This document provides information on growing great garlic. It discusses the different parts of garlic that can be harvested including bulbs, braids, scapes, and scallions. It covers the stages of garlic growth and how it is day-length sensitive. The document provides details on planting, spacing, weed control, and harvesting garlic. It emphasizes the importance of establishing good root and leaf growth before bulbing starts to maximize bulb size.
Tamarack Garlic Farm grows and sells gourmet garlic seed and eating garlic. Buy Garlic on our site and have it shipped to you. Tamarack Garlic Farm is a great place to purchase garlic seed stock and garlic for eating. Our garlic is grown in the USA.
How to succeed at growing lettuce year-round, using season extension techniques as needed. How to choose between different types and different varieties of lettuce, to suit your conditions. How to deal organically with pests and diseases. Many ways to protect lettuce from cold weather. Tricks to germinate and grow lettuce in hot weather. How to schedule lettuce plantings for a continuous supply, with no gaps or gluts.
Production of late fall, winter and early spring vegetable crops Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to grow vegetables for harvest in late fall, though the winter and in early spring, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region, zones 6-7. Includes a list of suitable crops; details about growing them; how to schedule sowings to meet desired harvest dates; extending the season with row cover, low tunnels and high tunnels (hoophouses); mitigating the challenges of hot and cold weather, and protecting crops from insects. Hoophouse information includes minimizing nitrate accumulation in leafy greens, and planning for the Persephone days when the daylight length is shorter than 10 hours. Crops include lettuce, spinach, cooking greens, Asian greens, and roots. Includes information on winter hardiness, crop spacing, yields, and successful efficient planting techniques. Names some favorite varieties. The goals are to help growers farm the back end of the year, and increase earnings and the local food supply, while reducing the likelihood of beginner errors.
Producing Asian Greens 2017 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Detailed information for market and home growers. Many varieties of tasty, nutritious greens grow quickly and bring fast returns. This session covers production of Asian greens outdoors and in the hoophouse. It includes tips on variety selection of over twenty types of Asian greens; timing of plantings; pest and disease management; crop requirements and harvesting.
Growing sweet potatoes from start to finish Pam Dawling 2016Pam Dawling
How to grow your own sweet potato slips, plant them, grow healthy crops and harvest good yields. How to select suitable roots for growing next year’s slips. How to cure and store roots for top quality and minimal losses
Tamarack Garlic Farm grows and sells gourmet garlic seed and eating garlic. Buy Garlic on our site and have it shipped to you. Tamarack Garlic Farm is a great place to purchase garlic seed stock and garlic for eating. Our garlic is grown in the USA.
How to succeed at growing lettuce year-round, using season extension techniques as needed. How to choose between different types and different varieties of lettuce, to suit your conditions. How to deal organically with pests and diseases. Many ways to protect lettuce from cold weather. Tricks to germinate and grow lettuce in hot weather. How to schedule lettuce plantings for a continuous supply, with no gaps or gluts.
Production of late fall, winter and early spring vegetable crops Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to grow vegetables for harvest in late fall, though the winter and in early spring, particularly in the mid-Atlantic region, zones 6-7. Includes a list of suitable crops; details about growing them; how to schedule sowings to meet desired harvest dates; extending the season with row cover, low tunnels and high tunnels (hoophouses); mitigating the challenges of hot and cold weather, and protecting crops from insects. Hoophouse information includes minimizing nitrate accumulation in leafy greens, and planning for the Persephone days when the daylight length is shorter than 10 hours. Crops include lettuce, spinach, cooking greens, Asian greens, and roots. Includes information on winter hardiness, crop spacing, yields, and successful efficient planting techniques. Names some favorite varieties. The goals are to help growers farm the back end of the year, and increase earnings and the local food supply, while reducing the likelihood of beginner errors.
Producing Asian Greens 2017 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Detailed information for market and home growers. Many varieties of tasty, nutritious greens grow quickly and bring fast returns. This session covers production of Asian greens outdoors and in the hoophouse. It includes tips on variety selection of over twenty types of Asian greens; timing of plantings; pest and disease management; crop requirements and harvesting.
Growing sweet potatoes from start to finish Pam Dawling 2016Pam Dawling
How to grow your own sweet potato slips, plant them, grow healthy crops and harvest good yields. How to select suitable roots for growing next year’s slips. How to cure and store roots for top quality and minimal losses
How to grow garlic, control weeds, pests and diseases, know when to harvest and how to cure and store. How to produce garlic scallions, garlic scapes and green garlic. How to choose between varieties.
Basic Seedsaving for Beginners ~ herbskoolmtl
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110 ~
Hoophouse cool season crops 240 mins Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to choose which crops to grow from among those suitable for the cool seasons, including comparing the cold-hardiness of various crops. How to grow varied and plentiful winter greens for cooking and salads; turnips, radishes and scallions. How to plan so that your hoophouse is filled with productive food crops in the cool seasons. How to calculate how much to harvest and how much to plant. How to make maps, schedules, and month by month planting lists. How to achieve a good crop rotation, and smooth seasonal transitions. How to get continuous harvests and maximize use of the valuable space, including transplanting indoors from outdoors in the fall. How to pack more in with succession planting, interplanting and follow-on cropping. The workshop includes tips to help minimize unhealthy levels of nitrates in cold weather with short days. Late winter uses can include growing bare-root transplants for planting outdoors in spring.
Optimizing your asian greens production Dawling 2019Pam Dawling
This workshop covers the production of Asian greens, outdoors and in the hoop house, for both market and home growers. Learn to grow many varieties of tasty, nutritious greens easily and quickly, which will bring fast returns. This workshop includes tips on variety selection of over 20 types of Asian greens, the timing of succession planting, crop rotation in the hoop house, pest and disease management, fertility, weed management, and harvesting.
How to grow and store crops which tolerate cold weather. How to protect crops from cold weather with rowcover, Quick Hoops, caterpillar tunnels and hoophouses (high tunnels). Dealing with Persephone days, nitrate accumulation in leafy greens, the effect of ethylene on stored vegetables
Winter-kill temperatures for vegetable crops,
Hoophouse in fall and winter Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to use the hoophouse in fall and winter to grow varied and plentiful greens for cooking and salads; turnips, radishes, scallions. How to get continuous harvests and maximize use of this valuable space. Tips to help minimize unhealthy levels of nitrates in cold weather. Growing bare-root transplants for planting outdoors in spring. Growing early warm-weather crops. Transplanting indoors from outdoors in the fall.
