Garlic SFG

TenderFoot 6/27/2018, 8:21 am

If you have experience growing garlic with SFG, please give me some planting tips/help. As an example, how many cloves do I plant per sq ft? Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you

**sanderson** 6/27/2018, 3:11 pm

Generally 9 per square foot. Very large varieties, maybe only 4.

There are 168 topics on garlic if you type garlic in the search box.

This is an old favorite. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t11766-mary-mary-quite-contrary-how-does-your-garlic-grow?highlight=garlic

**jimmy cee** 6/27/2018, 10:34 pm

I have done 9 and 4 to each square with no differences in size of bulbs. Garlic loves fresh fertile compost, ( so do all other plants). Plant 6 to 8 weeks before ground freezes solid as roots need a good base to work from comes spring thaw. Garlic needs to detect lowering temperatures to below freezing.Similar to stratification. I cover mine with loose straw in winter removing it when soil warms in spring. Let stems get brown and remove from mix before bulbs crack open allowing soil to enter. Garlic can freeze solid like an ice cube, has no affect on plant.
It's fun growing garlic, tasty also...

OhioGardener 8/7/2018, 10:39 am

I am not sure that I will plant Garlic in my raised beds again. It did exceptionally well, and produced a lot of good quality large bulbs, but it tied up the bed for so much time that nothing else could be planted there. I planted the garlic 9 to a square in October, but it was not ready for harvest until mid-July. So, those 2 sections of the raised beds were not available for spring & summer vegetables. After the Garlic was harvested, I added some new compost and planted Beets, Carrots, and Radishes for the fall crops.

But then, come October I might change my mind and plant some Garlic..... Wink

**sanderson** 8/7/2018, 4:34 pm

True, it does tie up the bed for several months. But, home grown garlic is just another wonderful thing about SFG. I had a bonus 8 square feet last fall to plant garlic and let it grow until ready, sometime in late June. Now I have cotton growing in those squares. Maybe you can plant bush beans in those empty squares next summer?

Right now I have half of my home grown garlic minced up and outside drying in the heat and breeze.

OhioGardener 8/7/2018, 4:53 pm

You know, Sanderson, you are going to corrupt me and I am going to end up planting Garlic again this year! Laughing

**sanderson** 8/7/2018, 4:55 pm

**jimmy cee** 8/7/2018, 9:58 pm

OhioGardener wrote:I am not sure that I will plant Garlic in my raised beds again. It did exceptionally well, and produced a lot of good quality large bulbs, but it tied up the bed for so much time that nothing else could be planted there. I planted the garlic 9 to a square in October, but it was not ready for harvest until mid-July. So, those 2 sections of the raised beds were not available for spring & summer vegetables. After the Garlic was harvested, I added some new compost and planted Beets, Carrots, and Radishes for the fall crops.

But then, come October I might change my mind and plant some Garlic.....

Dedicated beds are my great love. I have planted garlic one season, then potato,s or garlic again. Many other plants can be added once garlic is removed. Takes a bit of searching though.

**Scorpio Rising** 8/7/2018, 10:35 pm

Honestly, the months that garlic ties up squares for most part nothing is going on. I love garlic and cook with it tons!

Plant hard neck German variety from Pinetree. I like to get my seeds etc. from my general location.

That is why I do Pinetree. Super Seeds online

Just more acclimated.

OhioGardener 8/11/2018, 10:33 am

Just when I thought I was safe from having to plant garlic this fall, I got an email from Peaceful Valley Farm (GrowOrganic.com) that they have a sale on pre-orders for garlic. Let's see....16 per square, and 16 squares, that means 256 cloves....6 cloves per bulb, that means I need to order 42 bulbs....8 bulbs per pound, means I need 5 pounds...I better order 6 or 7 pounds to be safe....

Help, I have become a Garlicaholic..... Shocked

**donnainzone5** 8/11/2018, 5:42 pm

I grow 9 garlics per square foot, rather than 16, and I generally buy hardnecks with large cloves, often just five or six per bulb.

Since I plant 8 squares each year, that's 72 cloves. I save the largest ones for the following season, and use and/or store the remainder as long as possible, typically 5-7 months, depending upon variety and storage conditions.

**Scorpio Rising** 8/11/2018, 10:51 pm

I grow 9/SF as well. It allows the heads to get bigger, in my opinion. And position them to the south, because at least for me, unless you want the shade, they get tall!

