Garlic – Planting, Harvesting, and Storing
Plant in the fall. Separate the cloves at the time of planting; separating them ahead of time can cause the root nodules to dry out and delay or prevent root formation. Don't remove the "skin" from the cloves.
Plant in an area that drains well. The cloves should be planted 4-6 inches apart and in holes about 3 inches deep; be sure to plant with the root end down.
Several inches of mulch over the top of the garlic bed is beneficial for winter protection, as is a good layer of snow cover. The mulch can be gently raked off in the spring, when the garlic is starting to sprout.
Garlic should be harvested when there are still several green leaves on the stalk; if the tops are allowed to die back completely, there will be no "wrapper" to hold the bulbs together. Each green leaf represents one layer of the papery bulb wrapper. Harvest in my area will probably be in mid to late July. If possible, dig the garlic when the weather is dry.
After digging the garlic, do not cut the tops off immediately; either spread the garlic out to dry in a well-ventilated area where it will be out of the sun and rain (mine goes on big screens on top of sawhorses in the garage), or tie it in loose bunches and hang up in a shed or garage. Allow it to dry for at least a couple of weeks, then cut the tops and roots off and store in paper bags at cool room temperature.
Types of garlic:
Hardneck garlic sends up a stiff "scape" during the growing season, which will produce small garlic bulbils at the top. Softneck garlic does not produce a scape. 'Music' is a hardneck type that produces very tiny bulbils; 'Al's garlic' produces larger bulbils, which can be planted and will develop into a bulb after a couple of years. The scapes can be removed from the plants when young and cooked. Wait until the center stalk completely forms and grows above the rest of the plant. As it grows up it will begin to curl or spiral upward. At that point, cut the stalk as far down as you can without cutting any leaves off. Removing the scapes may also result in larger bulbs of garlic. 'K's Backyard' garlic is a softneck type and does not produce a scape.
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Information on the web:
From the website "We Grow Garlic in Wisconsin" http://www.wegrowgarlic.com/12...
"A few years ago we also started pre-soaking our garlic as recommended by Bob Anderson of Gourmet Garlic Gardens as an added precaution against pests and diseases. We soak all of our seed garlic before planting whether it's our own seed stock or newly acquired planting stock. Basically what you do is soak the cloves overnight in a solution of one tablespoon of liquid seaweed, and either one heaping tablespoon of baking soda, or one tablespoon of vinegar per gallon of water. (we start with warm water for the soak but that's our own variation) Then follow up with a three or four minute soak in either 140 proof vodka or rubbing alcohol just before planting. The skins will fall off the cloves during this soaking process, that's okay. Note: You really don't want to do this soaking process inside the house. It stinks to high heaven!!! Also be sure to process each variety separately or you're not going to know what they are when you're all done."
However, they also go on to say:
"Note: We are starting to rethink the automatic soaking of all the garlic versus using it just if we think a precaution is necessary as we have been experimenting and have observed that cloves that are handled as gently as possible during planting with clove skins left intact (they fall off during soaking) and planted without soaking have been producing larger bulbs for us than those that were soaked. We are still experimenting and observing to see if that holds true over a number of growing seasons to discount the effects of various weather conditions."
This site also has a number of recipes using garlic and garlic scapes.
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Long thread about garlic here on ATP: The thread "Garlic" in Vegetables and Fruit forum
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Growing garlic; with a good section on common pests and diseases:
https://www.plantvillage.com/e...
This page has a great list of different varieties: http://www.wegrowgarlic.com/74...
Types of garlic -- from Filaree Farms:
Turban garlic:
"Turban garlics are the earliest to harvest, often several weeks before other varieties. Their cloves are succulent and hot. They originate from SE Asia and are fantastic for flavoring cuisine from this region. A great choice for early markets, these bulbs impress with their flattened shape and striking purple blotching. These strains are often the first to sprout in the spring. Turbans are weak-bolting hardnecks; usually producing scapes in the northern states but seldom in warmer climates. A top choice for the Gulf Coast and other warm climates, yet adaptable enough to grow large bulbs at our home farm in far north Washington State. 50-65 cloves in a pound."