Kentucky Residential Rain Gardens ~ University of Kentucky
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110 ~
Storage vegetables for off season sales 2017 90min Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to succeed with growing storage vegetables for sale in the off-season. Learn the cold-hardiness of various vegetable crops, how to predict the weather, methods to protect your crops from cold temperatures, various storage methods, and an introduction to hoophouse growing in winter.
Growing sweet potatoes from start to finish 2020 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Everything you need to know to be self-reliant in sweet potatoes or to grow them for sale. Includes starting your own slips, planting them, caring for the plants, harvest, saving seed stock for replanting next year, and curing and storing the sweet potatoes.
Sequential planting cool season crops in a hoophouse 2019 pam dawlingPam Dawling
Which factors should you consider when planning how to keep your hoophouse filled with productive food crops in the cool seasons? Suitable crops, cold-hardiness, deciding which crops to grow, deciding how much to harvest and how much to plant, crop rotation, mapping and scheduling, month by month planting, seasonal transitions, packing more in with succession planting, interplanting and follow-on cropping.
Hoophouse in spring and summer 2017 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Food, Seeds, Cover Crops, Cut Flowers, Soil Building.
In colder zones growers use the summer hoophouse for all those hot weather crops that struggle outdoors! But if you can already grow melons, limas, okra outside, you may be left wondering how to make good use of that valuable covered space when it’s hot. As well as heat-loving crops, this presentation discusses cooling the hoophouse; using the opportunity to tackle soil-borne diseases or improve the soil and other uses like seed drying and storage.
How to grow garlic, control weeds, pests and diseases, know when to harvest and how to cure and store. How to produce garlic scallions, garlic scapes and green garlic. How to choose between varieties.
Basic Seedsaving for Beginners ~ herbskoolmtl
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110 ~
Hoophouse cool season crops 240 mins Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to choose which crops to grow from among those suitable for the cool seasons, including comparing the cold-hardiness of various crops. How to grow varied and plentiful winter greens for cooking and salads; turnips, radishes and scallions. How to plan so that your hoophouse is filled with productive food crops in the cool seasons. How to calculate how much to harvest and how much to plant. How to make maps, schedules, and month by month planting lists. How to achieve a good crop rotation, and smooth seasonal transitions. How to get continuous harvests and maximize use of the valuable space, including transplanting indoors from outdoors in the fall. How to pack more in with succession planting, interplanting and follow-on cropping. The workshop includes tips to help minimize unhealthy levels of nitrates in cold weather with short days. Late winter uses can include growing bare-root transplants for planting outdoors in spring.
Optimizing your asian greens production Dawling 2019Pam Dawling
This workshop covers the production of Asian greens, outdoors and in the hoop house, for both market and home growers. Learn to grow many varieties of tasty, nutritious greens easily and quickly, which will bring fast returns. This workshop includes tips on variety selection of over 20 types of Asian greens, the timing of succession planting, crop rotation in the hoop house, pest and disease management, fertility, weed management, and harvesting.
How to grow and store crops which tolerate cold weather. How to protect crops from cold weather with rowcover, Quick Hoops, caterpillar tunnels and hoophouses (high tunnels). Dealing with Persephone days, nitrate accumulation in leafy greens, the effect of ethylene on stored vegetables
Winter-kill temperatures for vegetable crops,
Hoophouse in fall and winter Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to use the hoophouse in fall and winter to grow varied and plentiful greens for cooking and salads; turnips, radishes, scallions. How to get continuous harvests and maximize use of this valuable space. Tips to help minimize unhealthy levels of nitrates in cold weather. Growing bare-root transplants for planting outdoors in spring. Growing early warm-weather crops. Transplanting indoors from outdoors in the fall.
Kentucky Residential Rain Gardens ~ University of Kentucky
`
For more information, Please see websites below:
`
Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ~
`
Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ~
`
Free School Gardening Art Posters =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ~
`
Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ~
`
City Chickens for your Organic School Garden =
http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ~
`
Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide =
http://scribd.com/doc/239851110 ~
Storage vegetables for off season sales 2017 90min Pam DawlingPam Dawling
How to succeed with growing storage vegetables for sale in the off-season. Learn the cold-hardiness of various vegetable crops, how to predict the weather, methods to protect your crops from cold temperatures, various storage methods, and an introduction to hoophouse growing in winter.
Growing sweet potatoes from start to finish 2020 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Everything you need to know to be self-reliant in sweet potatoes or to grow them for sale. Includes starting your own slips, planting them, caring for the plants, harvest, saving seed stock for replanting next year, and curing and storing the sweet potatoes.
Sequential planting cool season crops in a hoophouse 2019 pam dawlingPam Dawling
Which factors should you consider when planning how to keep your hoophouse filled with productive food crops in the cool seasons? Suitable crops, cold-hardiness, deciding which crops to grow, deciding how much to harvest and how much to plant, crop rotation, mapping and scheduling, month by month planting, seasonal transitions, packing more in with succession planting, interplanting and follow-on cropping.
Hoophouse in spring and summer 2017 Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Food, Seeds, Cover Crops, Cut Flowers, Soil Building.
In colder zones growers use the summer hoophouse for all those hot weather crops that struggle outdoors! But if you can already grow melons, limas, okra outside, you may be left wondering how to make good use of that valuable covered space when it’s hot. As well as heat-loving crops, this presentation discusses cooling the hoophouse; using the opportunity to tackle soil-borne diseases or improve the soil and other uses like seed drying and storage.
Matrice Distributie Articole-Clienti by TPC CONCEPTTPC CONCEPT
"Matricea Distributie Articole-Clienti" este un instrument extrem de util in performarea distributiilor complexe, adica cele care au un portofoliul extins de articole si de clienti. Pe baza acestei matrice TPC CONCEPT a dezvoltat programe de training adresata directorilor de vanzari, achizitii si stocuri.
Opowieści w Sieci – interaktywny storytellingJacek Szlak
Prelekcja na temat storytellingu, przy czym interaktywność rozumiana tu jest szeroko, choć w roboczym modelu komunikacji nie została ujęta informacja zwrotna ze strony odbiorców. Celowo: kto opowiada baśnie, chce być wysłuchany. Baśnie to nie dialog, nie powstają w trakcie konwersacji. Choć jest jeden wyjątek, który stanowił inspirację całej prezentacji.
Unlock the secrets of how to grow dill with this informative presentation. From seed to harvest, learn the essential steps, best practices, and expert tips for increasing vibrant and aromatic dill in your garden or indoor space. Explore the ideal growing conditions, soil requirements, watering schedule, and pest management strategies to ensure a bountiful harvest of this flavorful herb.
If you enjoy spicy foods, you should consider growing your own horseradish. Horseradish plants are easy to harvest and may be stored in the refrigerator for up to six weeks. This article will teach you how and when to harvest horseradish roots.
