Growing Garlic
by Diane Linsley
Garlic is one of the easiest things in the world to grow. If you can plant a crocus bulb, you can grow garlic.
Garlic is planted from mid September through October. September planting is recommended for cold winter areas so that the garlic can begin growing before hard frost. Start by mixing some compost or well-composted manure into the soil. Then break apart the heads of garlic into separate cloves, and plant each clove 3-4" deep and 5" apart. That puts the tip of the garlic clove about 2" below the soil surface. In very cold climates, garlic can be planted as deeply as 6" to prevent freezing.
Finally, mulch the bed with a layer of leaves, weed-free straw, or grass clippings from an organically maintained lawn. This will protect the garlic over the winter and prevent weeds from sprouting in the spring. If the leaves are large, shred them with a lawn mower. The garlic plants will come up through the leaves, as long as they aren't layered so thickly that they mat down. If the garlic has trouble emerging in the spring, remove the excess mulch. If the weather is warm enough, the garlic will begin to emerge in the autumn. Don't worry about the plants being damaged by freezing temperatures. Garlic is quite hardy.
The following summer, cut off the garlic "flowers" when they appear so that more energy will be directed into producing large heads. Garlic is ready to harvest when the stalks have turned more than half brown, but before the stalks fall off and the heads split open. There's a fine line here: You want to leave the garlic in the ground long enough for the heads to grow as big as possible. But don't wait too long, or the papery covering around the heads will split, and the garlic won't store as long.
After harvesting the garlic, lay it out to dry on newspapers in a shady spot like under the eaves on the north side of your house or in the garage. After it has dried for a couple of days, cut off the stalks (unless it's softneck garlic that you plan to braid). Rub off the excess dirt, then place the heads in an open shoe box in a cool, dry place like a basement storage room. If you don't have a place like that, just keep it in a basket on the kitchen countertop. Don't store garlic in the fridge or a cupboard. It needs good air circulation to prevent mold.
Let the garlic cure for at least three weeks before eating it. In the fall, you can replant the largest cloves from the best heads. This will give you a bigger and better harvest the next year.
Growing garlic is much easier than writing an article about growing garlic. So don't be afraid to give it a try!
