Planting Garlic Bulbs
What is the benefit of planting garlic bulbs?
There are many reasons for planting your own garlic.
The reason for planting garlic bulbs in your own garden is the same as growing your own tomatoes or fruit trees. There is a huge variety when it comes to garlic beyond what you can find at the grocery store, and
chefs and home cooks seek out heirloom varieties.
What are the different types of garlic bulbs?
There are two main types of garlic: Hardneck and Softneck varieties.
Softneck garlic bulbs are what you typically find at the supermarket. They have papery skin, moderate flavor and a long storage life. Softneck bulbs produce more cloves per bulb than Hardneck varieties. Their long, soft stalks are often braided before curing.
Hardneck garlic produces cloves with a more robust flavor that is prized in cooking. Hardneck bulbs also produce a central flowering stalk, called a scape, which is also edible. This results in fewer cloves per bulb, as well as a shorter shelf life.
Elephant Garlic is technically not garlic, but a related species that behaves similarly to hardneck garlic and has a much milder flavor.
When should you plant garlic bulbs?
Garlic bulbs are best planted in the Fall before the ground freezes. The ideal time for northern Utah is mid-to-late October, but as long as the ground is workable, you can plant garlic into November and even December. You can plant Garlic in the Spring, but fall planting is recommended for larger bulb growth. Garlic also needs to go through a process called vernalization, an exposure to cold temperatures that allows it to grow individual cloves.
How do you prepare garlic bulbs for planting?
Separate your cloves: Unlike vegetables grown from seeds, garlic is reproduced via single cloves. To get the cloves ready for planting, separate them out, leaving as much of the papery skin intact as possible. Select the largest cloves for planting and use smaller, thinner cloves for use in the kitchen–bigger cloves will produce bigger bulbs when planted. If any get damaged, set them aside for cooking.
Optional – Soak your cloves: Though it is not absolutely necessary, some garlic growers like to soak their cloves in various solutions before planting. There are two types of soaking practices with different purposes.
- Sanitizing solution: Isopropyl alcohol or even vodka to kill off any microorganisms.
- Fertilizer solution: Gardeners may also choose to soak their cloves in a fertilizer solution, to give them nutrients. This is often a fish emulsion or kelp meal with water and baking soda. You can soak them for a few hours or overnight, butler them dry out again before planting.
How deep should garlic bulbs be planted?
In cold climates, you should plant garlic about 3”-4” deep and 6” apart. Place the flat rooting side down and the pointy end upward.
When do you harvest garlic?