Growing and Preserving Your Own Fruits and VegetablesSherry Ellis
Reap the benefits of growing your own fruits and vegetables by learning how to plan and maintain a garden. You will also learn about which plants work together and which don't, and how to can and preserve the fruits of your labors, so they can be enjoyed year-round.
how to grow spinach from seeds - Homegrown OutletHomegrown Outlet
Discover the secrets to cultivating lush, vibrant spinach with our comprehensive presentation. Learn proven techniques and expert tips on how to grow spinach successfully, from seed to harvest. Whether you're a novice gardener or a seasoned green thumb, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and skills to cultivate a bountiful spinach harvest.
Growing Lettuce Year Round 90 mins 2024.pdfpamdawling
This presentation includes techniques to extend the lettuce season using rowcover, coldframes and hoophouses to provide lettuce harvests in every month of the year. The workshop includes a look at varieties for spring, summer, fall and winter. We include the pros and cons of head lettuce, leaf lettuce, baby lettuce mix and the newer multileaf types. Information will also be provided on scheduling for continuous harvests, growing conditions, including how to persuade lettuce to germinate when it's too hot, and the Asian greens used as lettuce in tropical climates.
You can grow onions or some of their relatives in every month of the year in the mid-Atlantic. As well as bulb onions and garlic, this workshop includes leeks, perennial alliums, scallions, garlic scapes, elephant garlic, shallots, pickling onions, and many unusual alliums. This workshop covers planting, caring for the crop, harvesting, storage (when possible) and saving seed stock for replanting.
Fill your hoophouses (high tunnels, polytunnels) all year ’round with productive crops. In this course you’ll learn how to decide which crops to grow—with an emphasis on vegetables—how much to plant and how much to harvest by making maps, schedules and crop rotation plans. We’ll discuss which market crops are best at various times of year—cold-hardy, early warm-weather and high summer crops—and consider less common crops, such as seed crops and flowers, and cover crops for soil improvement. Learn how to maximize the use of space by clever seasonal transitions, succession planting and follow-on cropping. The course will also provide strategies for managing challenges such as extreme temperatures, nitrate accumulation in leafy greens, soil-borne diseases, pests and nematodes, salt buildup, and maintaining soil organic matter.
Discover the secrets of how to grow carrots with our comprehensive guide. Learn essential techniques for successful carrot cultivation in your garden from seed to harvest. Explore soil preparation, planting depth, watering strategies, pest management, and harvesting tips. With clear instructions and helpful visuals, this presentation equips you with the knowledge and skills to grow bountiful, nutritious carrots right in your backyard.
Unlock the secrets of how to grow basil in this presentation. Explore essential tips from soil selection to nurturing, ensuring a bountiful harvest of aromatic basil leaves. Elevate your gardening skills and cultivate your vibrant basil garden with confidence.
Hoophouse cool season crops pam dawlingPam Dawling
Using a hoophouse (high tunnel, polytunnel) to grow a wide variety of cool season vegetable crops. Dealing with crop rotations, and seasonal challenges like snow and high nitrate levels in leafy greens, while caring for the soil.
Session two of the talk I gave in Pennsylvania on April 9th. This session covers season extension in the field as well as some warm season crops in the tunnels.
Rose cultivation practices, uses, variety, soil and climatic requirement, pla...Nischal Sapkota
Rose cultivation practices, uses, variety, soil and climatic requirement, planting, manuring, harvesting and post harvest and disease and insect control
Year round hoophouse vegetables. Pam DawlingPam Dawling
Which factors should you consider when planning how to keep your hoophouse filled with productive food crops all year? We consider suitable crops for various times of year: cold-hardy winter greens for cooking and salads; turnips, radishes and scallions; early warm weather crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers; high summer crops such as edamame, cowpeas, melons, sweet potatoes. We also look at less common ideas: bare-root transplants for planting outdoors in spring, seeds, flowers, and cover crops for soil improvement.
The workshop includes ideas on how to maximize use of the space, including transplanting indoors from outdoors in the fall, seasonal transitions, packing more in with succession planting, interplanting and follow-on cropping. Planning is an important part of success: deciding which crops to grow, deciding how much to harvest and how much to plant, crop rotation, mapping and scheduling. We also look at the challenges of low temperatures, nitrate accumulation, snow, soil-borne diseases, and the challenges of summer: high temperatures, bugs, salt build-up. Year-round use includes attention to caring for the soil: maintaining organic matter, and pest management including solarization.
Permaculture- Chicory Crop, Asteraceae family
Common chicory is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the dandelion family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Many varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons, or roots, which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and food additive.
Chicory root is primarily composed of inulin, a prebiotic that encourages the growth of healthy gut bacteria. Chicory is used for liver and heart health, constipation, swelling, and other conditions, but there is no good evidence to support its use. In foods, chicory leaves are often eaten like celery, and the roots and leaf buds are boiled and eaten. Chicory is also used as a cooking spice and to flavor foods and beverages.
1. Growing Great Garlic
Pam Dawling
Twin Oaks Community, Central Virginia
Author of Sustainable Market Farming
SustainableMarketFarming.com
facebook.com/SustainableMarketFarming
2. Garlic is a great
crop!
It’s not just bulbs!
Bulbs (and braids)
Garlic Scapes
Garlic Scallions
(shown here)
3. Stages of Growth –
Garlic is day-length sensitive
• No control over when garlic starts to make bulbs, only over how large and
healthy the leaves are when bulbing starts, and how large the final bulbs
can be.
• Bulbs start forming and no more leaf growth happens once day-length
exceeds 13 hours, with air temperatures above 68°F (20°C) and soil
temperatures over 60°F (15.5°C) as secondary triggers.
• 12 hours of daylight on the spring equinox. After that, the farther north
you go, the longer the daylength is. Northern latitudes reach 13 hours of
daylight before southern ones, but garlic does not start bulbing there at 13
hours because temperatures are not yet high enough. Temperatures cause
harvest dates to be earlier in warmer zones than in cooler areas at the
same latitude.
• It is important to establish garlic in good time so roots and leaf growth are
as big as possible before the plants start making bulbs. Small plants on the
trigger date will only make small bulbs!
4. Drying down
Hot weather above 91°F (33°C) ends bulb growth and drying down starts. It is
important to get plenty of good rapid growth before hot weather arrives.
Garlic can double in size in its last month of growth, and removing the scapes
(the hard central stem) of hardneck garlic can increase the bulb size 25%.
