Garlic has many well known health benefits, it’s a natural antibiotic and good for the heart and circulation system, but did you know that it can be healthy for your garden as well? Used as a companion plant, and if it is planted near roses and raspberries, garlic will improve the growth and health of your garden plants.
Garlic also deters some beetles and aphids, it is easy to grow and each clove you plant will produce a full head of garlic which can have 8 to 20 cloves per head.
To get started planting garlic first purchase the garlic variety of your choice. Watch out for garlic bought from grocery stores because it often has antisprouting chemicals added to it, so be sure to buy your garlic from a garden centre or online from a site that sells garic for planting.
Planting your garlic
Decide where you will plant your garlic. You could plant in a raised bed or pots if you do not have good soil, or if you live in a wet climate. Good soil for garlic means loamy soil with a pH of 6.5 to 7.0. Composted manure for essential nutrients incorporated into soil a few weeks before planting can be helpful. If you are planting your garlic directly into your garden soil, plant it in rows of 10 to 12 inches wide and alongside your companion plants if you are using garlic to help cut pests and diseases in your garden.
Timing is important bigger bulbs will be produced if you plant in the autumn and let it grow and mature until the following summer. If you haven’t planted yet and it is already springtime you can still go ahead and plant, but naturally you will get smaller bulbs. Since garlic bulbs like cool weather, the earlier you can plant the better.
Garlic is not very susceptible to diseases, but as with any plant, it does need good air circulation. If the weather where you are is particularly cold, add more mulch a month after planting to protect from extreme temperature fluctuations.
When growth appears in late winter, pull back the mulch and begin monthly applications of an organic fertilizer such as blood meal or fish emulsion. Then stop fertilizing in mid to late spring and mulch again as summer approaches to stop them drying out.
Harvesting your garlic
It takes around 100 days for bulbs that were planted in the spring to mature. Harvest between early June and mid-August depending on the weather.
Stop watering the garlic about two weeks before you want to harvest it. You can tell that garlic is ready to harvest is when the leaves on the lower half of the plant turn brown. To harvest you dig up the bulbs rather than pulling them up to prevent damage to the outer skins.
Before washing them, let them cure in a dry, well ventilated location out of direct sunlight for three days. Once the foliage is dry, clean the bulbs by either wiping or peeling away the outer husk and then trim the tops to 1 inch and the roots to 1/2 inch.
Storing the garlic
To store the garlic bulbs place them in mesh bags, or on braided strings, in a dark, cool place. In this way garlic can keep up to three months, but do not refrigerate.
Have fun growing your own garlic!
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