Fall means a lot of things for gardeners, and one of the most exciting is that it's time to plant some garlic! We're going to walk through EVERYTHING you need to know about growing this delicious crop.
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0:20 Intro
Garlic is so easy to grow, and it tastes SO MUCH better than what you get at the store, plus you can get different varieties and flavors. But you want to keep an eye out for some common mistakes.
0:51 Sourcing Garlic Seed & 3 Things To Keep In Mind
Right from the get-go, growing garlic is a little different than most other crops. The garlic seed that you plant is a garlic clove. You just break up your bulb, take a clove, and stick it in the ground! When it's ready to harvest, you can let it cure, and then use some in the kitchen and some in the garden.
Of course, you can buy garlic from the store and plant that. However, there are some cons to doing that. To start, it's just plain ol' garlic. You aren't going to get to have any of the fun and unique flavors. On top of that, it won't be certified disease-free. Also, there's no telling how fresh it is. It's possible that it was processed months ago and is starting to dehydrate (which harms germination rates).
3:25 Planting Garlic
Garlic is super easy to grow! It doesn't take up much room at all. This makes a great crop for everyone to grow, even balcony gardeners with just a few pots. All you need is good soil and moisture control. We plant it in full sun to get the largest bulbs possible.
Before you put your cloves in the ground, take a few minutes to prep the bed. I like to add some sifted compost on top, and this helps retain moisture as well as provide nutrients. As a root crop, you want to break up the soil a bit to create a planting area as well as give it room to grow. Simply stick it in with the pointy side up, and give it a good watering.
In 1-2 weeks, you will start to see some sprouts breaking the surface of the soil! If you have really poor soil, you can amend it with an organic liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion.
Watering & Harvesting
The soil should remain moist for the next several months until you turn off your irrigation about 6-8 weeks before you harvest. That dry period allows the papers to dry out, protecting the garlic from rotting out.
While small, garlic does need quite a long time to grow. These will grow from September all the way until July. Give it at least 240 days. A common mistake is that people harvest it too soon. When the leaves fall over and the plant looks like it's dying out, you DON'T WANT TO HARVEST. This is when you turn off the water and leave it for another several weeks.
The curing process is really important. You want to place your garlic in a well-ventilated area in the shade.
11:08 Vernalization
When you get your seed garlic, you want to place your garlic in the fridge for 30 to 60 days if you live in zones 9 or 10. This helps ensure the garlic will grow because you have signaled the change of season to the plant. This tricks the plant but is key to successfully growing garlic.
For other garlic videos & info, check out:
sandiegoseedcompany.com/growi...
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Growing in Zones 9 & 10: • Growing Garlic in Zone...
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