Growing garlic, in my opinion, is the easiest thing to grow. It requires very little attention, rarely fails and is easy to preserve for use the whole year. It is perfect for me because of it’s “plant it and forget about it” qualities. If you are new to garlic then you’ve come to the right place. If you are new to gardening, then garlic is the perfect way to get your feet wet. I am going to break things down so it’s super easy and yes…fun too!
1. Plant in the fall In colder climates like Northwestern PA where I live, the most important thing to remember about garlic is that it needs to be planted in the fall. I know some folks say spring is fine as well, but I’ve tried spring planting and was very unsuccessful. Fall planting is definitely the way to go. I put mine in the ground late September or early October. I even planted as late as November once and they still did wonderfully. Just watch your frost dates and try to plant a few weeks before your first frost. For my southern friends, I do believe February/March is the best time for you to plant.
2. Decide how much to plant We eat a lot of garlic and I give it away as gifts for the holidays (which people love!) so I like quite a bit. I usually plant about 6-7 heads. Each head can be broken into about 10 cloves so remember each clove you plant will give you a head of about 10 cloves. My first year I planted 10 heads worth of cloves…ha, do the math! I was up to my neck in garlic!!
3. Plant your garlic I like to plant a 4 x 8 foot bed of garlic and I can fit quite a few heads in there. They don’t need a ton of room just plant about 4″ apart and about 2″ deep. Make sure you have nice seed garlic, garlic from a farmers market or your own home grown. A good tip is to break up the heads a few days before you plant and let them sit. Keep the skins on. When it is time to plant, place them in the ground with the root end facing down and cover with soil.
4. Prepare your garlic bed for hibernation I am sure there is a more technical term for this, but I like hibernation. I cover my garlic with a heavy layer of hay or straw that is leftover from the barn. After that I place a layer of protection down, usually a piece of fencing works fine. This works in two ways, it keeps my chickens deterred and keeps the hay from blowing away. I let that fencing sit all winter and only remove in the spring.
5. Don’t do a thing until spring! Easy peasy! I don’t even water mine, I just let it sit. Then come spring you will see green shoots emerging from the ground. That is a wonderful site for sure. At this point you may want to remove some of the mulch if you used quite a bit, but make sure your cold weather is done before you do this. I like to leave some of the mulch down to deter weeds.
6. Water as needed Now is when you need to pay attention. Water as needed, weed when necessary and remove the fencing when the stalks are large enough that animals will leave them alone.
7. Harvest Depending on what type of garlic you plant will determine your harvest time. Usually, I am picking my garlic around the end of July. The best way to determine if your garlic is ready to harvest is by looking at the shoots. (the part sticking out of the ground) When they start to turn brown and droop it’s time. I will dig one up to see if it’s ready, if so the rest come up as well, if not I will wait a week or so and try again. Note…garlic does not like to come up easy so don’t think you can just pull them out, they must be dug up with a shovel. Be prepared for a good workout! Also it is important to place your shovel well out from the head. If you dig in too close you will slice the head and loose some of your cloves. Always go deeper than you think necessary and you should be fine.
8. Let it dry I dry my garlic in two steps. First I lay it out in a single layer in a dry place outside, but not in direct sunlight. After a few days to a week, it is time to shake off the excess dirt. Gather your garlic in clumps of 3’s and 4’s to hang in the barn where I have pretty good air circulation. I let them remain hanging for a good week or two. The barn smells like an Italian restaurant! Read my post on How To Cure Garlic for more details.
9. Cut, clean, store Once the garlic is completely dried it’s time to get them ready for use. I cut the stalks off close to the head, remove the outer layers of husk leaving a few papers on to keep them protected and fresh. I also cut the roots off completely and store them in mesh orange bags I keep throughout the winter. This is also the time I will pull a few of my best heads out for next years planting. Just store your seed garlic in an open brown bag until you are ready to plant.
10. Can some to use later I usually keep about 10 heads in my pantry. The garlic lasts easily a couple of months. For the rest of the garlic I like to can it in a boiling vinegar solution. I store it in my refrigerator and use as needed. This works really well and the garlic will last up to a year this way. When ready to use, just give it a quick rinse to remove the vinegar. And no, the vinegar does not soak into the garlic. I was afraid it would when I first tried it, but there was no vinegar taste at all. You can find my post on Preserve your own Garlic here for more detailed instructions.
And there you go, 10 super easy steps to growing garlic. There is nothing more satisfying than eating fresh produce from your garden year round. Garlic by far is one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Want more? You can find all of my Gardening posts here!
Thank you for such an easy to understand article on growing garlic !
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":0,"text":"Thank you for such an easy to understand article on growing garlic !","type":"post"},{"date":"Tue, 20 Sep 2016 04:48:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|611104573","html":"My pleasure!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":1,"text":"My pleasure!","type":"post","parentId":0},{"date":"Thu, 22 Sep 2016 12:58:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Delci @ Heritage Club Stables says","diffbotUri":"post|3|-1808139254","html":"Wow! This is great information! I just planted my first garlic this year! I didn’t know you could can it like that! That is great to know! Thank you for sharing at the Our Simple Homestead Hop I’m pinning this to read again next year!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":2,"text":"Wow! This is great information! I just planted my first garlic this year! I didn’t know you could can it like that! That is great to know! Thank you for sharing at the Our Simple Homestead Hop I’m pinning this to read again next year!","type":"post"},{"date":"Thu, 22 Sep 2016 15:36:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|2019718783","html":"Hello!
