If you follow my Instagram or Facebook platforms, then you know I absolutely love to plant garlic. In fact, it’s one of my favorite vegetables to grow in my gardens.
My mom started growing garlic a few years ago and she gave me some bulbs to try — and ever since, I’ve been hooked. I love that garlic is planted in the late fall, harvested in the summer, and I can use the cloves all winter.
I find garlic to be relatively easy to grow — until it isn’t. 😉 Case in point: this year. I had a terrible garlic crop — the plants never really developed scapes and although the bulbs looked pretty normal when I dug them up, they were definitely smaller. It was my first ever garlic fail! I can’t say for sure why I failed with this particular crop, but I have a feeling I didn’t plant really good quality garlic bulbs – and perhaps my soil wasn’t amended with enough of the right nutrients before I planted.
When do you plant garlic?
You plant garlic a week or two after the first hard (killing) frost in your area. For me, that typically means in mid-October. (I am in Zone 4 in Minnesota.)
Where do you purchase garlic?
I like to purchase my garlic from a local nursery that sources from a Minnesota garlic farm. Or if that’s not possible, I plan ahead and order from a Minnesota garlic farm online – like Plum Creek Garlic. (Plum Creek Garlic ran out of garlic to sell by late August so you really do need to plan ahead!)
What garlic varieties do you plant?
There are literally hundreds of garlic varieties! I like to plant ‘Music’, ‘Deerfield Purple,’ and ‘Georgian Crystal’ — and this fall, I am also trying ‘Inchelium Red’. These varieties are hardy for Minnesota and all are hardneck varieties except for Inchelium Red, which is a softneck.
Plum Creek Garlic has some great information about varieties here.
What’s the difference betweeen hardneck and softneck garlic?
The farther north you plant, the easier it is to grow hardneck garlics and those varieties are more reliable; the farther south you plant the easier it is to grow softneck garlics.
My local nursery sourced garlic from a Maple Plain, Minnesota farm and the staff there recommended I give Inchelium Red a try, even though it is a softneck. It’s definitely fun to experiment a little each year with a different variety!
How do you plant garlic?
I generally follow the instructions from the University of Minnesota Extension:
- I tilled up my garden bed and added a 10-10-10 fertilizer to prep the soil.
- Be sure to separate individual cloves a day or two before planting.
- Plant cloves in rows, six inches apart.
- Plant cloves pointed side up, with the base of the clove two to three inches from the soil surface.
- Cover beds with three to four inches of leaf or straw mulch to prevent fluctuating temperatures during the winter and early spring, and to help control weeds. (I have also covered my garlic with cocoa bean mulch instead of leaves, which seems to work just as well.)
Once planted and mulched, you can let winter set in and play the waiting game.
Oh and don’t forget to label your garlic if you plant multiple varieties! In full transparency, I have not been good about doing that until this fall. I bought these slate plant labels and a white chalk marker, and I am so happy with how cute these look! (I also took a photo of the order — just in case the chalk marker comes off during the winter months, which I’m assuming it probably will. I can just pull out the photo in the spring and re-label!)
When spring arrives and you spot your garlic leaves shooting up out of the soil, you can remove the mulch, if you wish.
Water your garlic bed as needed, aiming for about an inch of water per week. You’ll also want to cut the “scapes”, which are the curly shoots that show up a month or so prior to harvest.
You’ll begin harvesting when the lower leaves turn brown and when half or slightly more than half of the upper leaves remain green. (You can also dig up one plant to test it to make sure it’s ready.)
How do you cure garlic?
After you harvest, put the plants in a warm, dry, airy place for 3-4 weeks to cure. I hang mine up to dry in our garage.
After the curing process, cut both the shoots and the roots close (and inch or so) to the bulb. I store my garlic in a wicker basket in my pantry.
How long does garlic last?
It will last for many months as long as it is well cured. You can also save garlic cloves from one crop to the next. Keep your biggest bulbs for planting the next year!
That’s basically it. None of this is difficult or complicated. I would say the key is to make sure you are getting your garlic from a reputable source – local, if possible. (And be sure to plant your garlic before the snow flies! I almost didn’t get mine in the ground because winter decided to arrive early in Minnesota.)
I hope this garlic guide is helpful. If you have any questions or any tips to add, please drop them in the comments.
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