It is time to plant the garlic

The nights are getting cooler and the rest of the garden is winding down. Not to worry my fellow gardeners, there is more to plant in the mid-Atlantic! Growing your own garlic is a long term project which only requires a small amount of effort in October and yields a treat of mellow garlic heads the following June. To remember how long to wait, keep in mind that growing garlic takes about 9 months, the typical length of a pregnancy.

Purchasing starter garlic will give you the best chance for success. I buy Spanish Roja garlic starters from Burpee Seed Company. It is a hard neck variety that tolerates the winter in this area. The flavor is milder than garlic you would find in the grocery store and works well in uncooked dishes such as pesto or hummus. Just break apart the bulbs and plant individual cloves in rows 4-5 inches apart.

Within weeks, the cloves will sprout and the greenery will remind you where you planted the garlic! The greens will survive the winter even in the snow. In the spring, the greens will start to grow again and garlic scapes will emerge as the first sign of the health and success of your garlic crop. (see this post to learn about scapes)

The garlic is ready for harvest in mid to late June when the outer green shoots start turning brown. Dig one plant up to check the size of the bulbs. If the bulb is very small, wait a few weeks before harvesting the rest, unless it is a very wet spring. In that case, the garlic should be harvested sooner. Wet soil will rot the bulbs.

Do not wash the harvested bulbs. Once the soil is dry on the garlic, brush it off. Harden the garlic for storage by letting it dry in a cool dark space for a few weeks. Freshly harvested garlic can be eaten right away. Drying just prolongs the life of the bulbs so that you can enjoy them all summer long!