Those of you who know me well know that my crop-of-choice is garlic. I love growing garlic, I don’t know why. I think the plant is cool, I love digging them up in July to find out how big they are, I love the reaction people give me when I tell them I just planted 80 heads of garlic. I just like growing garlic.
And it’s a great crop to grow because it doesn’t take a lot of space or time. They can go 5 inches away from each other, so you can grow a lot in a little space. I just put 80 plants in a 5’x4’ space.
In September or October you dig a hole, you plop an individual clove in the ground, you cover it up. When it sprouts, you mulch it. That’s about it for the next 5 months. In May some varieties will put up a flower stalk; you cut that off. Then, about 2 months later you dig them up. Watering here and there
when you need to. That’s it.
And there is a HUGE number of varieties out there from all over the world. Most come from the cold regions of Asia or Europe, but there are varieties from South America, Korea and Japan, Greece and Italy, and the Pacific Northwest. This year, I’m growing 10 varieties.
Applegate, Siberian, Kettle River Giant, Music, and Shantung Purple are all varieties I’ve grown for years and have had good luck with. Two or three years ago I harvested 2 heads of Siberian that were as big around as my ankle, I kid you not.
I’m also growing some newer varieties this year. Garlic is a crop that will acclimate its self to your area, so if you grow some in year 1 and then replant some it will do better in year 2. I had planted the following varieties last year and they showed promise, so I’m growing them again this year: Romanian Red, Inchelium Red, French Tarne, Chinese Pink, Transylvanian.
I didn’t order Transylvanian last year, TheGarlicStore.com sent me a head of it as a freebie 'Thank You' gift. Here is a picture of the head they sent me. Yes, that is indeed a coffee cup beside it.
So stay tuned! And put in some of your own! It is great fun.
And it’s a great crop to grow because it doesn’t take a lot of space or time. They can go 5 inches away from each other, so you can grow a lot in a little space. I just put 80 plants in a 5’x4’ space.
In September or October you dig a hole, you plop an individual clove in the ground, you cover it up. When it sprouts, you mulch it. That’s about it for the next 5 months. In May some varieties will put up a flower stalk; you cut that off. Then, about 2 months later you dig them up. Watering here and there
when you need to. That’s it.And there is a HUGE number of varieties out there from all over the world. Most come from the cold regions of Asia or Europe, but there are varieties from South America, Korea and Japan, Greece and Italy, and the Pacific Northwest. This year, I’m growing 10 varieties.
Applegate, Siberian, Kettle River Giant, Music, and Shantung Purple are all varieties I’ve grown for years and have had good luck with. Two or three years ago I harvested 2 heads of Siberian that were as big around as my ankle, I kid you not.
I’m also growing some newer varieties this year. Garlic is a crop that will acclimate its self to your area, so if you grow some in year 1 and then replant some it will do better in year 2. I had planted the following varieties last year and they showed promise, so I’m growing them again this year: Romanian Red, Inchelium Red, French Tarne, Chinese Pink, Transylvanian.
I didn’t order Transylvanian last year, TheGarlicStore.com sent me a head of it as a freebie 'Thank You' gift. Here is a picture of the head they sent me. Yes, that is indeed a coffee cup beside it.So stay tuned! And put in some of your own! It is great fun.
3 comments:
What a huge head... of garlic!
I can't wait to see your work!
Jody,
Thank you for posting this! I have never planted garlic before but wanted to start this year. I order 3 heads of German Extra Hardy from Johnnyseeds.com, should be getting them soon. I thought I would start small for now and if it works out, I will plant more next year.
I've never tried German Extra Hardy. I would also suggest Music to you, I've had good luck and heard it does really well through New York and New England. Good luck!
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