It's time to plant garlic! Garlic is one of the easiest and most flavorful crops to grow, even in a small space, and can be done anytime from mid October until the ground freezes. While you can theoretically plant any garlic, it's best to purchase quality seed garlic that was grown in your climate. May I recommend ours? Order here!
To plant, separate a head of garlic into cloves. Push (root side down) into the soil 6 inches apart. If your soil is hard, you may want to use a trowel to dig a hole for each clove, but since garlic will do best in loose soil amended with compost. I usually plant four rows in a 30" wide bed.
Cover with 6" of straw or leaves so that the soil temperature doesn't fluctuate, and ignore until mid May/early June, at which point the flower stalks (i.e., scapes) will emerge. The scapes should be snapped off before the flower has developed, and can be pickled, processed into pesto, or substituted for minced garlic in any recipe.
In mid July, dig out the entire garlic plant and allow to dry completely in a garage or shady spot with good air flow. After it has cured, trim off the stem and roots, and you've got your own home grown garlic! You can save some of the biggest heads to replant.
Garden garlic calculator
1 lb. will equal approximately 36 cloves. If planted in a single line at 6" spacing, you will need 18 row feet. If you have 4 rows in your bed, you will need about 5 feet of bed space.
3 lb. will equal approximately 108 cloves. If planted in a single line at 6" spacing, you will need 54 row feet. If you have 4 rows in your bed, you will need about 15 feet of bed space.
5 lb. will equal approximately 180 cloves. If planted in a single line at 6" spacing, you will need 90 row feet. If you have 4 rows in your bed, you will need about 25 feet of bed space.
Plan on saving 1/6 of your yield to plant next year.
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