How To Grow Garlic
They say garlic is as good as 10 Mothers. From it’s healing purposes to the wonderful flavor it produces, it very well could be true.
Planting Garlic
Garlic does well when planted in tons of organic matter, because it needs a continuous supply of food for the 10 months ahead. To plant, break-up the cloves and plant each one individually with the point facing upwards.
Planting in October gives you a nice crop in August. You may also want to plant in February to have a crop in November.
Hard-Neck Garlichas one layer of cloves around the main stem and stores well.
Soft-Neck Garlic has many smaller cloves and will not keep as long.
Elephant Garlic only has a few very large cloves and a very mild flavor.
Caring For Garlic
Caring for garlic is relaxing and enjoyable. Very little water is needed to keep these bulbs happy. Fertilize with a 5-5-5 once in spring and again in mid summer. When the flower buds appear snip them off to encourage larger bulbs.
When the tops start to die, close to the end of summer do not water them. This is the beginning of the drying process.
Harvesting Garlic
Months and months have gone by and now it's time to see just how big they are. When the lower 2 or 3 leaves have turned yellow and you can tell it's on it's last leg, get your pitch fork and pull them all out. Now it's time to cure them. Brush the dirt off and hang them in bunches or braid them. Keep them in a sunny location to dry out for a few weeks. If it rains bring them indoors and then store them in a cool dry area.
Garlic Pests
Onion Maggots
Garlic Diseases
Fusarium Bulb Rot
Garlic Varieties
Hard-Neck: German Red, Porcelain
Soft-Neck: Italian, Silverskin
Tips For Growing Garlic
Keep your largest bulbs and plant them next year, garlic adapts to your garden conditions.