How To Plant Garlic / Planting Garlic

BEFORE YOU START!!!!

So you have a garden or a desire to start one. Either way, you should plan, prevent,
prepare, and prosper. Know your garden. We all make mistakes. In the past ten years we
made a lot; hopefully the following will allow you to avoid some common traps and errors.
If you are an experienced gardener the following may be old news, bear with us. Obvious
stuff we take for granted: Soil type, water availability, Ph, nutrient content of soil,
mulch, geographic location, weather…just to start.

Quick note: Check with your local cooperative extension. Many, if not all, state
Universities have a local "Ag" or agriculture program designed to do nothing but assist
farmers and gardeners; some things cost, but some advice is free ( like bug or pest ID).
Through the extension you can get low-cost comprehensive and specific soil tests, a big
plus, do it yearly AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE GROWING.

They can be that specific. I can't emphasize this point enough, and could easily make
general guides like "use10-10-10 at a particular rate or wt/acre" but my experience for
all the trouble testing; it's worth the time no matter what your garden size is. Another
amazing program is the "Master Gardener" program. The Co-ops usually have this available
yearly depending on demand, worth the $$ and time; it'll save you from making a lot of
mistakes, and will teach you a lot about your lawn too.

Soil type
Garlic loves sandy loam soil with good drainage, that doesn't dry out too
quickly. Looser soils and sandy soils need more water, harder clay soils can restrict
growth and need to be loosened up. And be careful as to WHERE you plant; too high will
drain too much and require frequent watering, a low area can stay wet too much and cause
root rot. We've made both mistakes in the beginning.

Water
Garlic likes early watering in the fall/spring (1 inch/wk), then after "flowering"
less, and just before harvest as little as possible

Ph
6-7, don't be cheap learn how to test your soil and do it yearly (co-op can help).

Nutrients
Get your soil tested and do what the Co-op tells you, you may have
insufficiencies, or even too much of some things, we've had fluctuations in Ph and
nutrients in the past. As a rule, garlic is a bulb and likes early N (nitrogen) and
adequate phosphorous, can I be more vague?? Get tested…..follow recommendations the proper
amounts shouldn't be guesswork.

Mulch I don't know of any plants that don't like mulch, but care must be taken as to what
kind. For example, we used straw for years but a couple times received some that was too
laden with weed seeds…..a big pain in the butt. We also experimented with composted saw
dust, which wasn't composted enough...go figure…. And the result altered (raised!) our Ph,
and lowered nutrient availability (weird things happened). Mulch is essential; it reduces
weeds, helps hold moisture, and adds some nutrients.

Geographic location/weather Hardnecks like the cold, and  that's one reason I was
originally interested in starting this type here in Michigan, and was amazed at the
results. They are considered northern types, apparently preferring the top 1/3 of the
U.S... I'm sure we'll hear from some one who has done well with some in the south, but as
a rule warm winters change the resultant crop. (Hardnecks are generally planted in the
fall, and lie somewhat dormant till spring. see below).

Pests So far we have not had one problem that was caused by an insect. We rotate our
location each year and let the last spot rest for at least 3 yrs.  We plant clover and
don't till, just mow on occasion. If you plant in the same spot over and over, rumor has
it some molds and fungus can be a problem as can some onion-related pests.

We haven't experienced these problems on more than a small part of the harvest. This can
be a problem for a lot of plants, basil, tomatoes, etc. And again I'm sure somebody will
relate how they've grown something for centuries in the same spot with no problem…if you
do experience issues like root rot, changing location is a good option.

Prepping cloves Before you plant them the individual cloves must be separated from the
heads. Care must be taken to not be too rough, as bruising can encourage disease and
decrease viability. Leave the skin on for the same reasons as above. And strive to not
separate them too far in advance, as this can dehydrate the cloves and decrease viability.

OK now its time to plant!

In most northern areas (in the south, your on your own..., tell us how ya did), planting
takes place in early October. You've purchased some at a market* or online or already
harvested last year's crop. You've picked your site. Hopefully you've prepped the site
well in advance; we usually start our patch in the spring. Yep a few months before
planting is even considered we till 8 inches or so in late spring and plant clover, or
buckwheat or any good cover crop (your choice per locale and need).

This helps with weeds, and gets some natural Nitrogen in the soil. A few days prior to
actually planting we till again, (don't get crazy w/ tilling its bad for the soil in
general as well as contributes to erosion) if you can, this is a good time to till in some
compost and/or manure. We plant in beds about 30 inches wide (the space b/w the rear tires
of our tractor, overlapping the tire ruts, thus forming beds, and compacting space between
bed rows discouraging weeds. SEE PIC

(*market garlic is usually stored longer and colder than planting stock which can alter
its viability)

The next step is to make holes for the individual cloves. Most growers recommend 4-6
inches between plants and enough room in between rows to navigate for weeding. At present
we are using bed planting with some success. We do this with a stamp (although as lazy as
we are, we are experimenting with faster options).

