​Time to plant garlic!

Written by:  Ken Kogut, Master Gardener Volunteer and Erica LaFountain, Consumer Horticulture Educator

For most gardeners things have quieted down in the garden. It’s a time to clean up the garden, and to review our successes and failures from the past gardening season. However, don’t put up your spade forks, shovels, and trowels just yet… it's time to plant one of the easiest (and tastiest) of all garden plants, the wonderful garlic!

Many gardeners aren’t aware of how easy it is to plant and grow garlic. It can be as simple as preparing a garden bed in the fall, planting, mulching, and then harvesting garlic the following July. That’s it! Heavy mulch greatly reduces the need to weed beds, and not only does garlic have few pests and diseases, but it can actually deter harmful insects. A well balanced, composted soil provides all the nutrients your garlic will need, and all you may have to do is water during dry periods to have a successful harvest.

Selecting a Seed Source is Important! The first step you will need to take is finding a seed-garlic source. "Seed-garlic" just means healthy garlic cloves, which will each grow a full bulb when planted, Don’t purchase garlic from the grocery store for planting. It was probably grown many hundreds if not thousands of miles away and isn’t necessarily suitable for our climate. While many seed companies such as Johnny’s Seeds or High Mowing Organic Seeds provide a huge variety of seed-garlic suitable for planting in northern New York, it is probably too late to order from them for this growing season. Instead visit your local farm stands or farmers' market for locally grown garlic. In this way you will ensure that the garlic you plant is suitable for our area.

Select the right garden spot: Garlic likes lots of sunshine, and loose, well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy (clayey) and wet you should consider planting your garlic in a raised bed. Raised beds will allow you to modify your soil with compost to make it more loose, and airy, and drain better. Raised beds also will warm more quickly in the spring giving your plants a jump on the growing season, however, they may require more watering during dry periods. Prepare your soil just like you would in the spring.

Divide Up Your Garlic Heads: Two to three days before planting break up your garlic bulbs (also called a “head” or “knob”) into individual cloves, leaving the papery sheaths on each clove if possible. Select the larger ones, which will jumpstart a strong plant in the spring.

Get Planting! Garlic needs some space to grow. Plant individual cloves 6 inches apart and 2 to 3 inches deep. A pointy stick comes in handy in creating the proper spacing and seed depth. Plant the clove pointy side up, blunt side down. Cover with 2 to 3 inches of soil and slightly compact the soil over each clove.

Mulch: Here in northern New York mulching is very important to protect your plantings from our cold winter conditions. You have a variety of mulches to choose from including straw, or mowed leaves. Just make sure you cover your new plantings with about 6 inches of whatever mulch you choose. Mulch will help retain moisture, but if there’s no rain in the forecast, give your new planting a good initial watering before applying the mulch.

That’s It! You’ve successfully planted garlic. Come spring the garlic shoots will grow up through the mulch and will be some of the first plants you’ll see in your garden. With a limited amount of weeding, and some watering if needed, you’ll be on your way to a successful harvest in late July. The only thing left to do is to remove the flower stems called “scapes” as they appear in late June and early July. This will redirect the energy and growth to the garlic bulb rather than the flower.

If you have any questions about growing garlic, or any other garden-related topic, contact CCE's “Growline” at 315-379-9192 x239 or SLCGrowline@gmail.com. Our Master Gardener Volunteers are trained to help you succeed!