Garlic fans: How To Plant

[Tess101]

By request: A Guide to Planting Garlic
The most important thing in planting garlic is choosing the right variety. If at all possible, buy it first hand so you can actually feel the bulbs. If you live in northern climates, look for hard bulbs with impervious skins. I like the Russian Red and German Red for upstate New York. Be aware that many varieties have local names.
There are garlic festivals all over the country this time of year, through about October. You can plant as late as December so long as the ground is not frozen.
Second most important thing is to diversify your planting locations. I plant some on lowland with good groundwater, some on hillside on a drier, rockier area, and some way up on a pasture. It is impossible to predict the year's upcoming weather so you must plan for every contingency. One year, I had fantastic garlic in my flood plane, and we had floods that year. Another year, a lesser flood wiped it out. These variables have everything to do with patterns you cannot see, mostly groundwater movement, which is constantly rerouted in more lively areas. So plant in at least two different locales. Moreover, plant at least two varieties.
The best way to choose a variety is to get them from local farmers. Someone who has already done all of this and knows what varieties thrive in the local soil and climate is the best resource you have. Make friends with said farmer and listen well.
Do not plant your garlic too deep, but plant deep enough to protect from frost. Nestle the pods, green sprout-end up, with enough soil to cover but not enough to suffocate. Think of it as a blanket, not a tupperware. I suppose I plant about 3" in. Do not plant too close together. I'd say about a hand's width apart.
Plant before the ground freezes. Your garlic will be ready late next summer. Just before it ripens, it will shoot up delightful garlic scapes. Pick these and make them into a pesto just as they are. You may add parmesian if you wish. Put it up in the freezer. When the stems of your garlic begin to wilt it is time to harvest.
I like to braid in groups of 3 or 6 and hang them in the basement or garage: a cool, dry place. Call your farmer friend and ask if you may have the leftover baling twine from his spent hay bales. he will be glad to get rid of them. Use these to braid and hang your garlic. They will keep all winter.

One last note: there is much debate about the soil one should plant garlic in. The most universal answer is: plant in the soil you have, but plant the right variety, one that works best with your soil. I have poor soil here so I like to plant in a mix of mulch and sheep and goat manure. I have done this on tilled ground and raised beds with equal success. I get excellent results. Manure is a topic unto itself. Generally, you can use sheep and goat manure "uncooked" (without aging) so long as it is dry, whereas cow and horse manure should really age before using. This not only softens the "heat" but cooks off the bacteria as well. Never ever use poultry manure unless you compost it aggressively. It runs hot and has loads of bacteria. I personally never use poultry manure in the garden at all, especially with root crops.

[Tess101]

oh, one more thing: if you have a lot of rainfall, look at the hardneck varieties. I have lost some beautiful bulbs to stem rot during to summer rains. The hardnecks handle excess moisture beautifully.

[Mimsy]

Thank you! I know that we have local farmers around here who grow garlic (they bring it to the farmers' market), I may chat them up next time I'm there.

I love garlic...

[Spad]

Cool - I'll pass this along to my spouse, who is the resident green-thumb (I can't even grow weeds . . . ). I think she has tried garlic in the past and not had much luck with it.

I also love garlic, which puzzles my friends and even some of my family, who think it possible I am a vampire . . . at least partially, as I am rarely seen in the light of day .

I'm not a vampire. Really.

[Tess101]

the most common mistake with garlic is to smother it by planting too deep or overwatering. Some folks plant upside down the first time (remember, sprouty side up: that's the pointy side, not the rounded base), and some folks just plant in gooey sticky soil (clay is not so good). Garlic must breathe.
If you've tried garlic and failed, visit a farm that has sheep. Tell them you will gladly take a few bags of barn manure off their hands. This will be the perfect mix of hay and manure. Shovel it yourself and smile when the farmer makes fun of you. Don't be offended, that is just a harmless thing we do. We don't get out much. Dump the lot of it on your garden and till a bit, but don't go crazy. Garlic LOVES nitrogen. And it must breathe.
If you plant it right, it is your most productive and easiest crop. And it looks so cool all braided up and hanging on the rafters.

[augiedoggie]

Well, we try to plant some 3 weeks before the first frost which up here is around early to mid-November so the roots grow but the shoots won't come out yet. Our soil is very sandy so we augment it with composted sheep and chicken manure to give some body and water holding to the sand. Also, we found that paying and getting seed from a grower was much better than planting a supermarket variety, same with potatoes. There's an anti-sprouting chemical on there.

[Tess101]

from seed; good for you! We save seeds after the scapes flower out. But I do like rubbing elbows w/ the other garlic folks at the fairs.... like I said, I don't get out much.
so true about the anti sprouting chem! While tech is blossoming with innovation, ag is in the process of mass sterilization. Save seeds! (That is what I tell everyone, but most folks do not have any to save.) I really believe we will all be glad we did someday.