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Posted By: Johnna garlic tips, anyone? - February 18th, 2007 at 06:44 AM
Need good basic knowledge about garlic-growin'. I just planted a clove in a pot and it's growing! What now? ~ I'm a first timer. confused
Posted By: johnCT Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 19th, 2007 at 12:15 PM
http://www.farm-garden.com/growing-vegetables/garlic
Posted By: tkhooper Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 19th, 2007 at 12:47 PM
That is a fantastic article. Thankyou for sharing it John. The only thing I would add is that my per person chart suggests at least 6 plants per person. For a yield of between 30 and 40 cloves. That gives you enough to plant for the next year and for use. I love garlic.
Posted By: Susan F. Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 19th, 2007 at 11:54 PM
I would have never thought to grow garlic in a pot!!! This is the first year that I do not have any of my own fresh garlic. We moved last year and somehow there was no time to prepare a garden!! Garlic should be planted in the fall-covered over well--I used compost, then about 8" of hay. It was in Vermont-zone 4. In the summer, when the "flowers" (the scape) grows, they should be removed to keep the plants strength for the bulb. Garlic is ready to harvest when you see some of the leaves droop and turn brown. If the weather is not freezing yet, they can stay in the ground a little longer. They cannot be removed by pulling, like radishes. I used a narrow shovel to gently loosen the soil and lift them out. The article was very good about drying the bulbs. You should not use garlic from the supermarket for planting. If you can get some that was grown locally, that is best. Otherwise, order some from a nursery like Burpee. Always save some of your own garlic to plant in the fall. It will get bigger every year!! Good luck!!
Posted By: tkhooper Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 20th, 2007 at 02:33 PM
I got garlic seeds from a member so this is there second year in the ground. I'm really looking forward to a fall harvest. Although mine are planted a little close together. Do you think when the grounds dethaws that I should try transplanting them father apart?
Posted By: Susan F. Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 20th, 2007 at 07:59 PM
tk--I have never heard of garlic seeds-so good luck!! I would not move them. At the worst, they will just be smaller than you expected. Make sure to save some of the cloves to plant in the fall--the heads will grow bigger every year!!
Posted By: Johnna Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 20th, 2007 at 10:22 PM
Well, two mistakes thus far. 1. planted clove from store, 2. planted during winter. But I thought I would just give it a shot. See how it goes. But so far, it's ok. I planted it in a pot only b/c I don't have a garden yet. This will be my first year and I don't have anywhere planned out yet. I know I have to get going on that very soon, though!!
Posted By: PAR_Gardener Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 21st, 2007 at 07:02 PM
Johnna,

It's not a "mistake" to plant a clove from the store. The article documents the most common/best practice for growing garlic. Your method is just "unconventional." As a matter of opinion, what you did was a great cheap way to experiment with growing garlic. Some might consider it a "mistake" because you can grow varieties with much better flavor than store bought garlic.

As far as the other "mistake" goes, you got it to grow so good for you. One year, I just got too busy to plant my garlic in the fall. I didn't want to lose this variety which I had grown for several years, so I put cloves into deep cells, and put the cells outside in March. After the garlic sprouted, I transplanted them to the garden in May. Talk about unconventional! I didn't get a bumper crop, but I got enough garlic to eat and I'm still growing that same garlic variety years later.
Posted By: SpringFever_dup1 Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 25th, 2007 at 07:07 PM
I put cloves into deep cells, and put the cells outside in March.

What are deep cells? Duh I missed out on planting it in the fall .. :rolleyes: So much for my Salsa from MY garden!...
Posted By: Amigatec Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 25th, 2007 at 08:49 PM
I went to Walmart last fall and bought 2 heads from the produce dept, planted them and they are coming up.

I can't find Garlic bulbs in the fall that are grown for planting.
Posted By: SpringFever_dup1 Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 25th, 2007 at 09:04 PM
Good point Pat I don't think I seen them at the store so I forgot about it!!
Why in the fall... Is there a reason? Duh
Posted By: Amigatec Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 25th, 2007 at 09:21 PM
So they go dormant in the winter and make cloves. These store bought garlic made it through all the snow and ice and are looking good. About 8" tall now.

I also have a package of garlic I bought from the garden dept as well, and will plant those this fall.
Posted By: tkhooper Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 26th, 2007 at 01:30 PM
Well when the gound dethaws I'll have to dig up one of the garlic seeds just to see what it looks like after the first year. I'm assuming it should look like a clove but what do I know lol.
Posted By: PAR_Gardener Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 26th, 2007 at 04:07 PM
SpringFever,

When you buy plants from the nursery, they come in pots or plastic cells; 1 plant to a cell, and 6 cells are sold together. Am I making sense? Well, I have several trays where the cells are 6" deep. These are not your typical cells.

One of the reasons for planting garlic in the fall is because it is one of the first things to sprout. Spring planting isn't practical because the ground would be too waterlogged, and possibly still frozen to get the timing right. The other reason is that the cold stimulates root growth. So I put the cloves (seeds) into the "deep" cells to give the root enough room to grow.

If that doesn't clear things up, I'll try to post a picture later.
Posted By: PAR_Gardener Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 26th, 2007 at 04:21 PM
Amigatech and Tk,


And just for clarification: garlic seeds are the individual cloves of garlic. Each clove will grow into a bulb (with multiple cloves) in one year (fall in '06 to late summer '07 for example). Now most garlic will produce a scape or garlic flower. As the garlic matures, baby garlic will appear at the top of the scape. If you plant these bublets (as I like to call them), the first year will yield a garlic ball, and 2nd year will produce a bulb with multiple cloves. It takes time, but you can really increase your garlic crop without spending a lot of money. The bublets are edible, so I just use them as fresh garlic since you can pick them before the bulb is ready to be dug up.

As far as garlic "seed stock" goes, if you order from a catalog, they will always ship in the fall since garlic is harvested in the late summer time frame, cured and then planted in the mid to late fall. I like to plant mine in October. If you have a farmer's market, they will probably have fresh garlic in the fall, and its the perfect place to pick up some flavorful garlic for your garden.

To help you pick here are some very basic descriptions:

Hard neck varieties are easier to peel, very strong flavored, but don't keep well (up to 6 months depending on variety.)

Soft neck varieties are what you make those garlic braids out of. Their flavor isn't as rich as hard neck varieties, but they still have a place because they will keep for up to a year. They are also hard to peel.

What you typically buy in the grocery store is a variety of soft neck known as silverskin. So you can grow the garlic you buy in the store, and like I said in a previous post, it's a cheap way to learn how to grow garlic, as speciality garlic is much more expensive.
Posted By: Susan F. Re: garlic tips, anyone? - February 26th, 2007 at 09:50 PM
PAR--Great description of the garlic background!!!! It is really not expensive to grow garlic--you only have to buy it once. Then keep some of the smaller bulbs that you dig up to plant in the fall. And do it every year!! The bulbs will get bigger every year.
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