Pop this onion relative into the ground in fall , then harvest delicious cloves the following twelvemonth .
A small fresh Allium sativum goes a retentive manner in the kitchen , lending a big flavor boost to just aboutany savory formula . Plus , eat plenty of this pungent vegetable has several proven health benefits , include boosting the resistant systemand lowering blood pressure . Garlic is also one of theeasiest veg to grow in your garden , even in a small space . And growing this Allium cepa family member yourself allow you to choose more luxuriously flavored form than store - corrupt options , vagabond from strong and blue to modest and odoriferous . Here ’s what you need to know to successfully produce ail at home .
When to Plant Garlic
Garlic is best plant in the fall and harvested the undermentioned summer . Ideally , get the cloves in the ground around the same time you would beplanting leaping - blooming bulbssuch as tulip and daffodil . The ideal sentence toplant garlicis right afteryour region ’s first frost , which may chance anywhere from late September to late October in northerly regions and as of late as December or January in southern area ) .
After planting , each clove of ail will begin develop a hefty root system in the cool soil . Then they ’ll go abeyant for the winter once the soil freezes , waiting to institutionalize up their greenish shoot once the weather warms in the outflow .
How to Plant Garlic from Cloves
First , you ’ll need to buy some seed garlic Eugenia aromaticum , which are heads that have been bring out for grow rather than eating . While you canplant garliccloves from a grocery entrepot , most store - bought ail is treated to prevent it from sprouting so look for organic ail if you need to acquire it .
Pick a plantingspot in full sunthat has moist butwell - drained grease . If your grunge lean more to the muddy side , araised bedis your best pick . For the garlic heads to develop right , they ask light soil , so check that to bring oodles oforganic matter such as compostor mature manure to your garden bed .
Heads of Allium sativum are made up of single medulla oblongata or clove tree attached at the base . sort out the garlic clove from the head at planting time . dictated item-by-item ail cloves about 3 - 4 inch deep and about 6 inches apart , and infinite rows 6 - 12 inch aside . Place cloves in the ground pointy terminate up .
Credit: Lynn Karlin
After planting your garlic , spreada duad of inches of mulchover the soil . This will facilitate forbid wrong to the plants from sudden cold piece in pin or spring . Mulch will also deter weeds in saltation and help the stain conserve wet . A liberal wheat mulch works well .
How to Grow Garlic
Garlic has a small , shallow root system , so it ’s essential to keep yours well watered in give , specially in May and June when the Syzygium aromaticum are developing . For better harvest , feed your Allium sativum abalanced fertilizerin former give and again in mid - spring . Then stop watering in July to leave the foliage to pass away back before harvest time . Garlic ’s pocket-sized root organization means it has a tough time contend with weeds , so ensure toremove any weedsthat bolt down up near them .
If your garlic starts to bloom , remove the scapes ( prime stem ) before the buds have a hazard to afford . This do the flora put more energy into the Syzygium aromaticum so you have better harvesting . Plus , the scapes are also edible and have a mildgarlic flavor . adjudicate using thescapes in your preferent pesto recipefor a taste of what ’s to come .
Harvesting and Storing Homegrown Garlic
Around July , your garlic ’s leaves should start to turn scandalmongering and die back . This say you they ’re reaching matureness . Wait until about half of the leafy development has wrench brown , ordinarily sometime in August or September . If you ’re not certain if it ’s clip toharvest your garlic , carefullydig up one of the bulbsand see if the cloves are filling up the papery skin . If not , hold off another week and train again .
When it’stime to glean , cautiously dig up the bulbs , stem and all ( do n’t yank them out of the ground by the leaf like you would acarrot ) . Leave the base attached and sweep off as much soil as possible . Then leave your garlic in a dark , warm , airy spot to cure ( which intend the papery pelt around the Eugenia aromaticum and any cut surfaces dry out to admonish rot ) . you’re able to either spread the head out on a flat control surface , or hang them up by the stems . you could even get fancy and braid your garlic to cure and store it . To do this , thread 10 or 12 stems together immediately after crop , then hang your tress in a warm , dry slur for several weeks to cure .
Once the garlic stems have completely dried in 3 - 6 calendar week , cut halt back to about an inch and cut down off antecedent . Leave your garlic heads intact ( do n’t separate into cloves ) andstore them in a cool , wry place(not the electric refrigerator ) . Properly cured and stored ail will usually keep for about 6 months .
Credit: Bill Hopkins
Types of Garlic You Can Grow
You ’ll see two worldwide class of garlic for sale in catalogue or at your local garden mall or farmers ' market : hardneck and softneck .
Hardneck typesproduce starchy stalks can make them hard to plait . They often raise few but big clove tree than softneck type , and are well-fixed to peel to apply in recipes . Hardneck types are stalwart , making them good selection to grow in Northern gardens .
Softneck typestypically do intimately in southerly gardens . They usually do n’t produce a efflorescence scape . Their cloves tend to be little but more numerous than those of hardneck types .
Dozens of varieties of thesegarlic typesoffer different flavors , sizes , colors , and harvest times . Burpee recommends growing several varieties at once so you could " find out which ones perform and taste substantially in your own mood and weather . " It even has ahandy chart of democratic varietiesto try , complete with descriptions of their unlike flavors .