Rocambole garlic:
"Rocambole garlics are renowned for their complex and full flavor, often referred to as "true garlic flavor." These strains are the most well-known and hence, widely grown of the hardneck varieties. Beautiful, low growing plants with a deep green/blue tint. Scapes are delicious, growing into several tight curls. The clove skins are very loose on Rocambole cultivars, sometimes not even completely enclosing the clove. This can lead to some discoloration on the cloves which is normal. While the loose clove wrappers make for easy peeling in the kitchen, they also lead to the greatest disadvantage of Rocambole strains- shorter storage life than other varieties. While best suited for northern climates, Rocamboles are grown successfully by those in all but the warmest of climates."
Artichoke garlic:
"Artichoke strains are generally the most productive and easy to grow of all garlic varieties. A softneck variety, they have multiple layers of cloves with as many as twenty large plump cloves in a single bulb. Artichoke strains can be grown successfully in almost any climate. They perhaps contain the greatest diversity in flavor between strains, some are quite spicy and rich while others are the mildest of any strains that we sell. Colors rage from bright white to red and purple streaks."
Asiatic garlic:
"These strains took a long time track down! Asiatics are a unique group with a wide range of characteristics. Large, plump cloves are richly flavored, hot raw, yet creamy and flavorful when cooked. Fine striping sets these strains apart, with colors raging from white and yellow/beige to purple and reds. These strains can be grown in a wide range of climates. In northern climates they generally produce an usually scape with a long bean-pod shaped bulbil capsule, in southern climates they may produce no scape at all. Medium-long storing."
Creole garlic:
"The Creole strains have many excellent qualities; size is not one of them for most northern growers. We sell a minimum 1.5 inch bulbs for our creole strains. When planted in warmer climates, they generally grow larger than this. Some years they do grow larger for us here near the Canadian border. Creoles have excellent flavor, great for raw use in salads and marinades. They also have magnificent bright red clove wrappers and store exceptionally well. "
Porcelain garlic:
"Porcelain strains have become increasingly popular in recent years for good reason. These hardneck strains produce large bulbs with 4-7 large cloves. Great in the kitchen, you may only need to peel one or two cloves for a meal as the cloves can get as large as elephant garlic. Most of these strains have strong heat, both raw and cooked. An excellent choice for cold climates and high elevation locations. Some of the strains have proved to be adaptable to southern climates. Note that Porcelain strains average 40 cloves to the pound and therefore may require extra pounds of seed to produce desired crop."
Purple Stripe garlic:
"Named because of the bright purple streaks and blotches on both bulb wrappers & clove skins, these are the most attractive looking garlics. They are also very flavorful, usually winning "best baked garlic" taste tests conducted by Rodale, Sunset Magazine, Martha Stewart and others. Most strains have 8 to 12 cloves per bulb. Cloves are noticeably tall and crescent shaped. They are medium storing and easy to peel. Can be grown in many different climatic regions. 50-60 cloves in a pound."
Silverskin garlic:
Sillverskin garlics are the type most often found on supermarket shelves due to their very long storage life. They are a very high yielding softneck variety and do well in a wide range of climates, hot southern, wet maritime, and cold northern climates as well. Bulb wrappers are fine and smooth, usually all white. 12 to 20 cloves in a bulb.
Silverskins have long been the most popular garlics for braiding because of their pliable necks and smooth, shiny skin. These are the last garlic harvested and may lodge (fall over) a week or more before harvest due to their weak necks. Approximately 70 cloves in a pound of seed."
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Why grow garlic from bulbils? "There is an advantage to planting garlic bulbils over cloves. Propagating from garlic plant bulbils can revitalize garlic strains, thwart the transmission of soil-borne diseases and is economical as well." http://www.gardeningknowhow.co...
How and why to grow from bulbils: http://greyduckgarlic.com/How_...
They note that bulbils aren't likely to carry soilborne diseases, which could be important. Also, starting with 40 bulbils, by the 4th year you could harvest up to 2500 full-size bulbs; very economical if you have the patience!
http://greyduckgarlic.com/inde... (everything you ever wanted to know about garlic!!)
