want to plant them again too. I have never done well with container gardening, some mediocre success with easy things, but loosing that many really hurts. I would say to you, don't try anymore container gardening with garlic, find a few RIGHT NOW and throw them in the ground to see where it takes you. Go to the local grocery store and find "Grown in USA" garlic and try it.
I will send you some when I get them this summer, assuming I have some.

Thank you for the encouragement and generous offer, Rock. We're planning to move in the summer, so everything needs to be portable this year. I may try again when we're settled and have established SFG beds, next year or beyond.  In the meantime, I'll "make lemonade" by filling the vacant garlic container with winter sown lettuce, kale, spinach, and radishes.

GB, I'm sorry.

Ouch. That's rough, GB. I agree with Rock - if you do garlic again, don't do containers. The garlic I lost in my bed were on the edges, mostly of the narrow 1ft bed; containers usually have even less thermal protection than 1" wood. Based some on my own experiences, and some on that of a friend, containers are really rough on over-wintering plants. That isn't to say there aren't plants that will survive (or maybe even thrive) over the winter in containers, but my experiences make me think it's not very common. (I've even killed mint!)

A move, how exciting! If you know and are ok saying, still in NH? Or a big move?

This is what happens if you harvest garlic too late. The cloves in the bulb separate. This particular plant was at the point where all the leaves had turned brown. The cloves can still be used right away but the bulb cannot be stored for longer term use.

TD,

AMA, I pulled most of my garlic after spending three weeks in the hospital and aftercare.  (I had four spinal fusions).

Anyway, my garlic was totally brown, but it seems that only two or three had reached that stage.

I have yet to hang the remainder to dry.

donnainzone5 wrote:TD,

AMA, I pulled most of my garlic after spending three weeks in the hospital and aftercare.  (I had four spinal fusions).

Anyway, my garlic was totally brown, but it seems that only two or three had reached that stage.

I have yet to hang the remainder to dry.

Donna, did you get very much rain before you harvested the garlic? We had a ton here.

TD,

I don't think there was much rain during that period  (7/7 - 7/25).  However, since my hospitalization occurred sooner than expected, I didn't have the opportunity to rearrange the drip system.  Therefore, I suspect that the garlic and onions received too much water.