FIRST TIME GROWING GARLIC!

[Stepnout]

Hello everyone I’ve been gardening for 39 years if you don’t count the carrot, radishes and potatoes peels I planted when I was 6 lol.
In October 2020 I planted my first crop of garlic. I planted a Hard Neck variety called Porcelain Music. Being a Hard Neck variety it must be planted in the fall to start and take root over winter emerging in the spring. All recommendations state to cover the garlic bed with 3-4 inches of straw. Yesterday I was happy to find the garlic sprouting nicely through the mulch. So far things are looking good!
Has anyone else successfully grown Garlic? How did your crop turn out? Do you have any helpful hints for growing garlic.
Thanks
Wayne

 

[1muttsfan]

Garlic is amazingly easy to grow. In the North you do have to plant it in the fall, or you will only get large single cloves. I have the same German purple hard neck garlic that I've been planting for 5 years.

 

[Trish1974]

I agree with everything @1muttsfan said.

In fact its so easy to grow, I have transplanted my garlic 3 times in the past 8 years and it still comes up voluntarily in the old locations.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have not grown garlic in your climate. I grew silver rose, a softneck variety, in Arkansas by planting in the fall and harvesting late spring or early summer.

Harvest when the leaves start turning brown. Don't wait until they all die, just when a few start to turn. I dig them and let them dry a day or two in the sun, then move them to a well-ventilated building and set them in wire for them to continue to dry.

This shows sweet potatoes, not garlic, but I made a frame out of 1/2" hardware cloth and set it up on blocks to dry the garlic. I season garlic, onions, regular potatoes, and sweet potatoes like this to get them ready for storage. I did not grow hardneck garlic but I'd think you'd harvest it the same.

 

[Stepnout]

Thanks everyone! When I planted the garlic I believe I planted 123 or 126 cloves. The remainder of the smaller and the ones the skin tore off I saved in a paper bag and ate all winter. I must say the flavor was delicious. I picked up 2 cattle panels to build a small cattle panel greenhouse. I'll be using wire on the racks and in the fall I can use it to dry things as well. If I understand correctly my garlic will be harvested late July in my area so if the green house can stay dry with the door and window open I'll dry and dry the garlic there. If not I;ll have to dry it in my garage with the dehumidifier running.

 

[Sally PB]

I have grown Music garlic for three years. I love it! It is easy and delicious.

There are actually TWO separate harvests with hardneck garlic. In early summer, it sends up a stalk out of the middle of the plant called the "scape." Cut that off about the time it starts to curl into a circle. (Google garlic scapes; I don't have any pictures.) Chop it up and use it like garlic. Yum!

Cut them off, even if you don't want to eat them, though, because that is the flower stalk. Letting it go to flower will take energy from the bulb growing.

Like someone said, dig them up when a few of the leaves turn brown. I lay mine on a tray out on my front porch to dry. Out of the sun, out of the rain, for a couple weeks.

You can plant some of the cloves the next October, and just keep going, year after year. Music makes 4-5 cloves per bulb, but they are big cloves. Eat the small ones, save the big ones for planting.

The picture below is some of my "small" cloves for eating.

 

[1muttsfan]

I always wait too long to harvest my garlic because I'm usually busy doing other stuff and forget it, but ideally you would harvest it when the outside leaves have browned. No need for a dehumidifier, as long as they are in a area out of the sun with good ventilation. I actually put mine on my screened in porch on a wooden rack for a couple weeks and it works perfectly. I'm not sure using a growing house would work, as you want them out of the sun. A lot of people just put them in their garage.

also, don't wash them when you harvest them, just brush the extra dirt off. Washing them can increase the moisture content of the bulbs and you want them to dry.

 

[MissE]

The scapes are awesome on the grill mixed with pea pods and broccoli, which are usually ready for harvest about the same time as the scapes.

To echo what everyone elses has said:

• Cut the scapes off so the energy goes into the bulb
• Save the small cloves to eat and plant the big ones around mid Oct
• Cool dark place is perfect for curing the bulbs
• Don't wash the bulbs and handle them gently so they don't bruise
• Dig rather than pull the bulbs out
• Harvest when the first few leaves start to brown, generally mid to late July for your area and mine

 

[Stepnout]

Wow more great information, I'll be sure and dry it out of the sun, cut off and use the scape, harvest just after a few leaves turn and not wash. I've picked up some great information on the net as well.
We eat a lot of garlic and are looking forward to the harvest. It's snowing here today! Happy Easter

 

[Ascholten]

I tried growing garlic last year. It was doing fantastic until we got about 2 weeks straight of rain and it ended up neck rotting. Later I figured out it was probably my fault. I was not aware that a garlic bulb will grow a few inches down into the soil and not right the top like onions would. I had it in pots and down that deep, yah probably was very damp for a while.

I got my bulbs and stuff from filaree farms. very good people and have a lot of stuff there if you are into garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, regular ones etc etc.

I was going to try garlic again this year but missed the window. Living in florida, right now it's pretty way too late to plant garlic and expect it to do any good unless you want to do just the basic elephant variety. Im planning on starting a bunch about sept / oct and seeing how it does in cooler weather.

Helpful hint, it loves a lot of sun, likes a lot of water but do NOT let it stand in water or the soil very moist / wet for days on end, it will kill it. It'll tolerate too dry a lot better than too wet if you do get into an adverse situation.

Aaron