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4/13/15 - Some thoughts about growing garlic in the far north:
I've had reasonably good success with growing both hardneck and softneck types, although I don't feel the bulbs that I've harvested have been as large as they could be. The first year that I grew garlic I waited much too long to harvest, letting the leaves dry completely down like I do with onions, and had nothing but loose cloves when I dug into the ground -- I've since learned that you need to have several leaves that are still green, as those correspond to the "wrappers" around the bulbs. I initially tried growing the softneck types because I wanted to make "garlic braids" both for myself and to give away; although that project worked out pretty well, it seemed like more work than it was worth, and I didn't like the fact that my bulbs didn't look as nice and clean as the ones that I've seen being sold (I wonder how they do that?). I prefer using the hardneck types, as the cloves are typically considerably larger than with the softnecks; however, I've recently learned that the softnecks will store longer than hardnecks, so that would be a reason to continue growing them. This year I have a Creole variety, Ajo Rojo, planted -- both inside the unheated hoop house and out in the open garden -- which is supposed to store the longest of all. It remains to be seen how successful that type will be here in the north.
The garlic that I planted in the HH last fall -- the Creole and another softneck type -- is coming up very nicely, considerably ahead of the garlic out in the garden (and this past winter wasn't all that bad, nothing like the previous one). If the HH-planted garlic does well I might plant a lot more of it under cover this fall -- I think the more controlled water amounts could be very beneficial, as well as the quicker warming of the soil in the spring. Keeping the garlic on the dry side near harvest tiime would be a good thing, as well as I just recently saw a comment by DrDawg (Ken) about rainy spring weather seeming to reduce the size of the bulbs - and we almost always have rainy spring weather!
Storage: I've been storing my garlic, after allowing it to cure on screen racks in the garage, in paper bags in the (unheated, attached) garage during the winter. However, I'm now wondering if being exposed to the near-freezing to occasionally below freezing temps is actually triggering it to start sprouting sooner than it would if stored in a bit warmer environment. This year I'll try putting it in the closet in the spare bedroom, which is generally kept closed off during the winter and stays right around 60 degrees F.
Planting: Need to select the largest bulbs for replanting; this is another mistake I've made in the past, using some of the smaller bulbs to plant and keeping the nicest ones to use. Last fall I did use nice large bulbs, so I'll see if that makes any difference. Also need to consider cutting all the scapes off the hardneck plants so that they can put that energy into growing the bulbs. The scapes are also edible, so no need to waste them! Another mistake: I was previously using a spacing of about 3-4 inches, this year I learned that 6-8 inches is needed to get large bulbs. If I use 6" spacing, I could probably get about 280 plants inside the HH, which should be plenty! I actually wouldn't need to plant that many, and could then use some of the extra area for some hardy greens. (See note below regarding my harvest on 7/24/15)
5/8/15 - I've noticed that some of the leaves on only the Ajo Rojo garlic have some areas of yellowing; although a bit of internet research has indicated that it could be disease or something like nematodes or maggots, it also could be due to needing more nitrogen, or to late frosts (some types are more susceptible to damage from frost, and since the other varieties are perfectly green I suspect this is the cause). I was planning to give the garlic some fertilizer at any rate, and will keep my eye on the situation to make sure it doesn't seem to be progressing.
6/25/15 - I did fertilize several weeks ago, but now am noticing a lot of yellowing leaves on the Music; will dig a bulb or two to check for rot, onion maggots, etc. Seems much too early for them to be dying back due to maturity, since spring was late this year and I normally wouldn't harvest until at least the end of July. (Note: the garlic that I dug up seemed perfectly okay, with very healthy roots and undamaged bulbs.)
7/24/15 - 2015 Garlic Harvest:
Dug all the garlic on July 24th; while I'm overall happy with the size of the bulbs, I was somewhat expecting them to be a bit larger, after reading that I should (1) select the largest cloves to plant, and (2) space the cloves at least 6" apart. I had previously been using and giving away the very nicest bulbs (with the biggest cloves), and only spacing the cloves at 3-4" when I planted. This year I did plant large cloves at about 6" apart, but am not sure I notice any real significant difference. Unsure whether to try one more year (particularly with the wide spacing), or if I should just conserve the space.
