Gardening How To

Garlic (Allium sativum) has been given this honorary common name, though there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer as to why.  Of course the “stinking” adjective is appropriate!  But the rose part can be misleading.  Garlic is an allium, which is part of the Liliaceae family.  So, garlic is actually closer to a lily than a rose!  The closest explanation I found is that if looked at from underneath, a garlic bulb can resemble a white rose with the large ends of the cloves forming the petals.   Definitely evidence that we should use proper nomenclature!

If you’ve never grown garlic before, here’s my top seven list of why you should:

1. It’s easy to grow!
2. Deer, rabbits and other critters are not fond of it.
3. The majority of garlic you buy in the grocery store comes from China. Why not grow local?
4. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in your garden.
5. For each bulb harvested in July, you’ll have 6-7 cloves to plant in the fall.
6. There are a lot of different varieties with various flavor profiles that are fun to try.
7. Besides the flavor they add to food, garlic has great health benefits. Its medicinal uses include:  anti-lipidemic, antimicrobial, antiasthmatic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiplatelet, antidiabetic and potential anticancer.

Now, to the actual how-to of planting!

Seed Garlic:  For best results, buy high quality seed garlic.  It’s a bit of an investment, but worth it as far as yield and quality.  There are two major types of garlic:  Hardneck garlic (Allium sativum ssp. ophioscorodon) and softneck garlic (Allium sativum ssp. sativum).  Most of what you buy in the grocery store is the mild flavored, softneck garlic.

Softneck garlic grows best in climates with mild winters, such as California.  On the other hand, hardneck garlic is more hardy and so grows well here in the NRV climate.  As an added bonus, hardneck garlic produces a flowering scape in late spring.  In order for the bulbs underneath the soil to receive the maximum energy they need, the scape is harvested and is edible!

Where to buy your garlic?  There are a number of online suppliers of seed garlic.  We’ve had success purchasing from Territorial Seed Company and The Maine Potato Lady  If you’re looking for a recommendation of what kind to buy, my husband (who is a serial foodie!) likes Premium Northern White as a good overall culinary garlic that has a nice sized bulb.  Territorial Seed carries this variety.  For a really intense flavor for cooking, try Georgian Fire.  It’s a smaller bulb but packed with flavor.  Not as many companies carry this variety but we’ve bought some from The Maine Potato Lady.

Where, When and How to Plant:  Garlic likes lots of sun.  It grows well in loose, rich, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.4-6.8.  Add a couple of inches of compost and well-rotted manure to the soil before planting.  The best time to plant is the fall.  We usually like to plant the seed garlic in October but have known growers to get it into the soil as late as early December (as long as the ground isn’t frozen).  Fall planting gives the garlic a chance to get a head start on growing before going dormant in the winter.

You will need to separate each garlic bulb into individual cloves before you plant.  Try to keep the skins on the cloves as you separate.  Wait until you are ready to plant before doing this so the cloves don’t dry out.  You’ll want to place each clove pointed side up, about 3 inches into the ground 6 – 8 inches apart.  We used plastic when we grew our garlic on a large scale.  The plastic protected again severe winter cold and weeds.  In our raised bed here at Brush Mountain, we’ll cover our planted garlic with several inches of leaf mulch.  Keep in mind that too much water is not good for garlic, so you may need to pull away some of the leaf mulch if there’s too much moisture, especially in the spring.

Now….wait and let it grow!  During the fall you’ll get green stalks sprout up to about 4-6 inches.  The garlic will go dormant during the winter and then once the warm weather begins you’ll see it start to grow again.   Be patient, you won’t harvest the bulbs until July!  You will be rewarded, though, with green scapes you’ll harvest and eat around Memorial Day.

 

Ever thought about growing your own garlic?  Fall is a great time to plant garlic in Virginia for harvest next summer and it’s easier than you may think.  Garlic can be self-sustaining:   once you have grown garlic, you can use cloves you’ve grown to start the following year’s crop.  Just remember to choose the largest cloves to plant.

