Greetings everybody,
It is that time of year again. Autumn. And that means it is time to plant garlic.
We only plant Hardneck garlic and the variety we plant is called "Music". Hardneck garlic has a good keeping quality and it has the bonus of getting those wonderful garlic scapes which we love as they are so delicious.
Here is my method for planting garlic. It is really very simple.
You need to start with a bed that is completely free of weeds. Garlic absolutely hates to grow with any weed competition so this is a very important step. We are planting into brand new raised beds but I still filled them and let them sit for a while so I could clean off any weeds that did germinate. Rake the bed nice and smooth.
I plant my garlic in rows which are 10" apart. I find that this allows me to get in there with a hoe to get at whatever weeds appear. I simply mark those rows down the length of the bed making sure the spacing remains correct. I use a piece of an old shovel handle that had broken off to quickly push through the soil to make the shallow furrow but of course you can use whatever you have handy.
Next is to separate all the cloves from the heads. I purchase certified garlic from a grower that I trust. In my case that happens to be Vesey's from P.E.I.
I have never been disappointed with my purchases from them and they absolutely stand behind their products.
I plant the cloves 6" apart and simply use an old yardstick to measure and keep them the correct distance.
Once they are all sitting in the correct spots, I simply poke them down into the soil. They should be approximately 2" down. Do not plant them too deeply.
After they are all planted and the surface soil is smoothed again I cover the entire bed with straw for winter protection. The soil in your beds should not be left uncovered to be exposed to the elements over the winter. You can choose any number of things to cover them but I often use straw.
So there you have it. Your garlic is all tucked away in the garden ready to burst into growth in the spring. I planted 3 pounds of garlic which translated into 210 individual cloves. With the correct spacing, that required 2 1/3 of my raised beds. Although the garlic will stay in these beds for a large part of the growing season I will still be able to get a quick crop in there after they are harvested.
That is all from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy your day. Cheers.
It is that time of year again. Autumn. And that means it is time to plant garlic.
We only plant Hardneck garlic and the variety we plant is called "Music". Hardneck garlic has a good keeping quality and it has the bonus of getting those wonderful garlic scapes which we love as they are so delicious.
Here is my method for planting garlic. It is really very simple.
You need to start with a bed that is completely free of weeds. Garlic absolutely hates to grow with any weed competition so this is a very important step. We are planting into brand new raised beds but I still filled them and let them sit for a while so I could clean off any weeds that did germinate. Rake the bed nice and smooth.
I plant my garlic in rows which are 10" apart. I find that this allows me to get in there with a hoe to get at whatever weeds appear. I simply mark those rows down the length of the bed making sure the spacing remains correct. I use a piece of an old shovel handle that had broken off to quickly push through the soil to make the shallow furrow but of course you can use whatever you have handy.
Next is to separate all the cloves from the heads. I purchase certified garlic from a grower that I trust. In my case that happens to be Vesey's from P.E.I.
I have never been disappointed with my purchases from them and they absolutely stand behind their products.
I plant the cloves 6" apart and simply use an old yardstick to measure and keep them the correct distance.
Once they are all sitting in the correct spots, I simply poke them down into the soil. They should be approximately 2" down. Do not plant them too deeply.
After they are all planted and the surface soil is smoothed again I cover the entire bed with straw for winter protection. The soil in your beds should not be left uncovered to be exposed to the elements over the winter. You can choose any number of things to cover them but I often use straw.
So there you have it. Your garlic is all tucked away in the garden ready to burst into growth in the spring. I planted 3 pounds of garlic which translated into 210 individual cloves. With the correct spacing, that required 2 1/3 of my raised beds. Although the garlic will stay in these beds for a large part of the growing season I will still be able to get a quick crop in there after they are harvested.
That is all from me for today. Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy your day. Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment