Garlic: Fall Planting Secrets

Garlic: Fall Planting Secret #1: Plant me around Columbus Day October 12 in most of the country, a little later in the deep South. This gives the plant time to develop a strong root system before the ground freezes.

The plant quickly emerges when weather warms in spring.

The more foliage, and the larger plant, the larger the bulb that is formed. This is why spring planted garlic usually does not produce large bulbs Garlic planted too late in the fall will not begin good root growth until the following spring.

It means smaller plants and correspondingly smaller bulb size. Garlic can also be planted too early. The obvious reason is too much top growth before winter can sometimes result in winter damage. And,

Secret #2: Select large  garlic cloves for planting, and plant only healthy cloves. Separate each clove from the bulb and plant it two to three inches deep. Within a row use a six inch spacing between cloves.

Be sure to set the cloves root-end down. Cover loosely with soil, then mulch lightly.

Secret #3: A covering of straw mulch applied after planting will help prevent continuous freezing and thawing of the ground in early winter and spring, thus keeping the newly established root system stable.

The straw will also help control weeds and preserve moisture the next year. Sometimes, depending on the weather, the newly planted garlic will sprout before winter. Don’t worry. This will not hurt the plant.

Secret #4: Garlic needs beds at least 6″ deep. It likes the soil to be loosened up down to about six inches or more and to remain loose so that it feeds and waters well and its roots do not get needlessly torn up when harvesting

In most parts of the country, garlic likes to be planted in fertile, well drained raised beds so that the bulb itself is up out of the water level and the roots are down in the water. The height of the raised beds and the depth to plant the cloves (root end down) depend on in what part of the country you want to grow the garlic.

If your area gets a lot of rain and snow and very cold winters, then use higher beds and plant the cloves four inches deep and mulch heavily to protect the garlic from sub-zero temperatures. If you grow in more arid areas with warmer winters and less snow, then lower the beds and don’t plant the garlic so deep.

Garlic will grow in flat ground without raised beds, but the raised beds help the garlic fend off diseases that can come when the bulb sits in water too long.

Want to know more about  planting  garlic ? Post a  question or a comment below, please. And,

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Yours truly for a great garden with berries,veggies and flowers.

Polly – Organic gardener

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