Local nurseries sell garlic in the fall for planting, as do organic growers at local farmers’ markets, and there are also many reputable online sources.  Resist the temptation to plant cloves you purchase at the grocery store, unless they are organic — they are often treated with growth inhibitors to prevent or reduce sprouting.

There are three general types of garlic:  softneck, hardneck, and elephant.  These names are fairly descriptive as softneck has a flexible stalk that can be braided; hardneck has a more rigid stalk that cannot be braided; and elephant or super-large garlic.  Softneck garlic has a shelf-life of about 6 – 8 months while hardneck can only be kept 3 – 5 months.  Hardneck garlic has the most intense flavor, with softneck being milder, and elephant the mildest.  Finally, hardneck has larger but fewer cloves than softneck and produces edible seed heads called scapes.   Most grocery store garlic is softneck.

The best growing conditions for garlic include loose, well drained, amended soil; a sunny location; mulching for winter; and regular watering during extended dry periods.  Slightly raised (2 – 3”) beds or mounds encourage better drainage.

You can plant garlic during October and early November, while the soil can still be worked but when extended periods of extreme warmth are finished.  Your garlic may sprout after planting but will re-sprout in the spring.  Even if you see sprouts during a warm spell in February or March, garlic will survive additional snow and cold weather, finally sprouting “for real” in April or May.

When you are ready to plant, gently separate the head into cloves.  Try not to bruise or squeeze the clove, and if possible don’t break the skins.  Gently place each clove into the soil and cover with about 2” of dirt.  Plant cloves 6” apart with the pointy end facing up (i.e. root-end down).   Each clove will produce a complete head of garlic.  Label your garlic if you plant multiple varieties.  One pound of cloves will produce about 10 pounds of garlic.

After planting your garlic, add about 2” of mulch (shredded leaves work well).  Mulch will help soil retain moisture, will reduce the effects of extreme temperature swings, and will suppress weeds, which compete with garlic for nutrients.

Water thoroughly after planting and weekly during the fall.  During the spring and early summer (until mid-June), water as often as required to prevent the soil from drying out without having it become water-logged.  Fertilize once in the spring, no later than early May, with an all-purpose (10-10-10) fertilizer.

By mid-June, you will see scapes on your hardneck garlic.  Remove the scapes (use in cooking as a garlic substitute) to encourage larger garlic.  This is also the time to stop watering your garlic, about two to four weeks before harvest to allow the bulbs to develop a hard, dry skin.

Determining when to harvest is probably the trickiest part of the process, and every year is different based on weather conditions.  If you harvest too early, the bulbs will be small and may not have formed wrappers but if you wait too long, the wrappers may be lost or split, which can result in rot, mold, or dehydration.  A general rule of thumb is to harvest once the bottom three or four leaves are brown but the top leaves are still green.  (Leaves turn brown starting at the lowest and working upward).  This will usually be sometime during the first two weeks in July, but may vary depending on variety.  Each leaf represents a wrapper layer on the bulb, so if all the leaves turn brown, there will be no wrapper layers on the bulb. You can harvest a few bulbs to check whether it’s time to harvest:  you should be able to see the shape of the individual cloves under the wrapper.

Try to harvest when the soil is relatively dry.   When harvesting, loosen the soil and carefully lift garlic with a spading fork, taking care not to puncture the garlic or damage the stem.  Do not pull garlic out by the leaves.  Garlic can be easily bruised.  Gently brush any excess soil off the garlic – do not wash.  Also, do not leave harvested garlic in the sun.

Immediately after harvest, “cure” garlic outdoors on mesh racks in a well-ventilated location that’s out of direct sunlight and protected from rain.  (Avoid too-cool or too-warm locations like basements or closed garages).  You can tell when garlic is cured because the wrappers are papery, the leaves and stalks are brown and shriveled, and the roots are dry.  Once cured, you can braid the soft necks or cut stalks to 1- 2” above the bulb, trim the roots, and gently remove any remaining dirt.  Try to maintain as many wrapper layers as possible on the bulb.

Store garlic for extended periods in a dry location with consistently cool (50 – 70 degrees) temperatures and plenty of air circulation.  It’s better not to store garlic in the refrigerator unless you plan to use it immediately because the conditions are generally too moist.