5. Avoid confusion
• Hardneck (with flower stalks or scapes, bigger
cloves, easier to peel, more cold-tolerant).
• Softneck (no scapes, easier to braid, stores
later, smaller cloves, harder to peel).
• Asiatics and Creoles sometimes have scapes.
6. Planting Time
• Fall-planting is best.
• 9 am soil temperature 50°F (10°C) at 4” (10
cm) deep. We plant in early November. If the
fall is unusually warm, wait a week.
• Softneck garlic can be planted in the very early
spring if you have to (reduced yields). Give
your seed garlic 40 days at or below 40°F
(4.5°C) before spring planting, or the bulbs will
not differentiate (divide into separate cloves).
7. Garlic emerges quickly in the fall
Roots grow whenever the ground is not frozen
Tops grow whenever the temperature is above 40°F (4.5°C).
8. Growing in Winter
• Get enough top growth in fall so garlic has a roaring start
in the spring, but not so much that the leaves cannot
endure the winter.
• If garlic gets frozen back to the ground in the winter, it
can re-grow, and be fine. If it dies back twice in the
winter, the yield will be lower than it might have been if
you had been luckier with the weather.
• When properly planted, garlic can withstand winter lows
of -30°F (-35°C).
• If planted too early, too much tender top growth
happens before winter.
• If planted too late, there won’t be enough root growth
before winter, and you’ll get a lower survival rate and
smaller bulbs.
9. Storing Seed Stock
• Store at 50-60°F (10-15°C). Don’t
refrigerate.
• Avoid temperatures of 40-50°F
(4.5-10°C) during the summer, as
this causes sprouting before you
are ready to plant.
• We have been carefully selecting
seed stock for about 20 years
now, and it does great.
• Cloves for planting should be
from large (but not giant) bulbs
and be in good condition.
10. How Much to Plant
• Yield ratio about 1:6 or 1:7 with
hardnecks.
• Makes sense - you are planting one clove
to get a bulb of 6-7 cloves. If you get 1:12
you are doing very well indeed.
• Divide the amount you intend to produce
by 6 to figure out how much to plant.
• Single rows, 8 lbs (3.6 kg) of hardneck or
4 lbs (1.8 kg) of softneck per 100’ (30 m).
• Large areas 750-1000 lbs/ac (842-1122
kg/ha) are needed for plantings in
double rows, 3-4” in-row (7.5-10 cm),
beds 39” (1 m) apart.
• 3-9 lbs (1.4-4.2 kg) per person per year in
the US.
11. Popping the cloves
Up to 7 days before planting
Photo from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
12. Popping the Cloves
• Twist off the outer skins, pull the bulb apart
• With hardneck garlic, the remainder of the stem acts as a handy
lever for separating the cloves.
• Don’t worry if some skin comes off the cloves – they will still grow.
• Try not to break the basal plate of the cloves (the part the roots
grow from).
Sort:
• good size cloves in big buckets,
• damaged cloves in kitchen buckets,
• tiny cloves in tiny buckets (planted for garlic scallions)
• outer skins and reject cloves in compost buckets.
13. Pre-plant Treatments
To prevent some pests or diseases
Stem and bulb (bloat) nematode:
1. Soak the separated cloves for 30 minutes in 100°F (37.7°C) water containing 0.1% surfactant (soap).
2. Or soak for 20 mins in the same solution at 120°F (48.5°C).
3. Then cool in plain water for 10-20 mins.
4. Or soak in 10% bleach water for 10 mins, warm water rinse.
5. Allow to dry for 2 hours at 100°F (37.7°C) or plant immediately.
Mites :
1. Separate the cloves and soak them overnight (up to 16 hours) in water. The long soaking loosens the
clove skins so the alcohol can penetrate and reach the hidden mites.
2. Optional additions to the water: 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda and 1 tablespoon of liquid
seaweed per gallon (around 8 ml baking soda and 4 ml liquid seaweed per liter).
3. Just before planting, drain the cloves and cover them in rubbing alcohol for 3-5 minutes, so the alcohol
penetrates the clove covers and kills any mites inside. Then plant immediately.
Various fungal infections:
1. Separate the cloves and soak them for 15-30 mins in water (optional extras as for mites).
2. Just before planting, drain the cloves and cover them in rubbing alcohol for 3-5 minutes.
Fusarium:
1. Soak the cloves in a 10% bleach solution, then roll them in wood ash (wear gloves). The wood-ash soaks
up the dampness of the bleach and provides a source of potassium.
2. Add wood ashes when planting, or possibly dust the beds with more ashes over the winter. (Use
moderation - don’t add so much that you make the soil alkaline.)
14. Crop Requirements
• Sandy or clay loam, very good
drainage, fertile soil, lots of
OM, P and K important.
• Rotation: at least five years
away from alliums.
• Full sun.
• pH of 6.0-8.4, with 6.8
optimum. Onion maggots
thrive if the soil is alkaline.
• Compost or soybean meal at
planting time. 30-60 #N/ac
• 1-2” (2.5-5 cm) of water per
week during the growing
season (not during the winter),
until the leaves start to yellow
and the bulbs start to dry
down, when irrigation should
be stopped.
15. When Foliar Feeding is Wasted
If your garlic reaches 4 leaves before winter, forget about foliar feeding
and side-dressing.
Reasons:
1. It provides no gain in yield if the soil had adequate fertility at
planting time.
2. Foliar fertilizers tend to run off the waxy near-vertical garlic leaves,
unless you add a good spreader-sticker (soap).
3. Foliar feeding (or side-dressing with compost or organic fertilizers)
is wasted after the fifth leaf, and certainly after the bulb starts to
enlarge.
4. In the South, spring is too late for foliar feeding, as garlic reaches a
four-leaf size before winter.
5. Don’t over-fertilize in the fall or growth will be too fast and tender
to survive cold conditions, and the storage life of the garlic will be
reduced.
16. Spacing
Give each plant 32 to 72 square inches (206 -465 cm2).
3” (7.5 cm) is too close. The shading of one plant by another reduces yield.
We like 5” (13 cm) spacing in the row, and 8-10” (20-25 cm) between rows, 4
rows in a 3.5-4’ (1-1.2 m) wide bed. That’s 40 in2 (258 cm2) each. We get
plenty of 2 ½ “ bulbs. Many growers plant at 6” (15 cm) in-row.
Double rows and drip tape - you can run a length of tape and plant one row
each side, with all plants 6” (15 cm) apart in all directions, and 40” (1 m) or
less between drip lines and the pairs of rows.
