ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How Do I Grow Garlic ?

Updated on September 3, 2016

Garlic

Source
Source

Growing Garlic

Garlic is believed to be one of the elixirs of youth, the Pharaohs of Egypt ate garlic to prevent growing old.

Garlic is known to aid digestion and help the circulatory system.

It also adds a distinct flavor to a variety of foods and repels insects in the garden.

Growing garlic is easy. The greatest challenge to growing garlic is fungus. But even that can be taken care of easily with just a few simple tricks.

The best time to plant garlic would be in the fall, this gives them time to winterize building their strong root system. Usually between mid-October and late November. Garlic is best grown and harvested as an annual.

That being said, they can be planted in warmer Southern areas, in late February or March. The result may be smaller bulbs. In addition the seed garlic must be chilled before planting in order to cause it to break out of its dormancy. This can be achieved by placing your cloves in the refrigerator 3 weeks before planting.

Garlic is of the Allium family which would be leeks, shallots and onions. Each clove would act as a seed. The bulbs are grown underground and the leaves grow up above ground, growing somewhat tall, It is actually the leaves that will give you a clue as to when the garlic is ready for harvesting.

There are two kinds of garlic that you can plant and grow; the hard~neck and the soft~neck.

The Hard~neck Garlic: has stiff stems with an attractive flower. Hard~necks are best grown in a colder climate.

The Soft~neck Garlic: has a soft stem that is easy to braid for storage. It keeps longer and is suitable for a warm-winter climate.

You can purchase garlic for planting at your favorite garden center, online or you can purchase a plant the garlic that you have purchased from the grocery store.


The Soil

Garlic is tolerant of all kinds of soil.

However, Do make sure that your soil drains fast. Bulb plants do tend to rot away in wet soggy soil.

And it is beneficial to add organic matter.

It would be a good idea to use organic matter and manure for your garlic plants. If you use natural sources that are rich in nutrients and replenish the soil, your soil will be healthier than if you use chemical fertilizers.

Spread manure over your garden in the fall, giving it plenty of time to enrich the soil before you plant the garlic in the spring.

Organic Matter = To a gardener, organic matter is something with organic compounds that you add to the soil as an amendment. In simple terms, it is decaying plant or animal material, most commonly: compost, manure.


In this episode, Homestead Blessings gives tips on planting garlic. For recipes using garlic check out our herbs DVD and homestead blessings cook book http://ww

Source

Planting Garlic

Preparing your cloves for planting:

Remember as mentioned above fungus and bacteria can be dealt with before planting.

Just one garlic bulb, that has been broken into individual cloves, is enough to set out for an extensive home planting.

On planting day, fill a quart size jar with water, adding 1 tablespoon of each baking soda and liquid seaweed. Soak the cloves for about 2 hours. Remove the papery husks/shells. Doing so will help prevent fungus and promote root growth.

Garlic loves compost..Dig it in deep and well before planting.

In Spring

Plant your bulbs 6 to 7 inches apart in full sun.. garlic will tolerate partial shade , but full sun is the best..

Bury the tips of the cloves 2 inches deep with the root end down and the pointy tip upwards. Each clove will produce one plant with a single bulb, but each bulb may contain as many as 20 cloves. The bigger the clove you plant the bigger the bulb you will get..You will probably have different size bulbs.

You will see growth starting in about 4 to 6 weeks after planting. However, garlic will stop growing in winter. It is at this time that the it is developing its strong root system. Top growth will begin again in spring.

In fall, lift the garlic bulbs carefully with a garden fork.

Wait until stalks are dry before storing in a net bag. Or braid tops to form a rope. Hang in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area.

If you want the taste of garlic before harvesting the garlic bulb, clip a few leaves.

Planting Garlic

Watering Garlic

Do Not Over Water!

Garlic likes evenly moist soil.

Remember moist, not wet.

Drainage, Drainage, Drainage is the key to growing garlic. You do want to offer water, but they should not be constantly wet. Slightly dry between watering is a good thing.


Garlic Flower

Source

Fertilizing Garlic

Garlic plants can be fed with an organic plant food when growth has begun.

The use of corn gluten to mulch and fertilize plants, will help prevent weeds from growing and using up nutrients needed for your garlic plants, and is a potent fertilizer for your plants. Apply this in early spring, before planting the garlic.

Growth usually starts in spring around March.

And will begin to bulb in June and July.

Corn Gluten

Braiding Garlic

Source

Garlic Braiding

Harvesting

When should I harvest my garlic?

You will want to harvest plants when the flowers have faded and the leaves begin to dry.

When the tops are drying the bulbs are losing the papery protection, don't wait for the entire top to turn brown or your garlic can rot.

The bulbs with all brown leaves have more cloves that separate from the bulb and tended to sprout faster.

If some of the leaves are still green, the bulbs' papery covers are more intact, keeping the cloves from splitting and sprouting so soon.

When harvesting you will want to dig the bulbs up, not pull them out.

After you have them dug up, they will need to dry .

You can hang them to dry or try your hand at braiding..

BRAIDING GARLIC

How do I grow Garlic ?

Growing garlic is easy to grow and is believed to be one of the elixirs of youth, the Pharaohs of Egypt ate garlic to prevent growing old.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)