How To Grow Garlic

Photo by foxypar4.

Soil

Garlic needs plenty of sun and rich soil with pH 6.5 to 7.0. Lots of organic matter is preferred. It’s good to dig in green manure and dig the soil down to 30 cm (12 inch).

Planting

It is possible to plant garlic in early spring, but it’s not recommended since the soil is difficult to work with at this time. Plant in the fall, maybe even after the first frost has arrived. Take a garlic bulb and break it into cloves just before planting, so that the cloves don’t dry out. Each clove acts an individual seed. Plant the largest cloves of the bulbs in an upright position 2 cm (1 inch) below the surface. The plants need to be 10 cm (4 inch) apart and the space between rows should be 45 cm (18) apart.

Growing

Each clove grows into a bulb with up to 20 cloves. The root system of the cloves should have begun to develop before winter arrives, but the tops should not break the surface yet. Remove any weeds since garlic have a hard time competing with weeds. Garlic goes dormant over the winter and is not harmed by frost or snow.

Harvest

It’s time to harvest when the leaves goes brown and die away. Stop watering a few weeks before harvest. It takes 10 months from planting garlic until they’re ready to be harvested.

Storage

Garlic is best stored in a cool and dry place. Hang the bulbs to dry for a week and then brush off the dirt. The temperature should be around 10 deg C. (50 deg. F) for storage.