17. Planting depth
Depth: 1.5-2” (4-5 cm) of soil over the top of the
cloves in the South, and 3-4” (8-10 cm) of soil in the
north. Avoid planting deeper than necessary, as any
mold problems you have may get worse.
Planting depth in Michigan is 6” (15 cm). (Deeper
planting helps prevent too much top growth and
moderates the soil temperature.)
In Arizona, some growers set the cloves on the soil
surface, then cover with 6” (15 cm) straw. This makes
for a clean crop and an easy harvest.
18. Planting
• Hardneck - plant the right way up (pointy end up)! Hardneck cloves with
the points down suffer a 30% reduction in yield. Softneck cloves can be
planted any way up, so are easier for mechanical planting.
• Our method is to mark the bed with a row-marker rake, make furrows
with pointed hoes, then lightly press the cloves into the furrows at the
chosen spacing, using measuring sticks. After that we pull soil over the
cloves using regular hoes or rakes, and tamp the soil down with the back
of the tool.
• Some other growers who also plant by hand make a planting jig to make
four or more holes at a time in loose soil, rather than make a furrow. Plant
a clove in each hole and cover with the right depth of soil.
• If you can’t squat, or you are planting from the seat of a tractor, use a 3’
(1 m) length of pipe to drop the cloves into the furrows. Dropped from
that height, through a tube wide enough for the garlic to tumble end-
over-end, the cloves will land the way they need to be.
19. No-till Planting
There were trials at Virginia Tech to develop no-till planting for garlic,
planting in the fall into a frost-killed cover crop.
• Sorghum-Sudan hybrid, Lab-lab bean and Sunn hemp were planted
in the first week of August in raised beds.
• When frost had killed the cover crops (10/24) the beds were rolled
to flatten the crop residue
• Garlic cloves were planted 5-6” (14 cm) deep in holes made with a
soil probe. All plots were given organic fertilizers.
• Some were covered with thick straw, which was always beneficial.
Disappointing results - no-till caused a 32-44% bulb loss, with
Sorghum-Sudan by far the worst. So don’t re-invent the wheel.
Speculation - the cover crop residues tied up the available nitrogen.
20. No-till where oats winter-kill:
Sow oats 4 weeks before garlic-planting date. David
Stern in upstate New York successfully plants into
oats that have reached 6” (15 cm) tall. He cuts slots
through the oats with a disc-furrower and plants
the cloves in the slots. The oats continue to grow
until winter-killed, and they continue to protect the
garlic. Timing is obviously critical and site-
dependent. Can be harder to harvest from the
“turf-like” soil. Wireworms could potentially be a
problem, encouraged by grasses.
21. To Mulch or Not to
Mulch?
• Roll round bales of spoiled hay
over our beds immediately after
planting.
• Come back a couple of weeks later
and free any shoots trapped by
clumps of over-thick mulch.
• Leave it all alone until late
February,
• Start weeding (once a month for
four months).
• In the South organic mulches keep
the soil cooler once the weather
starts to heat up. It is harder to
add mulch after the garlic has
started to grow.
• Organic mulches will protect the
cloves from cold winter
temperatures, and frost-heaving to
some extent.
23. Garlic Scallions
Small whole garlic plants, pulled and bunched like onion scallions.
An attractive early spring crop.
• To grow garlic scallions, save the smallest cloves from planting
your main garlic crop
• Plant close together in furrows, dropping them in almost shoulder
to shoulder, just as they fall. Close the furrow and mulch over the
top with spoiled hay or straw.
• Plant these next to your main garlic patch, or in a part of the
garden that's easily accessible in spring.
• We harvest garlic scallions from early March, once they reach
about 7-8" (18-20 cm) tall,
• They last till May, unless we need to use the space for lettuce
seedlings.
• You may need to loosen the plants with a fork rather than just
pulling.
• Trim the roots, rinse, bundle, set in a small bucket with a little
water, and you're done!
• Some people cut the greens at 10" (25 cm) tall, and bunch them,
allowing cuts to be made every two or three weeks. We tried this,
but prefer to simply pull the whole plant. The leaves keep in better
condition if still attached to the clove.
• Scallions can be sold in small bunches of 3-6 depending on size.
24. Weed control is important
Weeds can decrease yield by as much as 50%.
Kill the spring cool-weather weeds, then kill the summer weeds.
25. Weed control methods
• Without mulch: cultivate fairly frequently. Use
tine weeders up until garlic is 6-8” tall. Then
hillers will deal with the between-row weeds and
some of the in-row weeds, but be careful not to
cover too much of the foliage as this reduces
yields.
• Take care when hoeing or cultivating and hand-
weeding. Keep the leaves in good shape.
• Each leaf damaged or removed will cause about a
17% yield reduction for that plant.
26. Vinegar Weeding
Useful in controlling broadleaf weeds, but has no effect on grass
weeds. It is possible to reduce labor by 94% using vinegar rather
than hand-weeding, so if broadleaf weeds are what you get, this
is a good solution.
2004 SARE Grant report by Fred Forsburg.
• 5 applications of 10% acetic acid vinegar spray during the
growing season.
• Start when the garlic is 18” (46 cm) tall
• Spray about every 10 days, from both sides of each row.
• Wear a mask and gloves, long sleeves and long pants, this
strength of vinegar is caustic.
• www.honeyhillfarm.com
27. Flame Growers who prefer not to mulch
Weeding need to deal with weeds sooner.
Colorado State Specialty Crops photo
• Flame-weeding can achieve as
good results as hand-weeding
using one-third of the labor.
• Can be used for relatively
mature garlic, but young plants
(four or fewer leaves) are too
easily damaged.
• Direct the flame at the base of
the plants, in the morning, when
the plants are turgid.
• Don’t flame-weed if you have
mulch!
28. Diseases
• The major diseases are mostly fungal: White Rot, Fusarium, Botrytis, Rust, Penicillium
Molds, Purple Blotch, Powdery Mildew and Downy Mildew. Use pre-plant clove treatments to
reduce these diseases. Bacterial soft rots are also sometimes seen. Remove isolated sick plants as
soon as you see them. Always remove garlic debris from the field at the end of the season, or till it
in and plant a non-allium crop. In summer, soil biological life is very active, and soil organisms will
quickly break down the debris.
• White Rot is most active below 75°F (24°C) and leads to yellowing and dying of older leaves,
tipburn, destruction of the root system and rotting of the bulb. This fungus can persist in the soil for
10 years, and requires assertive action to reduce the problem. A clever trick is to spray garlic extract
on the soil when the temperature is 60-70°F (15-21°C) and you have no garlic growing. The fungal
mycelium may grow and then die off in the absence of food. Several weeks later, garlic can be
planted and will escape the rot.
