A collection of our experience, some advice from neighbors, and techniques gleaned from books primarily, Growing Great Garlic by Ron L. Engeland. Over time the garlic taught us a lot about what it likes and what it doesn’t. It’s been fun figuring it out.
General Information
Growing
How to Grow Garlic
Preparing the bed
Garlic likes lots of sun and loose, loamy soil (like most plants!) If your soil has a lot of clay (as ours does) or is very sandy, add as much compost as you can. We like to plant in mounded rows. Garlic doesn’t like “wet feet” and we find that mounding the rows helps with drainage.
Garlic is a heavy feeder and does well in nutrient rich, pH neutral soil.
Storage
Keep your bulbs in a dark, cool dry place before planting, but not in the refrigerator. Most refrigerators maintain an ideal temperature for sprouting garlic; it’s better to have the garlic sprout after you plant it.
Garlic should be planted 2-3 weeks before the first hard frost; in Northern regions this is usually early November. In more moderate climates, wait an extra 2-3 weeks. At our location we have been planting in mid-December; although we get some hard frosts and at least several good snowstorms in the winter, the ground doesn’t freeze beyond the first ¼ inch or so. The important thing is that the garlic has a chance to establish its roots before a hard freeze sets in.
Planting
When you are ready to plant, break the bulbs up into individual cloves. Leave the paper on (although if you lose the paper along the way you can still plant the clove). Try not to knock off the bit of rough growth on the bottom called the plate. It’s where the roots will be growing from. When you break the bulb up a little piece of plate should be left at the bottom end of each clove.
Larger cloves are preferred because it is thought that they provide more nutrients for root growth. When planting varieties where the bulbs are made up of both large and small cloves, we generally plant the large ones and save the small ones for cooking.
Plant the garlic 6 to 8 inches apart, 3-4 inches deep.
Caring
At the first hard frost, we like to cover the garlic with a fluffy layer of straw to prevent the bulbs from freezing and thawing as the temperature fluctuates during the winter. The straw should be removed promptly in the spring when the garlic sprouts. We move it between the rows to help with weed suppression. A light mulch around the plants of straw or grass clippings is okay but don’t let the mulch touch or restrict the stalks.
Keep the soil moist continuously so that the garlic can continue to get larger, up until the last 2 weeks before harvesting (digging the garlic up).
The garlic will develop scapes (long green flower stalks) about late mid-season. These should be removed to promote bulb development. They can be snapped off or nipped. If left on, they curl and form seeds that can be planted; they will develop into a single clove the first year which then can be planted like any other clove. When removed promptly, the scapes are tender and tasty and can be used in the same ways in cooking as you use garlic cloves.
Harvesting
When the lower leaves of garlic die back, it’s time to harvest. At this point there should be around 5 green leaves left on the stalk.
We use a pitchfork or a broad fork to loosen the soil. Be careful not to nick the bulbs. Pull firmly but gently so the stem doesn’t break off. We keep the garlic in the shade as we gather it, then move it to a covered, breezy dry location. (Depending on the weather, we sometimes need to provide the breeze with fans). We remove the dirt, bunch the garlic in groups of ten, and hang it up with the bulbs on the bottom. When it’s dry, we cut it down, cut the stalks short and trim the roots. We arrange the bulbs loosely in boxes and keep them in a cool, dry and dark place until it’s time to eat them or plant them.
Further reading
There is a lot of information out there about growing garlic; people do a lot of different things you might find useful. Our go-to reference is Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmer by Ron L. Engeland
How to Grow Shallots
Shallots like what garlic likes: sun, good drainage, rich soil and good compost. We plant them in the fall when we plant our garlic.
Unlike garlic, they need to be planted shallow with the pointy tip just above the ground and the roots on the bottom. And they only need to be 4 inches apart.
When you see the hollow green stalks get yellow at the tips, it’s time to gently remove some soil from around the tops. This helps with ripening. When the leaves have died all the way back, it’s time to dig them out. They can be dried initially in the sun (for a few days if possible), or just dried in a cool, dark, breezy place. Don’t hang them up like garlic. The bulbs need to have the roots on the top. Alternately they can just be dried on a table or a screen.