Garlic
Allium sativum. ALLIACEAE.
Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Garlic
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow garlic in the accompanying table’s tabs:
-
- How many garlic starts to plant
- Growing conditions for garlic
- When to plant garlic
- How to plant garlic
- Watering, fertilizing, and pruning garlic
- Companion plantings for garlic
- How to harvest, store, and use garlic
Growing Garlic
Garlic is a cool-season bulb vegetable in the onion, or Allium, family. Garlic plants are flat-leaved. Each plant bears a bulbous head consisting of many tear-shaped cloves wrapped in a papery tunicate sheath.
The major garlic types grown in home gardens include Hardneck, Elephant, and Softneck. Hardneck garlic grow a single rosette of cloves around a woody core. Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum), with huge bulbs and a mild, sweeter flavor than true garlic, is a member of the Leek group of Allium bulbs. Softneck garlic has several layers of small cloves surrounding a soft, fibrous core.
When used raw, garlic is intensely flavored; roasted or baked garlic is mild flavored and popular as an ingredient in appetizers and crudités.
Long believed by herbalists to possess preservative and curative powers, garlic’s beneficial effects on the immune system, efficacy in reducing cholesterol levels, and aid in lowering blood pressure are well medically documented.
Society Garlic, Tulbaghia violacea, is a related ornamental plant with pink-to-violet flowers and a bunching habit.
Garlic Plant and Care Guide
How Much to Plant
Allow 12–16 plants per household member.
How to Plant
Seed germinates in 12–14 days.
Average climates: Plant outer cloves in full sun in early spring and again in early autumn.
Mild-Winter Climates: Plant cloves in spring, autumn, and winter, while soil temperatures remain 35–90°F (2–32°C).
Set cloves 1 in. (25 mm) deep, 4–8 in. (10–20 cm) apart, in rows 15 in. (38 cm) apart; reserve small central cloves for cooking.
Important: Always plant nursery garlic stock; grocery garlic often is treated to prevent sprouting.
Best Conditions for Growth
Growing temperature: 45–85°F (7–29°C). Zones 3–11. Garlic tolerates varied growing conditions; once stalks develop, they require 2 months at 32–50°F (0–10°C) for bulbs to fully develop.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. 5.5–6.8 pH. Prepare soil at least 1 ft. (30 cm) deep.
Proper Care
Moderate. Keep evenly damp during active growth; allow soil surface to dry between water applications. Apply ample water during the bulb-development stage. Fertilize monthly with 0–10–10 formula. Mulch. Cultivate. Pinch off all seed heads when they form, then lodge plants by gently doubling over stems and tying them. Lodging hastens the drying of plant tops, redirects nutrients to the root, and increases head size. After 1 month, withhold water. Garlic is susceptible to soil-borne root maggots; rotate plantings every year.
Pairing Recommendations
Beets, lettuce, strawberries, summer savory, and tomatoes.
Maturity, Picking and Gathering
90–100 days. Harvest in summer. Pull heads when fully formed 2–3 weeks after lodging, brushing away any clinging soil. Allow heads to cure for 3–4 weeks in a warm, shady space protected from rain until their outer skins turn papery.
Young garlic harvested before its bulbs swell and develop into multiple cloves is called “green” or “spring” garlic. It has many uses, is uniquely flavored, and is a choice for many cooks seeking new tastes in their recipes. Chop whole and freeze or use green garlic fresh.
How to Store and Preserve
Fresh and dried, in a nylon net bag in a dark, dry, cool place, for 4–6 months; peeled and frozen, 6–8 months; blanched and canned or pickled, 1 year. Braid stalks of cured garlic heads into decorative strands for short-term storage.