• Fusarium usually attacks plants that are under stress. (In our garden it is the plants on the
gravelly edge of the patch.) It grows during hot weather, with symptoms similar to White Rot, but
slower to develop. Fusarium produces small brown spots on the cloves, yellowed leaves and
stunted browned roots. The discoloration of the leaves spreads from the tips. The main organic
approaches to controlling Fusarium are good sanitation (and pre-planting treatments) as well as
fostering strong plant growth.
• Botrytis symptoms include “water-soaked” leaves, and can lead to bulbs rotting, sometimes
during storage. This fungus grows best (worst!) in warm wet weather. Good airflow during growth,
curing and storage, will reduce the chances of Botrytis problems.
• Rust shows up initially as small white flecks on the leaves, developing into orange spots.
Favorable conditions include temperatures of 45-55°F (7-13°C), high humidity but low rainfall, and
low light. Stressed plants are the most likely to be stricken. Infected bulbs may shrink, yellow and
die. Once again, good sanitation and rotations are the organic approaches.
29. Pests
• Pests include nematodes, thrips, onion maggots, cutworm,
armyworm, and mites. Weekly scouting is a good practice. Use pre-
planting treatments against nematodes and mites. Caterpillars can be
killed with Bt.
• Nematode infestations show up as distorted, bloated, spongy leaves and
bulbs, perhaps with brown or yellow spots. Top growth yellows and may
separate from the root system. Farmscaping (planting flowers to attract
beneficial insects that feed on pests) can work for thrips, which are on the
menu for lady bugs and minute pirate bugs.
• Beneficial nematodes can be effective against onion maggots; ground and
rove beetles, birds and braconid wasps all prey on some life stage of the
onion maggot. Rowcover can exclude the fly (mother of the maggots).
• Mites can eat the skins of the cloves, survive the winter and multiply all
spring long, seriously damaging or even killing your crop.
30. Garlic Scapes
Garlic scapes are the firm, round seed stems that grow from hard-neck garlic, starting to appear 3 weeks before
harvest, as the bulbs size up. If these are removed, the garlic bulbs will be easier to braid, if you want braids from
hardneck varieties. Scapes also make an early-season visually attractive crop. Contrary to ideas mentioned by some
sources, leaving scapes in does not increase the storage life of the garlic. Most people who remove scapes cut them
where they emerge from the leaves. We prefer to pull ours, to get the most out. We don't wait for the top of the
scape to loop around, as the scapes will have begun to toughen and reduce the final yield of the garlic. As soon as the
pointed caps of the scape have cleared the plant center, grasp the round stem just below the cap and pull slowly and
steadily vertically upwards. The scape emerges with a strange popping sound and you have the full length of the
scape, including the tender lower portion. Sometimes the scapes will snap rather than pull right out, but the
remainder of the stem can be pulled next time, when it has grown taller. We gather into buckets, with the scapes
standing upright, so we can put a little water in the bucket, and so that the scapes are aligned, easy to cut up. They
will store well in a refrigerator for months if needed. Late morning is a good time to pull scapes (or early afternoon).
The wound heals over in 15-20 minutes in the heat of the day, whereas otherwise it could drip for up to 24 hours,
increasing the risk of disease, and losing water from the plant.
We harvest scapes two or three times a week, for about three weeks in May. The crew always enjoys this job, partly
because it's a stand-up job, and partly because we encourage a friendly competition to see who can get the longest
scape of the day. This encourages everyone to perfect their technique too. Scapes can be chopped and used in stir-
fries, pesto, garlic butter, pickles and other dishes in place of bulb garlic. They can also be frozen for out of season
use. Searching the internet will reveal lots of recipes. Scapes sell in bunches of 6-10. One acre (0.4 hectare) of
hardneck garlic can produce 300-500 lbs (136-226 kg) of scapes.
Coloradp State University Specialty Crops photo.
31. Pre-harvest prep
• With hardneck garlic, scapes will start appearing about 3
weeks before the bulbs are mature. (Day-length as well as
accumulated degree days determines when scapes appear
as well as when bulbs are ready to harvest.) This is a good
time to be paying more attention to your garlic crop, and
what better way than walking through pulling scapes?
• Take the opportunity to remove any diseased plants from
the patch at the same time. Three weeks before the
expected harvest, remove the mulch to help the bulbs dry
down, and to prevent fungal diseases.
• In our rotation, the spring broccoli is usually next door to
the garlic, and we move the old garlic mulch to the broccoli
to top up the mulch there. It helps us stay on track with
getting the broccoli weeded too.
32. Determining when to harvest
Garlic is ready to harvest when the sixth leaf down is
starting to brown on 50% of the crop. See Ron
Engeland's Growing Great Garlic. The point is to have
five green leaves still on the plant, to provide the
protection of five intact skins over the bulb. Each leaf
corresponds to one wrapper on the cloves or
bulb, and as the leaf dies, so the skin rots.
Harvesting too early means smaller bulbs (harvesting
way too early means an undifferentiated bulb and lots
of wrappers that then shrivel up). Harvesting too late
means the bulbs may "shatter" or have an exploded
look, and not store well.
It is possible to take apart any small or shattered
bulbs and replant them immediately after harvest to
grow more scallions. They won’t start growing
immediately if the weather is really hot, they’ll just
stay dormant until cooler weather arrives.
Usually it's 6/7-6/14 for harvest of our main crop of
hardneck garlic, but it has been as early as 5/30, and
as late as 6/18.
33. Cut across hardneck garlic – airspaces
around stem show maturity
Music German Red
34. Mechanical Harvest
Colorado State Univesity Specialty Crops photo
Use a tractor-mounted
undercutter to loosen the
bulbs, or a root-harvester to
completely dig them up.
Sub-soilers, European leek
harvesting machines or
homemade undercutters
fashioned from an old snow
plow blade bent into a
rectangular shape, have all
been used.
35. Manual Harvest
• Use digging forks to loosen the soil –
lift, don’t pull. Stressing the necks
will not improve the curing.
• In drought years use overhead
irrigation the evening before, to
loosen the soil enough to harvest
without damage.
• Treat the bulbs like precious sun-
sensitive eggs! Bruised bulbs won't
store well, nor will sun-scalded ones.
It’s better not to wash them, as
drying is what’s needed. Shake off
the soil, without banging the bulbs.
36. Avoid cooking your garlic!
We harvest into buckets to keep the bulbs shaded. Others might use crates. If
it’s hot, get the garlic out of the field quickly, hang it up and get it drying,
(indoors!) Don’t let garlic get above 121°F (49°C) as it will start to cook.
