Although I have grown garlic a bit in the past, I never gave it much attention (or probably even planted it correctly), however this year I decided to take the plunge. I don’t know how many cloves I planted (forgot to count), however, there are approximately 100 cloves of garlic planted 10 per row. Two rows are shown in the picture. This garden bed is 3 x 8 feet. I made the rows horizontally across the short end of the bed.
I picked up 3 heads of garlic from my local feed and garden center thinking it should be enough. However, there weren’t too many cloves in each of those heads. When I went back to get more they were out. So, I did the next best thing – took the garlic out of my kitchen that I had purchased at the grocery store and planted it. I do not know what kind of garlic I planted. I did not write down the name of the garlic purchased from the feed store. I will need to be better at that not only for my records but also so I can show all of you what type of garlic it is and how it grew – or didn’t grow.
When choosing garlic to plant, one should always choose certified seed garlic. Most garden centers will have several options to purchase. Mail order catalogs also have several varieties. I got a late start and my local feed store ran out quickly. My choice to use grocery store garlic may or may not produce any heads. It’s a gamble as to whether they have been treated to prevent sprouting. I was willing to risk it in order to get some garlic planted before it was too late. So we’ll see what we end up with.
To plant the garlic, you must first take the heads apart by gently breaking each clove off the head. Use only the largest cloves for planting. The rest should go into the kitchen to be used up. Add some fertilizer into the bed of dirt and mix well or sprinkle some into the trenches before planting. I used Espoma Garden Tone in my garlic bed. It would also be a good idea to add some compost or rich organic matter to the bed. Garlic are heavy feeders and need a lot of food to create large heads of garlic. Place the cloves of garlic in the trenches approximately 4 inches deep and 6-8 inches apart. Cover with dirt and water in. In the spring we should see the little garlic sprouts coming up. The new heads should be ready for harvest in July.
Did you plant garlic this Fall? What is your favorite variety and how many do you usually plant?