Great Garlic Growing & Harvesting
Easy Ways to Grow Organic Garlic and Store It All Year Long
Nov 1, 2009
Garlic is at the top of most cooks' and gardeners' go-to lists for quick ways to add flavor and depth to dishes. With its easy plant-early, harvest-later nature, garlic is one of the most carefree and rewarding crops to grow. If you haven't begun your fall planting yet, check out great tips here. If you have waited out winter's chill and see green shoots poking through, it's time to go!
Spring Wake Up
Garlic planted in the fall spends time before the hard frost developing roots and settling in for a long hibernation. By the time the snow melts and the weather warms enough to beckon you outdoors, there will probably be green sprouts popping up in the garlic bed. Many gardeners find garlic coming up mid-winter if the conditions turn mild. When sprouts appear, feed them with a thick layer of organic compost if it is past the heavy freeze point; if not, cover them up with more leaf mulch. Spread the compost as soon as you are reasonably sure heavy cold weather is past.
Stay Weed Free
After the ground has thawed and you have applied compost, it is time to allow the bulbs to grow unencumbered by spring weeds. With new sunny skies and warmth returning, the weeds will be here any day. It's your job to keep your garlic sprouts well-mulched and weed free. Weeds sap all plants of nutrients, water, and sunlight as they grow and take over. This is especially detrimental to root crops, like garlic. Using a generous helping of organic compost, chopped leaves or other natural mulch will keep garlic happy and prevent weeds from encroaching in your beds. Periodic hand weeding is preferable to tool weeding to avoid damaging roots.
Managing Moisture
As the garlic grows, the green leaves above will indicate the progress of the bulbs. It is important that the ground dries out fairly quickly in the spring, but some moisture is necessary for healthy bulbs to swell. If mother nature does not provide around a half inch of water per week once the heat arrives, you will need to supplement. Keep the bed barely moist, but do not over-water; wet garlic will rot and will not store. Conversely, dry garlic will not bulb up properly and will remain stunted. The balance is not terribly difficult. If you experience excessively flooded spring beds, you may consider covering your crop from the weather. However, properly drained beds should be just fine.
The Great E-scape
In late spring, garlic produces a flowering stalk called a scape. If left on the plant, this scape will eventually bloom and release many tiny bulbils of garlic seed. Most people do not allow the scapes to develop this far, and cut them before they produce a large head. The common belief is that bulbs allowed to flower will be significantly reduced, and it is not worth it. Other gardeners insist that well fertilized garlic will be little inhibited by a flowering scape. The scapes are tasty, and you may do just as well to snip them and serve them roasted similarly to asparagus. Or, you may choose to allow a few to develop and show their pretty potential. The most common practice for those who wish to see the scape is to allow a few to mature on the plant or to snip them and keep them well watered in a vase; after a few weeks they should open like a forced branch.
Solstice Home Stretch
Most hardneck varieties are ready to harvest between the summer solstice and mid-July. The green leaves will begin to wither. Traditional advice calls for several leaves to be dead before the garlic is harvested. The problem with that method is that many varieties will have already begun to lose their wrappers before that point. Dry weather is best for harvesting, as it helps to preserve the delicate papers and add longevity to the bulbs' shelf life. If wet weather is a concern for you, keep the plants covered in your home stretch. Dig up a bulb or two to determine how large they have grown, and how many 'papers' are left. Do this once one or two leaves have browned. It is better to be too early on a few, than too late for them all! Be careful when digging; pierced bulbs will not store.
Curing for Storage
Once the garlic is pulled from the ground it will need to cure in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area for a few weeks. Carefully brush off excess dirt, but leave papers intact. Keep the greens attached and tie bundles of about a dozen together to hang from rafters in an attic, an old shower rod, or just about anywhere that is warm and dry and out of the way. Check the bulbs periodically to be sure they are not rotting. After several weeks, untie bundles, cut stalks to within 2-5 inches of bulbs and remove the outermost dusty paper. Keep garlic in a dry space at an optimal temperature of about 65 degrees. Too low of a temperature or excess moisture may make garlic sprout. Keep it dry and fairly warm and it should last for many months, hopefully until next year's crop is ready!
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