37. Despite looking a lot yellower
than “5 green leaves”, this 2012
crop was not shattering.
38. Garlic harvest gets fast follow-up
Immediately after the harvest we till the old garlic
area and sow buckwheat and soy. We have about six
or seven weeks before we'll use these beds to sow
our fall carrots at the very beginning of August.
39. The indoor job of hanging the garlic
Setting garlic to cure to cure as it comes in from the field
is popular when it is hot outside. It
takes us several morning shifts to get
Pic of garlic drying on floor
our 4200 row feet (1280 m) of garlic
harvested and hung up.
Some growers tie the plants in loose
bundles of about 8-12 plants and
hang the bundles under cover. If you
can size the bunch so it ends up
around one pound (0.5 kg) in
weight, you may save yourself a task
later.
Whatever method you are using, get
the garlic spread out immediately.
Don’t leave it in plastic containers
where the heat and moisture will
incubate fungi!
40. Cure for 2-4 weeks.
We hang our garlic in nylon netting
around the walls of a barn. The netting
has a 2" (5 cm) diamond mesh.
Snowfencing (slats and wire, or the
plastic kind) can also be used to hang
garlic.
Or you can make horizontal racks, and
lay the garlic on top.
To braid softneck garlic, start braiding
within the first week of curing, before
the leaves become too brittle. You’ll also
need to clean your garlic.
41. Using netting
We thread a bulb in each
diamond, by bending the
tops of the leaves and
feeding them through the
space. We take a section of
netting and work upwards in
rows, back and
forth, covering the walls in
garlic. We use fans to move
the air, which you should
consider if your climate is
also humid.
42.
43. Snipping and Sorting
Test the curing garlic by rolling the
neck of a few sample bulbs
between finger and thumb. If it
feels dry, rather than moist, it's
ready.
Use scissors to cut off the roots
close to the bulb and the tops
¼ - ½ " (0.5-1 cm) above the bulb.
Some growers brush mud off with
toothbrushes. We find enough dirt
drops off during storage to save us
this tedious task.
44. Selecting seed garlic
Measure the bulbs and
assess which are good for
seed.
We save for seed all bulbs 2-
2.5" (5-7 cm) in diameter,
with an even shape and
cloves that are tight
together, not opening up.
Some growers use jigs with
two foam-lined battens
tapering towards each other
on a board to measure sizes.
Photo: Colorado State University Specialty Crops
45. Sorting garlic
Don’t just save all
the biggest bulbs
for seed - they
tend to be
uneven ("rough")
in shape and
quality, with
cloves of all sizes.
46. Storage
• Our seed garlic goes on a high shelf in the garden shed, at
quite variable ambient temperatures, and does fine until
late October or early November when we plant it. The
ideal storage conditions for seed garlic are 50-65°F (10-
18°C) and 65-70% relative humidity.
• Don’t refrigerate seed garlic - prolonged cool storage
results in “witches-brooming” (strange growth shapes),
and early maturity (along with lower yields).
• Storage above 65°F (18°C) results in delayed sprouting and
late maturity.
• The eating garlic is stored in a dry, coolish basement at 60-
70°F (15.5-21°C) over the summer. In late September we
move our eating garlic from the basement to the walk-in
cooler at 35-38°F (1.5-3°C) to make space available for the
winter squash. By this time most of the apples have gone
from the walk-in cooler, and there is no longer the problem
of ethylene emitted by the apples, which causes garlic to
sprout. Ideally they would never be in the same storage
space.
• At 32°F (0°C) it will store for 6-7 months.
• Avoid the middle temperature range of 40-56°F (4.4-
13°C), as this encourages sprouting. This is another reason
why we move garlic out of the basement in the fall –
temperatures there are dropping below 56°F (13°C).
57. Resources
Growing Great Garlic, Ron Engeland, 1991, Filaree Colorado State University Specialty Crop Garlic
Project,
ATTRA, Organic Garlic Production, specialtycrops.colostate.edu/scp_exp_demo/garlic_
attra.ncat.org/attra-
pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=29 2004_spce_flme_scpe.htm
The Garlic Seed Foundation, Sources for Seed
garlicseedfoundation.info An organization of
growers and eaters. Their website lists suppliers and Gourmet Garlic Gardens, gourmetgarlicgardens.com
resources, including the ARS Germplasm Resource,
which supplies small amounts of plant material to /index.htm 325-348-3049, 73 varieties
growers. They have an extensive library and
information on building your own harvesting
equipment. Filaree Farms, WA, filareefarm.com 509-422-6940,
over 100 varieties
Dr Gayle Volk’s Garlic DNA Analysis, garlicseedfound
ation.info/allium_sativum_DNA.htm Territorial Seeds, OR, territorialseed.com
800-626-0866, 27 varieties
Nematodes, garlicseedfoundation.info/bloat-
nematode-new-york.htm Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, VA, southern
garlicseedfoundation.info/images/nematode-cce.jpg
exposure.com 540-894-9480, 17 varieties
Gourmet Garlic Garden growing instructions, pests
and diseases, growing in the South, and more, Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, WA,
gourmetgarlicgardens.com/index.htm irisheyesgardenseeds.com 509-964-7000 or 509-
925-6025, 19 varieties
58. Growing Great Garlic
Pam Dawling
Twin Oaks Community Central Virginia
Author of Sustainable Market Farming
SustainableMarketFarming.com
facebook.com/SustainableMarketFarming
Editor's Notes
One and a half hour workshop, 2.30-4pm. Allow 30 mins questions.
Garlic is a great crop! Planting happens during the fall, a less busy time. Growing happens during the winter (very cheering). Scapes and scallions are available in spring, when other new crops are scarce. After the summer bulb harvest, the indoor work of curing and sorting is welcome. Bulbs store for sale for months.
Day-length exceeds 13 hours (4/10 at Twin Oaks, 38°N), For example, in Michigan, bulbing begins in mid-May. (temperatures are not high enough before then)In cooler regions, it is possible to plant garlic in spring, as the bulbing conditions are not reached until later in the year.Our garlic is mature in early June, or even at the end of May. It has less than 50 days in which to grow the bulb.
Hard neck: Rocambole and Asiatic types. Allium ophioscorodan.Soft neck: Artichoke, Silverskin, and Porcelain types. Allium sativum. Dr Gayle Volk did DNA finger-printing, found massive duplication.Music hardneck on the left, SilverwhiteSilverskin (softneck) on the right. Thanks to SESE for these photos.
