How to Grow Garlic

Starting a Vegetable Garden

Learning how to grow garlic should be one of the first thing to do when you are starting a vegetable garden. Super easy to grow, garlic is a staple in my kitchen. Planting garlic was a given.

Garlic should be planted in the fall and mulched well. I mixed mine right into one of my flower garden areas.

How to Grow Garlic

When to plant	late summer to fall
Clove Depth	2" with the pointed end up
Days to Germination	Bulbs will over winter and sprout in the spring.
Sowing Indoors	not recommended
Sowing Outdoors	late summer to fall
Spacing	6" apart
Light Requirements	best in full sun, will tolerate light shade
Watering	Low

Sharon's Notes on How to Grow Garlic

There are many types of garlic that one can get from seed catalogs and garden centers. The three main types are:

• Stiff-neck garlic - A single ring of cloves around a solid central stem. This is apparently the hardiest type.
• Soft neck garlic - This is the kind sold in grocery stores. Not as hardy as a stiff neck garlic depending on the type
• Elephant Garlic - Produces fewer but larger cloves. This is actually a type of leek and not as hardy as true garlic.

What I plant is just a soft neck garlic from the grocery store. Next year I'll plant from the crop I grew this year. Sustainable. That is good! I have not tried this yet but from what I understand garlic will actually adapt to your conditions. If you plant the largest cloves from this year, next year the cloves will be healthier too. Do this from year to year and your garlic will be adapted to your soil conditions. Sounds good to me!

How to Plant Garlic

Garlic prefers well drained soil with plenty of organic matter... uhm I think all veggies like these conditions. My soil however is rocky and borderline acceptable, I still grow garlic successfully. I'd encourage anyone to give it a try.

Garlic likes full sun but tolerates partial shade. Perfect for my spot! I added some garlic in amongst my flowers and herbs. (see the pictures below) Right between the Mums, Sage and Thyme.

Planting Garlic:

Plant in the fall about a month before the soil freezes.

Plant about 2 inches deep 6 inches apart.

Place garlic with the pointy end up.

Mulch with straw or leaves.

Wait for spring!

Here is the corner of my flower and herb garden where I added the garlic. Pretend you don't notice that weeding ended several weeks ago.

One of my short rows. It is kind of hard to see but there are 4 cloves of garlic in my little trench.

Dirt.... with garlic under it. You'll notice a small sage plant that I planted this spring as well.

Be sure to mulch this well. I used leaves from my yard, straw would work well too.

In the spring if your mulch is very thick go ahead and pull away the mulch. This can be done right around the time that spring flowers like daffodils are blooming. Young green shoots should be showing soon!

Keep your garlic area weeded. Hoes can damage the garlic so be sure not to use tools too deeply. Your best bet is to weed my hand.

As your garlic grows clip the flower buds short. This will encourage the bulbs to grow.

Harvest

Harvest in late summer or fall. It is time when the leaves start turning brown or if the tops fall over. Simply loosen the soil and pull the bulbs out.

You will want to 'cure' the garlic. This simply means leaving the garlic out in the open air to dry. Be sure to keep the curing garlic out of the rain. When the skins of the bulbs are dry the curing time is complete. This may take up to 2 weeks.

Storage

Garlic bulbs can be stored in a cool dry area from 5 to 8 months.

Main Gardening Page - Starting a Vegetable Garden

• How to Grow Lettuce
• How to Grow Garlic
• How to Grow Carrots

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