**sanderson** 8/12/2018, 2:48 am

Nine per square foot for me, also.

**trolleydriver** 8/13/2018, 5:36 pm

I did only 4 per square. I think 4 or 9 per square is what is recommended.

**jimmy cee** 8/13/2018, 7:39 pm

trolleydriver wrote:I did only 4 per square. I think 4 or 9 per square is what is recommended.

2 seasons I planted 4 per square, then 9 per square adjacent to each other.
There was no difference in size or quality.

CapeCoddess 8/14/2018, 12:59 pm

I grow 9 sqs with about 5 or 6 per sq, then in spring I plant lettuce behind it. By the time the garlic gets big enough, the lettuce needs the shade.

I used to grow a lot more but found I only need about 1 head per week prox. It's such an easy low maintenance crop and the smell, the taste and the scapes are beyond description.
cheers

Jimmy Cee, I can just smell those plants in your photos...mm m m!
CC

yolos 8/14/2018, 2:01 pm

4 per square foot.

**jimmy cee** 8/14/2018, 10:11 pm

CapeCoddess wrote:I grow 9 sqs with about 5 or 6 per sq, then in spring I plant lettuce behind it. By the time the garlic gets big enough, the lettuce needs the shade.

I used to grow a lot more but found I only need about 1 head per week prox. It's such an easy low maintenance crop and the smell, the taste and the scapes are beyond description.

Jimmy Cee, I can just smell those plants in your photos...mm m m!
CC

They are no more CC, just a memory and photo's on my computer...I love sharing though when needed.

OhioGardener 8/15/2018, 10:59 am

Jimmy Cee, what is your preferred variety of garlic? Last year I had German Red and Music varieties. The German Red seemed to do a lot better, with bigger bulbs.

**jimmy cee** 8/15/2018, 11:27 pm

OhioGardener wrote:Jimmy Cee, what is your preferred variety of garlic? Last year I had German Red and Music varieties. The German Red seemed to do a lot better, with bigger bulbs.

I'm sorry but I have no preference at all. I'll buy what sounds pretty and different to me...strange..huh ?

OhioGardener 8/16/2018, 8:21 am

jimmy cee wrote:I'm sorry but I have no preference at all. I'll buy what sounds pretty and different to me...strange..huh ?

Strange? No. Gardener? Yes. LOL

AtlantaTerry 8/16/2018, 1:35 pm

No one here has mentioned buying garlic from grocery stores, breaking it up then planting those cloves.

What would be good or bad about doing that?

My local Kroger grocery store stocks garlic that comes in a package that says it is organic and grown in California. That is what I am thinking about buying.

I would appreciate any advice on this subject.

My new 2x8 foot SFG is ready and willing to accept most anything for the autumn / winter 2018-2019 season.

Thank you.

CapeCoddess 8/16/2018, 4:16 pm

AtlantaTerry wrote:No one here has mentioned buying garlic from grocery stores, breaking it up then planting those cloves.

What would be good or bad about doing that?

My local Kroger grocery store stocks garlic that comes in a package that says it is organic and grown in California. That is what I am thinking about buying.

I would appreciate any advice on this subject.

My new 2x8 foot SFG is ready and willing to accept most anything for the autumn / winter 2018-2019 season.

Thank you.

I've done that. It works fine but they were a bit small. In the end I went to the local nursery and bought planting garlic (what's the diff I wonder) called California white and is possibly the same thing you would get at your Kroger. Try it.

CC

**sanderson** 8/17/2018, 12:32 am

AtlantaTerry wrote:No one here has mentioned buying garlic from grocery stores, breaking it up then planting those cloves.

What would be good or bad about doing that?

My local Kroger grocery store stocks garlic that comes in a package that says it is organic and grown in California. That is what I am thinking about buying.

I would appreciate any advice on this subject.

My new 2x8 foot SFG is ready and willing to accept most anything for the autumn / winter 2018-2019 season.

Thank you.

Terry, I buy California garlic from the grocery store for planting. Looking at a US map, you are south of me latitude-wise so they should do just fine. I tried planting them farther apart than the 9/square foot, maybe 5/ square, and they did the same as 9/square. 4-7-18

OhioGardener 10/16/2018, 10:21 am

Today's newsletter from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply had some good tips on successfully growing garlic. They provided a link to their article, 9 Steps for Big Garlic: Click here for full article

This is a summary of the article from the newsletter:

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Why not grocery store bulbs?

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