Growing Cycle of Garlic
First, if you have any space at all, garlic is a fun, easy, and rewarding option for your garden. It's growing cycle is not the common April to September growing cycle. It grows from October to the following June. It is planted about the time that you are putting the rest of your garden spaces to bed for the winter. It is the first thing green to poke through the early spring snow. It produces garlic scapes in May and provides wonderful bulbs of garlic in June. Most garlic that you harvest can be used for seed the next growing season. So, use the tips below and try growing garlic. It is definitely rewarding!Start With Good Seed
I started by ordering seed from an online seed catalog. Some of the suppliers seen to have smaller bulbs and not as good of quality of seed. This last order, I ordered German Hardy hardneck porcelain type seed from Filaree Farms. I have really enjoyed this garlic. It is solid quality seed. It does well in out Utah soils. The end product is very large, easy to peel cloves. It gives you the benefits of garlic scapes in May and wonderful bulbs in June or early July.Preparing And Planting
Early Feeding
About February you will start to notice some green poking up through the ground. If you still have snow, it may take a bit longer to show through the snow. By mid March, your garlic will be in full growing mode and will need an early feeding. There are several ways to do this, but I have had the best success with mixing up water soluble fertilizer and watering it with a watering can. I drench the new plants as much as I can. It takes several cans to water all my garlic, but is is worth the effort.Garlic Scape Production and Harvest
Harvesting Your Garlic Bulbs
One of the most asked questions I get about growing garlic is when to harvest it. Since the bulbs are in the ground, it can be a little tricky to know when to pull or dig your garlic. There are two methods that most gardeners will use to determine harvest time. The first is to leave the garlic scapes on the pants and wait for them to straighten at the top of the plant. When the scape is totally straight, it is time to harvest. I prefer the dead leaf method. If you wait until the lowest 3-4 leaves on the garlic stock have dies completely, then the garlic is ready to harvest. See, these leaves go down into the ground and "wrap" the bulb with the papery wrapping. If you let 3-4 leaves die, then the bulb is ready for harvest and hardening. Plus, you get to use the scapes instead of leaving them on the plants.
Hardening Bulbs For Storage
Once you dig the bulbs, be careful not to bruise or damage them. I like to leave them laying on the ground where I dug them for a day or so to start the drying process. Be careful not to leave them in the sun too long, they can sunburn making them harder to store. Then I carefully gather them up, leaving the stocks on them and move them to a shaded but warm area, like under a deck or in a shed with some ventilation. I lay them on cardboard and let them dry for several days until the stocks are totally dry and brittle. This could take a couple weeks. Once they are totally dry, I trim off the sticks, leaving about 1-2 inches and I trim the roots off. I then rub them clean and store them in a cool dark place. They should store until at least March or April. At this time I sort out some of the bulbs and put them in a separate container and mark that for seed in October.
Summary
I love growing garlic. It is such an easy addition to my garden. Take care to store your seed for next year properly from this year's harvest and you may never need to buy seed again. Once you grow garlic a few years, branch out with different varieties and types. It really is a fun and rewarding crop.
Enjoy!