Ajo Rojo (Creole type)
Mixed softneck garlic, Polish Softneck and Western Rose
Music (Porcelain-type hardneck garlic)
Unidentified hardneck, originally from Al Erickson, via Bob Anderson
8/20/15: I've finished cleaning up all the bulbs; very pleased with the timing of harvest this year, the "wrappers" were thick enough that I could remove a couple of layers and leave nice-looking bulbs (for the most part, anyway). Al's garlic was by far the best of the ones that I grew this year; the bulbs are larger than they've ever been in the past, so perhaps selecting the largest cloves to plant and spacing the plants further apart did have something to do with that. The softneck garlic cleaned up nicely enough that I'll make a couple of braids with the best bulbs. The Ajo Rojo isn't terribly large, but I'm hopeful that by planting the best bulbs I can eventually have a selection that will do really well here. Have plenty of garlic to use and to plant about 50 of each type; also decided to order a new (to me) softneck variety from Baker Seeds, instead of growing the kind I've been growing. I originally had Polish Softneck and Western Rose, but didn't keep them separate and now have no idea what I actually have. Ordered enough of a variety called K's Backyard to plant 50 of that as well. This is the description from Baker Seeds: "Very Rare. This is a big, pearly-pink Artichoke variety that we found growing in an old Santa Fe garden in 1998. It originally had very small cloves the size of sunflower seeds and it is now our biggest softneck garlic. We have sent it to growers across the country and it seems to grow well in both coastal and cold regions – grower Paul Parma in Southern California said he'd never seen a garlic so huge. It has a rich, classic Italian flavor."
8/22/15: After visiting a farm stand in Marinette, Wisconsin to guy some sweet corn to freeze, I feel a LOT better about my garlic; they had some garlic bulbs for sale, 3 for $1.00, that couldn't have been much more than 1 inch in diameter! I would be totally embarrassed to put those out for sale...
10/13/16: Haven't added any observations in quite a while! Got a great garlic harvest this year; last fall I planted Music, Ajo Rojo, the NoID that I call "Al's," and a new to me softneck variety from Baker Creek called K's Backyard (see the description above in the note from 8/20/15). I planted the cloves about 6" apart (I've normally planted closer together), and we had a very favorable winter for a change, and all of the varieties did well -- particularly the K's Backyard, which produced VERY large bulbs (at least as compared to what I normally get). It was the first variety that I dug up, and I was truly astounded at the size of the bulbs. The 2nd largest were Al's garlic. Of note, I also had much better success with storing my garlic last winter; in the past I had left it out in the garage (unheated, but stays just above freezing in the winter); last winter I put the bags in the spare bedroom (which stays cooler than the rest of the house) once the weather turned cold, and all of the varieties lasted right through to summer without sprouting or shriveling.
7/31/17: Garlic is all harvested and despite the summer not being all that favorable overall (very rainy and cool) the garlic did very well again. K's Backyard continues to produce very large bulbs, and Music and Al's were their usual size. I had selected cloves of Music to plant from bulbs that had 4 cloves (none from the 3-clove bulbs), and actually had a few this year with 5 cloves; those will be used for planting, in hopes of getting more cloves/bulb. The Ajo Rojo was smaller than last year and I've decided not to grow it again.
10/13/17: Planted the garlic: 32 each of Music and Al's, 48 of K's Backyard, and 16 of a new variety, "Moroccan Creole" (from Baker's Creek). This is a smaller total number of plants than usual, but I always have way too much. Purposely planted during the waning moon, which is supposed to be favorable for root crops; can't hurt, and who knows? it just might be of benefit. I'm planning to try to time all (or at least most) of my garden planting next year according to the moon phases.
8/2/2021: Harvested my garlic today - 30 each of Al's (actually a NOID), Music, K's Backyard, and Moroccan Creole; Al's and Music were pretty much the same as they usually are, but K's and Moroccan Creole were exceptionally large compared to previous years. The snow was gone considerably earlier this spring than it usually is, and I did notice that the garlic stalks were larger than usual. Really excellent year for my garlic harvest.
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