I am so glad you found the information helpful. I have been canning my garlic that way for 3 years and it has been working great! Just remember to keep it in the fridge :). I just love having garlic ready to use from my garden year round, I know you will love it too!
I am so glad you found the information helpful. I have been canning my garlic that way for 3 years and it has been working great! Just remember to keep it in the fridge :). I just love having garlic ready to use from my garden year round, I know you will love it too!","type":"post","parentId":2},{"date":"Fri, 23 Sep 2016 14:26:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Ewerton Frederico Silveira","authorUrl":"https://www.facebook.com/Bahamutgod","diffbotUri":"post|3|-1171714829","html":"
thank you for the explanation on how to grow your eyes, I have done this only without the protection over it.
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":4,"text":"thank you for the explanation on how to grow your eyes, I have done this only without the protection over it.","type":"post"},{"date":"Wed, 28 Sep 2016 21:54:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Sandra M. Morris","authorUrl":"http://www.mittenstatesheepandwool.com","diffbotUri":"post|3|-1692900740","html":"Thanks for joining us at Simple Homestead Hop!
This will be my feature post tomorrow
This will be my feature post tomorrow","type":"post"},{"date":"Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:18:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|-713696025","html":"
Sandra,
Thank you so much!! How exciting and fun
Tracy Lynn
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":6,"text":"Sandra,Thank you so much!! How exciting and fun
Tracy Lynn","type":"post","parentId":5},{"date":"Thu, 29 Sep 2016 08:35:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Michelle","authorUrl":"http://seekingjoyfulsimplicity.com","diffbotUri":"post|3|35636285","html":"
Last year was my first time growing garlic, and it is so easy and so satisfying! Everyone should plant at least a little garlic, don’t you think? Shared and pinned to spread the word!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":7,"text":"Last year was my first time growing garlic, and it is so easy and so satisfying! Everyone should plant at least a little garlic, don’t you think? Shared and pinned to spread the word!","type":"post"},{"date":"Thu, 29 Sep 2016 10:24:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Michelle","diffbotUri":"post|3|723600170","html":"Thanks so much for sharing! I ADORE garlic and if Yankee candle had a garlic candle I would probably buy it!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":8,"text":"Thanks so much for sharing! I ADORE garlic and if Yankee candle had a garlic candle I would probably buy it!","type":"post","parentId":7},{"date":"Sat, 01 Oct 2016 22:32:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Michelle","authorUrl":"http://midlifeblogger.com/magnolia-blossom-tendril-pea/","diffbotUri":"post|3|-811297872","html":"I just planted my garlic about a week ago, so your article is very timely. Thank you for all the great tips! I look forward to making some garlic powder. I love garlic, and it’s a special treat to make some homemade bread and slather it with garlic. Yum! I’m glad I saw your link on the blog hop!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":9,"text":"I just planted my garlic about a week ago, so your article is very timely. Thank you for all the great tips! I look forward to making some garlic powder. I love garlic, and it’s a special treat to make some homemade bread and slather it with garlic. Yum! I’m glad I saw your link on the blog hop!","type":"post"},{"date":"Wed, 05 Oct 2016 08:46:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|443060393","html":"Hi Michelle!
I have never tried making garlic powder, I will definitely have to look that up!
I have never tried making garlic powder, I will definitely have to look that up!","type":"post","parentId":9},{"date":"Wed, 05 Oct 2016 04:41:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Jean says","diffbotUri":"post|3|520886613","html":"
Thanks for ways on planting garlic . I am eager to follow for new guides on how to be successful on garlic gardening. .its fun and exciting activity in home. .
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":11,"text":"Thanks for ways on planting garlic . I am eager to follow for new guides on how to be successful on garlic gardening. .its fun and exciting activity in home. .","type":"post"},{"date":"Wed, 05 Oct 2016 08:44:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|-158378013","html":"Hi Jean,
Yes, garlic is by far my favorite thing to plant and grow!
Yes, garlic is by far my favorite thing to plant and grow!","type":"post","parentId":11},{"date":"Tue, 01 Nov 2016 09:14:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Bea says","diffbotUri":"post|3|-1031258586","html":"
Hello – I notice you don’t mention removing the flower head in the spring…do you remove it or not? Thanks. Hoping to plant today!
","pageUrl":"http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/","id":13,"text":"Hello – I notice you don’t mention removing the flower head in the spring…do you remove it or not? Thanks. Hoping to plant today!","type":"post"},{"date":"Tue, 01 Nov 2016 09:25:00 GMT","humanLanguage":"en","author":"Simple Living Country Gal says","diffbotUri":"post|3|1913659187","html":"Hi Bea,
Yes, I do remove the flower (or scapes) in the spring. I know some do not, however, I have found by removing the scapes the plant’s energy goes into the bulb making it bigger and helping it to mature faster. I will add that to my post, thanks for reminding me!
Original article and pictures take http://simplelivingcountrygal.com/growing-and-harvesting-garlic-in-10-easy-steps/ site
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