2012 Garlic Planting
I have blogged several times about garlic...
A recent 'How-To' on planting ...
Last years planting of garlic ...
And tons of garlic growing updates that can be found in the 'Ramblings' throughout thelast year, up until harvest this summer.
This is how this years garlic planting went down....
This year, I planted 3 types of garlic, about 100 cloves of each :) Music, Red Russian, and Legacy.
You all know that the house is up for sale ...Hmmm, I kinda wonder what the next peeps would think about that much garlic if they were to buy before harvest time ;)
Amend your soil.... I highly recommend that you do a soil test to find out what your N-P-K levels are like, and then amend accordingly... I tested mine, the levels are all good, and so just added lots of compost and some rock phosphates, plus a bit of high nitrogen blood meal. I will top dress once again with compost or manure later in the year....
I amend my soil spring and fall, adding organic matter to it year round, like grass clippings, leaves, manure and compost.
I lightly mixed it all into the top layer of soil with my trusty garden fork....
With all the rains that we get in winter, one can simple top dress with the amendments and the rains, plus the worms, etc... will work them down into the soil.
This year our soil is dreadfully dry, we have not had rain for three months and so the ground is easy to turn as it is just powder...
Break apart your bulbs, leaving the papery skin on the cloves. Remove the hard stem in the middle and break apart all the cloves from each other...
Be choosy with the cloves that you plant... the larger the cloves, the larger the bulbs next year!
Here you can see that I am holding one clove that is just as large as the entire bulbs beside it!
On the bottom right are the cloves I planted, and the smaller ones that you see on the left hand side are going to be used for cooking, not planting ;)
Plant the cloves about 2 to 3 inches deep, pointy side up, into the bed. I spaced mine out at 6 inches between cloves and about 8 inches between the rows. You can plant much closer, however, the closer you plant, the smaller your bulbs will be in summer next year.
In general ... Plant each clove, 2 to 3 inches deep, 4 to 6 inches apart, in rows that have a 6 to 8 inch spread between them.
Water in very thoroughly, especially this year as it is so very dry... continue to water every couple of weeks till the rains begin.
This winter, this is what they will look like... This was taken in January... shows the garlic up by about an inch or two ...
In cooler climates, and even here, you can cover the garlic with a layer of straw to protect from the elements of a harsh winter. Make sure the bed does not get weedy, as garlic does not compete well with weeds .. meaning it will be smaller.
The garlic bed in May :) What a lovely sight!
Soon you will start to get scape's, which you should cut off and use in all your stir fires, in roasting, in all your foods, as the greens taste mildly of garlic. Delish!
In July sometime, you will have this :)
Lovely bulbs of garlic that you pull, place in shade with the tops on, for a few weeks to cure...
Of course, you could, and should!! enjoy eating the fresh garlic during this time!
The curing is to ensure that it does not rot during storage... So that you can save some for planting next year, and also store it for eating all year long!
A recent 'How-To' on planting ...
Last years planting of garlic ...
And tons of garlic growing updates that can be found in the 'Ramblings' throughout thelast year, up until harvest this summer.
This is how this years garlic planting went down....
This year, I planted 3 types of garlic, about 100 cloves of each :) Music, Red Russian, and Legacy.
You all know that the house is up for sale ...Hmmm, I kinda wonder what the next peeps would think about that much garlic if they were to buy before harvest time ;)
Amend your soil.... I highly recommend that you do a soil test to find out what your N-P-K levels are like, and then amend accordingly... I tested mine, the levels are all good, and so just added lots of compost and some rock phosphates, plus a bit of high nitrogen blood meal. I will top dress once again with compost or manure later in the year....
I amend my soil spring and fall, adding organic matter to it year round, like grass clippings, leaves, manure and compost.
I lightly mixed it all into the top layer of soil with my trusty garden fork....
With all the rains that we get in winter, one can simple top dress with the amendments and the rains, plus the worms, etc... will work them down into the soil.
This year our soil is dreadfully dry, we have not had rain for three months and so the ground is easy to turn as it is just powder...
Break apart your bulbs, leaving the papery skin on the cloves. Remove the hard stem in the middle and break apart all the cloves from each other...
Be choosy with the cloves that you plant... the larger the cloves, the larger the bulbs next year!
Here you can see that I am holding one clove that is just as large as the entire bulbs beside it!
On the bottom right are the cloves I planted, and the smaller ones that you see on the left hand side are going to be used for cooking, not planting ;)
Plant the cloves about 2 to 3 inches deep, pointy side up, into the bed. I spaced mine out at 6 inches between cloves and about 8 inches between the rows. You can plant much closer, however, the closer you plant, the smaller your bulbs will be in summer next year.
In general ... Plant each clove, 2 to 3 inches deep, 4 to 6 inches apart, in rows that have a 6 to 8 inch spread between them.
Water in very thoroughly, especially this year as it is so very dry... continue to water every couple of weeks till the rains begin.
This winter, this is what they will look like... This was taken in January... shows the garlic up by about an inch or two ...
In cooler climates, and even here, you can cover the garlic with a layer of straw to protect from the elements of a harsh winter. Make sure the bed does not get weedy, as garlic does not compete well with weeds .. meaning it will be smaller.
The garlic bed in May :) What a lovely sight!
Soon you will start to get scape's, which you should cut off and use in all your stir fires, in roasting, in all your foods, as the greens taste mildly of garlic. Delish!
In July sometime, you will have this :)
Lovely bulbs of garlic that you pull, place in shade with the tops on, for a few weeks to cure...
Of course, you could, and should!! enjoy eating the fresh garlic during this time!
The curing is to ensure that it does not rot during storage... So that you can save some for planting next year, and also store it for eating all year long!
Hello there! Did you somehow make all the options of your website on your own or you needed some extra help?
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