Garlic Basics
There seems to be a very obvious cycle about garlic. As we harvest the garlic we planted last fall, its time to think about any new varieties we might want to try this fall.
Garlic is easy to grow since most of its time in the ground is during our rainy season and, after you mulch it for winter, can pretty much be ignored. About the time the scapes (flowers) begin to develop in spring, the weeds start to grow and need to be removed as garlic does not develop well with all that competition. Have you ever eaten garlic scapes? Since you have to remove them when they begin to curl, you might as well cook them. Grilled or sautéed, they have a nice, mild garlic flavor. Just use the tender part as you would asparagus and they store in the fridge at least a month.
Back to the garlic bulb, here are the basics. We sell 2 basic types of garlic – hard neck & soft neck. Hard neck garlic usually has larger cloves, which are easier to peel, but they don’t store a tremendously long time. Soft neck garlic has a larger quantity of smaller cloves, they’re a bit harder to peel, but they keep a long time. These are also the ones you can braid & hang in your kitchen. I usually plant both types, using the hard necks first.
Garlic is planted in the fall. Separate the cloves but you don’t need to remove the papery skin around each clove. Plant, pointy end up, within 5 days at a depth about double the size of the clove. Deeper if you’re in a very cold location. Water-in and moisten frequently till the rain starts. Once the soil cools off, mulch with a few inches of rice straw. That’s it for fall.
When the soil begins to warm in spring, watch for the growing tips. (Sometimes they’ll start in the fall if you plant early and the soil is still warm.) Cover with more straw to protect from frost – you may need to do this 3-4 times. This is also the best way to keep the weeds down.
It’s time to harvest when about ½ the leaves turn yellow or brown. This usually happens in my yard about the end of June, but this year its about 2 weeks later. Stop watering so the soil can dry a little. Don’t leave them in the ground too long after you stop watering as the papery skin will start to deteriorate and the bulbs won’t store as well. Try not to poke them with your digging fork as this can introduce disease and again, affects storage.
Place them in a cool, darkish location to cure, usually about a moth. We have a huge, low-limbed Butternut that shelters our garlic. If curing outside, be prepared to cover your garlic with plastic if it rains. It seems like it always rains once in July, after we’ve harvested. If you want to taste your garlic while its still green, you can, just not with Elephant Garlic. Once cured, keep in a cool, dry location, inside. Yes, garlic freezes and turns to mush.
Enjoy your garlic. Not only does it taste good, but its good for you!
Ps. Be sure to get additional info on fertilizing, cover-cropping the garlic area and rotating beds next season.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I just read your article about garlic. I have planted for two years with “seed” I got from the farmer’s market. Some of the garlic had “scapes” and some of it did not as they were different types — but which are the hardneck? I heard that the hardneck do not have scapes — but the ones with the scapes were much larger.
Appreciate your time and generosity. Hopefully you will have an answer.
September 9th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
All garlic, softneck & hardneck, forms scapes, even though different varieties will appear different from each other. Scapes are the flower bulb & top of the stalk where leaves stop forming. Hardnecks have a solid core that grows through the center of the bulb. Softnecks are a gathering of the papery fiber around each clove that meet in the center and remain supple until completely dry, hence can be braided. In either case, once the scape forms, it should be cut off close to the top leaf.
If the scape is left on, the bulb will usually not get as large since energy is going into making seed. The scape will produce a seedhead that looks like a tiny garlic bulb. If this seed is used to grow garlic, the bulbs are generally very small. ‘Seed’ garlic is the actual garlic bulb, separated into cloves to be planted.
Hope I made this clear,
Linda
September 14th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Linda,
I have two questions. We live in central AZ, and don’t get the “winter rains”. How much watering do you suggest? Also, we have found that our garlic often does not form cloves, and becomes one giant clove. Why does this happen? Thanks for your time.
September 17th, 2008 at 9:47 am
The amount of water to apply for garlic in your area will be determined by a couple of factors. How quickly the soil drains and what the temperature is. If your soil is fast draining, you can add up to 50% compost to hold the water. After the soil has cooled, you can add 2-3” of mulch to help hold the moisture, also.
The surest way to know is to visit your garlic periodically and dig down beside some of the cloves. If your cloves are 3-4 inches below soil level, that’s where you want to maintain fairly consistent dampness, not wet, just damp.
From my experience, garlic divides into cloves about the same time the greens begin to dry and its almost time to harvest. If you are growing real garlic, not Elephant, you can enjoy the garlic even if undivided.
Hope this helps,
–
Linda
Nursery Manager, Peaceful Valley
October 20th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hi Linda,
We have grow great garlic every year. This last year we had a problem with rust and the garlic not head up. We fertilized them more than other years and were careful about the watering. We live on the coast north of San Francisco and there is alot of fog. This hasn’t been a problem in the past…
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Penny