We made it with a pine1x12x6ft and painstakingly glued 75….yes 75… (don't get me started)
¾ inch round by 1 inch  long dowel pieces (think spool of thread size) to the board  4
inches apart (3 wide by 25 long) a peg board if you will, we lay this on the soil and
lightly push on it , voila, holes, lots a little holes. Actually we overlap the board to
produce a 5x 25 pattern, repeating 6x down the row, so each bed has 750 holes and
hopefully, resultant plants. This design method has allowed for easy watering, weeding,
and deflowering (SEE BELOW).

The next step is one of the more tedious jobs, planting the cloves. If the day is nice,
remember, early October, the job is pleasant, and although slow, not too bad outside of
being on your hands and knees. Each clove MUST BE PLANTED POINT SIDE UP! There are no
exceptions to this rule. The point side represents the growing tip, the flat end the root.

If the clove is upside down or sideways the plant will grow, but too much energy is
expended getting to the soil surface, thus the result is a much smaller head and sometimes
malformed shapes. This is not good for sales ,and with the effort so far expended it's
nuts to let a simple attention to detail like placement ruin the results…..RIGHT SIDE
UP!!!

After all your cloves are planted, you simply hoe or shovel soil over the row beds. About
2-4 inches is desired above the cloves, too little they get exposed, (not good) and too
much, they have to reach too far. After you have covered the bed, (we like to dress at
this point with either some manure and compost, or in the past we've used some good
organic bulb fertilizer like ESPOSA ), Mulch can be only a few inches deep or several
inches, depending on type of mulch. Looser less dense, like leaves or straw can be applied
more deeply). Now it's just water as needed and wait till spring.

Ok its spring.

After the snow is gone, (there's always snow), you should now see green tips popping up in
along the row. Dress beds again with manure or a good source of nitrogen (use Co-op
recommendations), and keep watered.  Garlic grows quite like its cousin the onion. The
plants grow straight up, (see Picture) with vertical leaves, usually 8-9 leaves in total.
In early June, a tip appears, and is often mistaken as another leaf. This point represents
a plant part called the scape (see scapes) or inappropriately, a flower. It's actually a
"bulbul," containing dozens of teeny "cloves" which left to their own devices will pop out
of a mature plant and act as its main reproductive source. The reason we don't use them
for planting is that when these little critters sprout forth, 1)their genetics vary, and
2) it takes 2-3 generations to match the parent size.

The first year looks like a mutant "Mini- me" garlic. Remember when you plant cloves, big
cloves give you big cloves and so forth. Plus if you plant cloves, the plant will reliably
produce harvestable plants that season. The "seed" will take more than one season to
produce large cloves. For our purposes we remove the scapes; the good news is they're
edible and yummy.

SCAPES- We want them gone because their removal forces the plant to high gear and the
underground bulb gets BIGGER!!! Energy is transferred to the bulb and the plant is
designed to ensure its survival by making a big bulb to last another season. Each clove
then makes a new plant, great design for us.

There is a little controversy about how to remove scapes. Most growers cut them low before
the "snake heads" unwind. As they appear, the tip grows and curls with an arrowhead at its
tip. If cut before unwinding, the plant redirects its energy. Personally, we pull as many
as possible and cut the rest. Some believe there is a chance of introducing mold by
allowing water in the tube left by the missing scape.

So far, there has been no mold problem for us. Use your judgment and do what you're
comfortable with, experiment, life's short. The main reason we pull rather than cut is to
get at the white tip that's inside the plant. Even if you decide to cut most, pull a few.
The white part that comes out is very tender and mild; we even eat a few in the field.
Sautéed in butter w/ a little salt and pepper they are yummy, like garlic asparagus. We've
made pesto with the whole puréed scape and used them in a variety of stir fry's and soups,
wonderful mild garlic flavor with a touch of heat.

After removing the scapes, watch for any sign of wilt due to dehydration, but don't over
water as harvest is at hand within the month or so…but that's another chapter.

A note on weeding:
We weed only by hand, several thousand plants, it takes time, start early and don't whine.
If you attack early in the spring, most will be shaded out by the maturing plants later.
If you have a bad experience weeding it's because you waited too long; been there-done
that.

Keep the weed vigil and in a few short weeks (mid July) its:

HARVEST TIME!!!!!

~~ Dr. Richard Chura~~

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