Garlic goes in the ground

I'm giving a program at the Cottage this afternoon on planting garlic.

These are the things to remember:

* Plant in mid-October and harvest in mid-July -- from Columbus Day to Bastille Day.

* Use hardneck garlic purchased at a COOP or natural foods store, the Internet, or a farmers' market. Hardneck garlics have a central stem; upside down, the stem looks like a tiny umbrella after the cloves are removed.

* Avoid Gilroy garlic, or softneck garlic. It has smaller cloves that taste like sulphur and that may have been treated to retard sprouting.

* Prepare the soil by making raised beds or berms. Add compost or other organic soil amendments.

* Break apart the bulbs of garlic into cloves. Plant cloves, pointed end up, two inches deep in rows 8 to 12 inches apart.

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Garlic is hardy in our harsh winter climate. You can mulch or not; the garlic will make an initial growth of roots in the fall and will spring up in the spring. If your soil is adequate there is no need to fertilize. If you decide to do so, early spring is the time. Later fertilizing will promote plant size not bulb size.

Garlic is ready to harvest when the double curve at the top of the plant, the scape, has straightened out and is pointing toward heaven. Check weekly after the Fourth of July for maturity: the thick, fleshy covering of the bulb will thin and the cloves will begin to show their individuality under the covering. Dig the bulbs up carefully to avoic nicks. Trim the roots and cut the stems to 18 inches. Bundle and store in the basement or other cool, dry place.

Use the bulbs with gladness.

After choosing your planting stock, trim the tops of the garlic plants to one inch and store the bulbs by variety in brown lunch bags or cardboard boxes, in the basement or a cool stairwell.

Links:

http://thegarlicstore.com/index.cgi/INDEX.HTML

Note: garlic growers accept orders during the spring and summer, and they ship the garlic after September 1st. Cost is in the range of $10 per half-pound. Order early if you have favorite varieties that tend to sell out.

Local prices begin at $6 per pound or there-abouts. Local stock has a proven ability to grow in our region; however, garlic is just plain tough and probably most varieties will do just fine. I rarely have crop failures of any varieties that I have grown.

I've been growing garlic for more than 10 years and usually try to plant several varieties, local and distant. My available space is 100 to 200 square feet of raised beds; my usual harvest is 10 ro 20 pounds of garlic, which lasts the two of us until January. My average cost for this size harvest is $40 for planting stock.

Recipes (see Garlic is Life by Chester Aaron):

* Cut tops of bulbs and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Wrap in foil and cook at 350 degrees F. until soft. Use on bread or in recipes. Roasted garlic is smooth and sweet, with almost none of the pungent tone of fresh garlic. We especially like to roast garlic this way when using our smoker or grill. This is a good option if the heat and bite of fresh garlic is not to your liking.

* Cut a few cloves of garlic in half. Remove skins. Toast bread, drizzle with olive oil, a little salt. Rub the garlic on the toasted bread until it disappears. This is wonderful with a pot of green tea.

Other books:

A Garlic Testament: Seasons on a Small New Mexico Farm by Stanley Crawford.

Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers by Ron L. Engeland.