Texas A&M: less than 85°F (29°C) at 2” (5 cm) deep. New Hampshire, mid-October. Areas with cold winters: two to three weeks after the first frost but before the ground freezes solid for the winter. Michigan: six weeks prior to the ground freezing, giving enough time for root growth only, to avoid freezing the leaves. California: January or February OK.
The clove you plant has the food supply to get growth started. Planting is done at a quieter time of year. It’s nice to have one of next year’s crops planted already.
In colder areas the goal is to get roots before the big freeze-up arrives, but not to make top growth until after the worst of the weather.
We keep our seed garlic on a high shelf in the shed June-November - conditions are perfect. To store bulbs over the winter, aim for 27°F (-3°C). If you are buying seed stock, buy from a supplier in a similar climate zone. Having said that, I’ll tell you that our hardneck garlic originally came from a bag of Chinese garlic bought at the wholesale produce market!
If you are growing for a CSA, you know how many people you are providing for, and can calculate the maximum to grow.If you love growing garlic, move to Korea, where each person reportedly eats 60 lbs (27 kg) of pickled garlic each year.At TO, we plant up to 140#hardneck and 40# softneck, 4240 row feet for 100 people. We harvest 650-1000 # hardneck and 200-275 # softneck.
Separate the seed garlic bulbs into cloves 0-7 days before planting. A good group activity. We often do this during our annual Crop Review meeting, when the crew meets to make notes on the past season.
If the basal plate breaks, the cloves are unusable for planting. I’ll rave on about garlic scallions later.
Many of us do nothing special with the cloves before planting. Some growers find they get better yields from treated cloves even if no problem was obvious.Anytime your garlic grows poorly and you can’t tell why, send a sample with the soil it’s growing in to your Extension Service to be tested for nematodes.
Northern growers may feed every two weeks in early spring until there are four leaves, if soil fertility is uncertain.
The spacing can be equidistant as in biointensive raised beds, or spaced rows with close plants. It’s the area that’s important. Colorado State University research: 3” is too close.The wide spacing is for very large bulbs (which might win ribbons at the fair, but might not give you the highest yield for the area). Some people have told us 5” is too close, but the bulbs don’t bump into each other at 5” spacing.In the Natural Farmer, Fall 1992, Grace Reynolds of Hillside Organic Farm in New York described how she converted a Cole one-row corn planter on the toolbar of her tractor to plant garlic. She attached a long tube to the planter and an angel food cake pan to the top of the tube. She set the tractor in crawler gear and walked behind it, dropping cloves through the pan into the tube. She also added a mark on the turning plate in the corn planter, dropping a clove down the tube each time she saw the mark, which made for regular spacing
Soil over the clove, ignoring the pointy extra skin – don’t worry about covering that =, unless crows would pull them out if you left any visible.A rolling dibble can be a useful tool. Can make one from a bicycle wheel (or two side by side), with rods or blocks to make divots at planting spots.Fred Forsburgin NY had designed a tractor-drawn planting platform. Can open furrows, then workers plant cloves in furrows through holes in floor of platform. Hillers on back cover the garlic.
(This seems surprisingly deep to me, and a slow method.)
Adding mulch later is more difficult than rolling bales across the bed, but if you have planted while it is still warm and want to allow the soil to cool before mulching, in order to prevent too much top growth before winter, this is an option. Myself, I would just plant later. If you plant huge amounts of garlic you will have to start planting earlier than ideal.In windy areas, can hold mulch down with cattle panels and rocks until garlic emerges.It is also possible to use thick rowcover to protect garlic over the winter, even a double layer of rowcover in very cold areas, whether or not you use mulch.
The visit to liberate trapped shoots also gives the chance to even out the mulch, covering any bare soil.Don’t wait too long – if you rolled really thick mulch you might never get 50% emergence!
You could plant your regular garlic patch with cloves at half the usual spacing and pull out every other one early. Think about quantities, though. If we double planted, we’d have over 7000 scallions, far more than we could use. The danger with double planting is stunting the size of your main crop by not thinning out the ones intended for scallions soon enough. They are chopped and cooked in stir-fries and other dishes. They are mostly green leaves at this point, although the remains of the clove can also be eaten. Hard-core garlic lovers eat them raw like onion scallions. If you do have more than you can sell in the spring, you could chop and dry them, or make pesto, for sale later in the year.Could also get garlic greens by planting whole bulbs – culled small bulbs?Haven’t tried this – could you transplant scallions in the spring if your main crop hit disaster? Probably only worthwhile for preserving heirloom varieties – yield would be low.
As with all alliums, removing weeds is important. Growers not using mulch will need to cultivate fairly frequently to deal with weeds., mechanically or manually.With mulch, hand weed.Flame-weeding and vinegar weeding are relatively new options.
For some years I was confused about which was the "sixth leaf," and I confess I was counting up instead of down.Keeping five intact skins on the garlic is a challenge in our humid climate, and because we are not shipping our garlic anywhere, it seems less crucial.
I also use a second method of deciding when to harvest: I pull 3 or 4 plants and cut the bulbs across horizontally and look at the center of the bulb. When air space becomes visible between the round stem and the cloves, it’s time to harvest.
We also use buckets because they can more easily be carried to our curing area, the upstairs of an old tobacco barn.Some growers sort in the field into small, medium and large bulbs (and compost material) and cure the three sizes separately.
In less hot climates, some people cure garlic outdoors, but ours would bake! In less humid climates, people don't need to pay as much attention to airflow as we do.
Yes, sometimes we have overloaded the netting and had the nails pull out of the walls! We try to start out by adding nails and rope to hold the netting up before we start harvesting.
A wall of garlic roots is quite a sight!
We put the seed bulbs in green net bags and the eating ones in red net bags ("Green for growing"). We also have a "Use First" category for non-storable bulbs, and compost buckets for all the tops and roots and any disasters. If we drop a bulb on the floor, we make it a "Use First" as the bruising would probably cause it to rot in storage. We weigh the filled bags for vanity reasons and to monitor the amount we are saving for seed.
We have marks on posts, chairs and fans around the barn, for people to measure the bulbs against. After a while people only measure the borderline ones, as they've developed a sense of the size.
We really value large cloves! We have been selecting our seed garlic in this way for many years now and have no trouble getting plenty of seed garlic, so once we have enough we stop measuring and selecting.
I hear that garlic can be stored for up to nine months at 27°F (-2.7°C), but I have not tried that myself. It does not freeze until 21°F (-6°C). Do not store peeled garlic in oil, as garlic is low in acidity and the botulin toxin could grow.
Thanks to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for these glamor shots of some of their garlic varieties
One and a half hour workshop, 2.30-4pm. Allow 30 mins questions.