growing garlic... I finally got my chance to plant my garlic this Sunday. I had planned on getting my garlic at the Common Ground Fair back in September like I do each year, but we actually ended up missing the Fair for the first time in ten years. I couldn't find any planting garlic anywhere around here, so I turned to the web and found a great variety at thegarlicstore.com.
I planted hardneck this past summer and loved the shelf life of the bulbs. I'm still partaking in garlic harvest back in August. I grew Music last year, but in a quest for larger cloves, I'm testing out Siberian hardneck. I'm also planting a patch of softneck, Early Red Italian. This is an artichoke-style of garlic with layers of cloves.
Don't forget to be on the lookout next summer for the garlic scapes. They are absolutely delightful. They taste like a garlicky green bean. You'll need to be trimming these off anyway from the plant in order for the bulb to fully develop so why done dine in delight.
6 comments:
I would be interested to hear what these two varities taste like and how they yield. I just grow garlic that I bought from a farmers market, not idea what the variety os, but would like to try others.
This is great! I just planted garlic for the first time ... and would really be interested in trying some more varieties if it works out for me. I hope to have me some scapes! (I keep calling them skypes - ha). AND as always, your photographs are absolutely beautiful. Thanks!
A garlic afficionado. I'm impressed. I know there is an art to garlic growing, but I've never explored it. Keep sharing with us.
How does it work? Do you just plant bulbs?
INFO ON PLANTING GARLIC...
Garlic is super easy to plant. Plant your garlic in the fall, preferably in October. I planted last year in November and was fine. Try to get seed garlic to plant. I was late on the take this year, but you can always order some bulbs ahead of time at Johnny's Select Seeds or FedCo Seeds. Hardneck vs. softneck, it's all your choice. Hardnecks are better keepers and have fewer, but larger, cloves. Softnecks can be braided into those fetching garlic braids.
Separate the bulbs into cloves. Now for the planting part, make sure your soil is loose of clumps. Then plant each clove 1-2" deep (I just push down until the top of the soil meets my knuckle). Position the clove root side down and pointy side up. Plant 6" apart. Cover with soil and mulch. We used shredded leaves last year. That Spring as we raked them back we were greeted with happy little garlic shoots.
A WORD ON GARLIC SCAPES...
After that, the garlic pretty much maintains itself with the help of a little watering. If you are growing hardnecks, take note that midway through the summer, you may see your garlic bolt. It will go from growing straight up to having a seed sack form on top of the main stem. As it bolts, the stem will contort itself into a circular curve. Snip off this stem at the portion where it starts to distort. This is called the scape. Now don't throw it out. Rather sauté the scapes in a little olive oil, garlic, crushed red peppers, and sea salt for a wonderful dish.
hi Deborah! i'm really interested to see which type of garlic i like growing better. right now i am probably biased toward the hardnecks. i like the larger clove, easy peeling, and of course the scape factor. but i'm looking forward to the taste tests next summer.
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