Successfully Growing Garlic in your Garden

Planting garlic in the fall is so much fun.  Why?  Usually, we are planting seeds that tend to be small and to ensure germination multiple seeds are planted. Next, we thin our seedlings, a process no one likes. Garlic is different. As a bulb, garlic has individual cloves which are the seeds. The cloves are easy to handle, no need to plant multiple cloves per seedling and no need to thin.  Yea! Let me share the process I follow for successfully growing garlic in the home garden.

Stop and smell the garlic! That’s all you have to do.

William Shatner

VARIETIES

There are two main varieties of garlic

• Hardneck
  • Form ‘scapes’ in the spring that can be cut and used in cooking after the scape forms a curl
  • Are not usually braided
  • Requires exposure to cold to form bulbs
  • Produces fewer but large cloves
  • Grows better in colder zones
• Softneck
  • Do not form scapes
  • Are easier to braid
  • Produce more cloves
  • More tolerant of warm temperatures
  • Store longer

GROWING AND CARING FOR GARLIC

Garlic is usually planted in the fall for an early summer harvest and is part of the Amaryllidaceae family that includes onions, chives, shallots and leeks.

First, it’s important to purchase garlic from a reputable seed producer. Therefore, it’s not recommended to plant garlic purchased from a supermarket (usually the softneck variety) because supermarket garlic may be treated to prevent sprouting. You can also plant garlic from your crop. That said, each year I put aside the biggest bulbs of garlic from my harvest and plant those in the fall.

Growing Garlic

• Plant garlic 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes. If you are unsure what the freeze dates are for your gardening zone, check with your county Cooperative Extension agent. The cloves need time to set their roots before the first frost.  
• Chose a bed for garlic that has not contained plants in the Amaryllidaceae family (chives, onions, shallots, leeks) for the past three years. To learn more about crop rotation check out my blog post titled “Crop Rotation for the Home Gardener”.
• Garlic needs full sun and loose, well-drained soil amended with organic matter. Apply a 1-inch layer of compost to the bed before planting the bulbs. A soil pH between 6-6.5 is ideal.
• Separate the individual cloves from the bulb. Each bulb should have 7-14 cloves and use only large, undamaged cloves. There is a direct correlation between the size of the clove planted and the size of the resulting bulb. Small cloves will result in small bulbs while large cloves will result in large bulbs.
• Plant each clove 3-4 inches below the soil surface. Space cloves 6 inches apart in rows that are 8 inches apart. The pointy side of the clove must be facing up or the bulb will be deformed. If your soil is loose, it should be easy to simply press each clove 2-3 inches down. I like to lay out all the cloves on top of the soil and then plant them to the proper depth. Ensure that the clove remains upright after it has been covered with soil.
• After the cloves have been planted, cover the soil with a 3-4 inch layer of straw or dried grass to maintain temperature and prevent weeds.
• Garlic will go dormant late in the season and you will not likely see any shoots above ground until early spring.

Caring for Garlic

• Mulch:  Remove the mulch from around the emerging garlic.
• Fertilize: Garlic is a heavy feeder. Therefore, fertilize once in early spring when the garlic plant is 4-6 inches .tall by side-dressing with a nitrogen-based fertilizer such as blood meal. Then, fertilize a second time about six weeks later.
• Water:  Water only if the soil is dry. If needed, water to a depth of at least 1 inches. Taper off watering 2-3 weeks before harvest.
• Weeds:  Keep up with weeding as garlic doesn’t compete well with weeds.
• Row Cover:  Cover the garlic with a row cover in early spring to prevent damage from the adult flight and egg-laying of the Alium Leaf Miner. The row cover should be removed 4-6 weeks before harvest.
• Scapes:  Remove the scapes on the hardneck variety after they curl. Cutting the scapes will allow the plant to redirect energy to grow larger bulbs.
• Companions: Roses and raspberries.

PROBLEMS

Garlic does not have significant pest or disease problems. The best prevention is raising healthy plants and keeping them healthy:

• Plant at the appropriate time
• Fertilize as noted above
• Rotate crops each year and don’t plant garlic in the same spot for 3 years

Common pests include:

• Thrips that feed on the leaves. Cover plants with row cover during thrip flight.
• Onion maggot that lays eggs close to the ground. The larvae bore into the bulb and can cause the bulb to be unusable. Crop rotation will control the onion maggot.
• Allium leafminer which lays eggs on the garlic leaves and the adults can bore into the bulbs. Cover garlic with row cover in early spring

Common diseases include:

• Bulb rot can develop when the soil is too wet based upon either poor drainage or a wet season. Using raised bed gardens can help with drainage.

If you suspect that something is wrong with your garlic and live in the US, check with your Cooperative Extension for help in identifying and determining appropriate controls for pests and disease.

HARVESTING AND STORAGE

Hardneck garlic will have two harvests. First, the scapes will be harvested about one month before the bulbs are ready. When the scapes curl, they are ready for harvest and should be cut off. Second is the harvest of the bulb. For both hardneck and softneck, this will happen in late June or early July. The best way to determine maturity is to pull up a bulb and check it out. This can be done when you notice that 30-50% of the outer leaves have begun to turn yellow/brown.

Dig up the bulbs as opposed to trying to pull up from the stems of the plant. Use a shovel and dig down next to the bulb. After digging up, shake off the dirt from the roots and let dry for a couple of days outside in a shady, ventilated area. Then move the garlic indoors to cure for 4 weeks before use. I store my garlic on shelves in our basement until they are fully dried out. At that point, cut the stem down to one inch and cut off the roots flush with the bottom of the garlic bulb. Store in a cool and dry location with an ideal temperate of 60°F. Properly cured garlic should keep for anywhere from 6 -12 months depending upon the variety. Remember you can also use bulbs from the harvest for planting out in the fall.

Never store garlic in the refrigerator as this will cause shoots to sprout.

The stems of Softneck varieties can be braided after about two weeks before the stems become too stiff and brittle.

PREPARING

When using garlic for cooking, first separate the number of cloves needed from the bulb. Next, you can either crush or chop the garlic. Garlic can be crushed with either a garlic crusher or by placing the flat side of a knife on top of the clove and pressing down. To chop, peel the clove and then slice/chop using a sharp knife. Garlic can be sautéed and used as a base for sauces, soups and casseroles.

When cooking with garlic, try to avoid two common mistakes:

• Burning – garlic can burn quickly when cooked in butter or oil. When burned, garlic turns bitter. Garlic should be added towards the end of the cooking process.
• Overuse – this is something that I am guilty of. Too much garlic can overwhelm a recipe and so be aware as not everyone may enjoy garlic as much as you do.

Good luck with growing garlic in your home garden!

RECOMMENDED CULTIVAR

Chesnok Red (8 months to harvest)

• Hardneck, heirloom purple stripe type. Large bulbs with a mild taste. 7-10 cloves per bulb. Stores 6-7 months.

BOTANICAL INFORMATION

Family:     Amaryllidaceae

Genus:     Allium

Species:   A. sativum

REFERENCES

University of Minnesota Extension – Growing Garlic in Home Gardens

University New Hampshire Extension – Growing Garlic in New Hampshire

Michigan State Extension – Growing Garlic in Michigan