garlic planting 101

time to get that garlic in the ground!

Just as I put the farm “to bed” for the year, ready to relax and put my feet up after a long growing season, I don’t really have the luxury to *totally* relax, as I already have to be planning + planting for NEXT year’s crops. It’s a beautiful (and at times, vicious) cycle that’s inherent to farming and gardening, and it can be hard to live in the present when you’re constantly thinking 3, 6, 9, or 12+ months ahead about your growing calendar.

But if I’m being honest, I also love that farming + gardening requires a certain amount of hope-filled anticipation for the future, as we prepare for a fresh start every season, when we have another chance to try again.

Speaking of planning ahead, NOW is the time to get garlic in the ground for next season, so today I’m going to dig into all things growing garlic!

A few notes about growing garlic…

• My rule of thumb for most climates around the US is to plant garlic between Halloween and Thanksgiving (you don’t want the ground to be so cold that it’s frozen, but you also don’t want to plant too early and risk getting too much early green growth, which could get damaged by freezing winter temperatures).

• You don’t need a lot of space to grow garlic, which makes it a great option for small home gardens. BUT keep in mind that garlic has a long growing season (plant in the fall, harvest in June/July) – so if you have limited bed space, just be mindful about where you plant garlic, because you won’t be able to plant anything else in that space until it’s harvested in the summer months.

• To help control weeds over garlic’s long growing season, we plant them into landscape fabric – though you definitely don’t need to do that if you’re growing a small amount of garlic in your home garden (just make sure you keep your bed well-weeded)! PS - here’s an in-depth video tutorial about using landscape fabric. And a quick pro tip… we use a $10 creme brulee torch to burn the holes in our landscape fabric.

Keep reading for a full tutorial on the different types of garlic and how to plant it!

Head of garlic (L), Cloves of garlic for planting (R)

TYPES OF GARLIC

• Hardneck garlic produces a stiff stem that grows up through the center of the bulb. Compared to softneck varieties, they tend to have a sharper flavor, with more variation in flavor among the varieties. They are also hardier than softneck, so they’re the best option for growing in cold climates. This is the variety that produces garlic scapes that need to be pulled (and then enjoyed!) in early summer before the garlic is harvested.

• Softneck garlic doesn’t produce a stiff central stem. Softneck garlic is the best choice for regions with mild winters, it has a more mild flavor than hardneck garlic, and it's the type to grow if you want to make beautiful garlic braids.

• Elephant garlic resembles a giant head of garlic and, indeed, it does belong to the same genus as other types of garlic (Allium). However, it isn't a "true" garlic but rather is more closely related to the leek.

HOW TO PLANT GARLIC