Garlic is one crop that you can easily grow enough to supply your family for an entire year. This was my first year growing garlic, and I wanted to document and share that process for anyone that is interested in doing the same!
For reference, I am located in Wisconsin and my hardiness zone is 5b. Garlic can be grown pretty much anywhere in the US, but certain varieties may do well in some places over others. By me, hardneck garlic does the best. This also means you get the joy of garlic scapes!
My Setup for Growing Garlic
The beds I grew garlic in were 2 metal raised beds that were 5 feet long by 30 inches wide, and 11 inches deep. Garlic is a heavy feeder, meaning it requires a lot of nutrients in the soil in order to grow to a large and healthy size. More on this later. I made sure my beds were prepped with a healthy layer of quality compost, along with a sprinkle of blood meal for a little extra nitrogen. You will also need some form of mulch as garlic will need some winter protection. I used some not-so-seed-free seed-free straw.
As for the actual garlic, you will want to make sure to get high quality garlic to use as seed. Garlic seed is just a clove of garlic. One clove will turn into an entire head of garlic. While you can certainly plant the cloves you can buy from the supermarket, purchasing seed garlic from a reputable company ensures the seed is high quality and that you know what variety it is. I got mine from a company local to me, Keene Garlic.
Planting
Garlic is planted in the fall and harvested the following summer. The period of dormancy over the winter is what helps the garlic make cloves. For my climate, I planted garlic in the middle/end of October. This was after my first frost date. I would recommend following the instructions from the seed garlic you get, but for me that was about an inch or 2 deep and spaced 6 inches apart. After planting garlic, you should apply a nice thick layer of mulch. Keep this mulch on until spring comes around and your garlic begins to pop up out of the ground.
Growing Garlic
Growing garlic takes a long time. Here in Wisconsin, garlic is harvested around the end of July. This means it takes 9 months from planting to harvest. Because of this, growing garlic requires healthy soil with the right levels of nutrients. From my research, I learned that applying a fertilizer at a regular frequency from the time the garlic greens appear until right before scapes form (on hardneck garlic) will greatly improve the quality of your home grown garlic. This will also help maintain nutrient levels in your soil following the harvest of garlic.
I used a liquid fish emulsion fertilizer that I found at menards. There are several options for fertilizing-I would recommend researching it a bit.
There is such a thing as over fertilizing, though. You should always follow the instructions on your fertilizer for dosage and timing. It is also a good idea to test your soil to get a baseline for the amount of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus already present. Your local university extension office should provide reliable and affordable soil tests.
Scape Time
Towards the end of growing hardneck garlic, garlic scapes will appear. Scapes are a shoot that comes out of the stem of hardneck garlic that represents the plant attempting to go to seed. The scape will form a flower on the end if it matures. Because of this, you should harvest the garlic scapes to encourage the plant to put energy back into bulb production rather than seed production. The best part is that garlic scapes are edible and delicious! I’ve heard it’s best to harvest the scape after it makes it’s first full loop. Once you harvest scapes, you will want to cut back on watering your garlic to allow the plant to begin to dry out in preparation for harvesting.
Harvest and Curing your Garlic
It’s time to harvest garlic when the bottom 3-4 leaves of the plant turn yellow and dry out. Each of these leaves represent one of the papery layers found on a bulb of garlic. Wait too long and the covering protecting your garlic heads will be gone, which may promote decomposition of the head. Harvesting too soon may mean your garlic heads are full of moisture, which can lengthen curing.
After harvesting garlic, you can use it right away. If you plan to store your garlic long term, here are some tips:
- Trim the garlic so that it has a few inches of stem left on the head. Then set the garlic out in a cool, dry place, preferably with airflow, for at least 2 weeks to cure and dry out. When fully dry, the stem should have no green left inside. This may take longer than 2 weeks depending on your climate.
- Garlic that is going bad can be minced and frozen in single serving portions.
- Softneck garlic can be braided together after curing-just don’t trim the stem beforehand.
Thanks for reading my quick and easy guide to growing garlic!
