How and When to Plant Garlic
How and When to Plant Garlic
How and When to Plant Garlic
Knowing how and when to plant garlic will certainly increase your in your harvest!
A couple of different methods have helped me to understand how garlic grows. I have not had much experience (or patience) in growing garlic from seed. However, I may explore that in blog posts to come. Growing from seed has not been necessary for me since I really like the garlic cloves that I have been planting. If you do grow from seed, just know that you may not have actual garlic until the second summer.
I live in Wisconsin near the Great Lakes, so planting garlic always works out for me when I plant on or around Columbus Day. I choose the best cloves of garlic that I have. There are usually 4-7 cloves in every bulb of garlic, so planting each clove from one bulb will give you 4-7 bulbs by the summer!
Consider the Soil and Placement
A good plan is to plant the garlic cloves in a soft soil bed and a different space from last year crop if you are replanting. If this is your first time planting, you can pretty much plan on always planting garlic! It is that awesome to have growing in your space. I rotate my garlic around 3 different gardens spaces every year, being careful not to deplete the soil. Keep a journal to not only show where you are planting, but also how well they do in different areas. Different soil conditions prove to show different outcomes of size and flavor.
Every year, I like to amend my soil in the fall. Basically, I will add compost from my compost pile, worm castings, and pull any unwanted weeds from the garden space. Then, I carve out rows and place the garlic cloves, pointy-side up, into the little ditches. Usually I will plant my garlic about 6″ apart. The good thing about planing garlic is that you can plant a good amount in a fairly small space. Every year I wish I planted more!
My husband usually puts a nice think layer of leaves on the bed, over the garlic for the fall. They will decompose nicely and be a good blanket of protection for the garlic.
Harvesting the Garlic
It might be tempting to pull the garlic when it looks like the above photo. Don’t do it! During the springtime and early months of summer, the flavors are developing as well as the size of the bulbs. Certain varieties of garlic will produce garlic scapes. These scapes will taste great in a variety of dishes. Trim off at the end of the curl. This will also help the garlic plant put more energy into the bulb.
Wait until the bottom 3 leaves have turned yellow (at the base). Then, you can carefully remove the bulbs by clearing the soil and reaching beneath the roots. (Thats the best part!)
Now, it’s not over yet. You need to complete the drying process. This will take roughly 2 weeks. Give them plenty of air and a dark space. Remove the dirt, but keep the long leaves. After a couple of weeks have passed, you can trim back the greenery. Some people like to braid their garlic greens and pull the garlic off as needed.
Benefits of Garlic
Before I end this blog, I just wanted to mention a few things about the benefits of garlic. One source, Country Wisdom and Know How, suggests that garlic is helpful for respiratory problems and mucus build up (lovely, right?). This same source, will list many more benefits such as dealing with skin conditions or parasites. Some sources such as my blood type app, tell me that both O and A type blood benefit from garlic. (I would LOVE to do a blog on that! Stay tuned). I do want to point out that I do not completely disagree with a naturopath. He mentioned that if a person smells like garlic, it’s possible the body is trying to get rid of it. If the body is trying to get rid of it, it could be a stress and possibly the bad characteristics could outweigh the benefits.
I’m not sure what train of thinking I follow. But, if I eat too much garlic that it repels my friends, then I probably need to scale back. Until then, I’ll enjoy what God has provided!
Garlic has a delightful taste in a plethora of dishes, like this dressing! It can be a bit spicy or strong, depending on growing and storing conditions. I recommend praying before ANYTHING I eat anyway, to give God the glory and to show my gratitude for the wonderful herbs he gives us, such as garlic!
Equipment you might like:
Gardening gloves (these are awesome)
Some links are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See more info here.
If I eat too much garlic that it repels my friends, then I probably need to scale back. Until then, I'll enjoy what God has provided!