garlic

Garlic has often grown well here, but honestly some years more successfully than others. After trying a few different types & varieties, as well as location & method, my garlic-growing experiences have become more reliable. However, I’ve gotta say, just when I think I’ve gotten the right combination of winning techniques, I have a year with little-to-no garlic. Each year I plan ahead which bed(s) will be used for garlic the following year. I empty out these beds earlier in the summer to give them a chance to rest a bit and be replenished in time to plant garlic by late September or early October when I plant the garlic.

PLANTING GARLIC

After some disappointing garlic harvests, my conclusion is that the garlic needs to be planted in beds that are the most protected from winter conditions. The times I have planted in the outer, perimeter beds, which have the most exposure to winter cold, the garlic has not always grown well, if at all. Now, I plant the garlic up the center of one of the interior beds, which are wider and more protected. This allows the garlic to have more soil surrounding it for winter protection. And, I always mulch it well. When spring comes and the garlic begins to appear, I remove some of the mulch, then plant onions or greens alongside the garlic.

The other thing that has helped with garlic success has been my choice of garlic varieties. For colder winters at high elevation, it’s best to choose “cold-hardy” varieties. I’ve had the best success with Music, Siberian, & Red Russian garlic.

One year I grew some elephant garlic which did quite well; the next year I tried it again it was a flop. I found mush in the ground in the spring. (It had been planted in an exterior bed and it may have been a colder winter.) Unless I get some good elephant garlic cheap, I probably won’t try it again.

I try to plant my garlic in late September, but I have also planted it successfully as late as November 1. After the summer’s harvest of lettuces & brassicas, the bed is replenished with garden compost, nutrients & fertilizer. In the garlic row I mix in some bone meal before planting the garlic. Again, this is usually planted in the center row of a 3 foot wide bed. It is watered in and the entire bed is covered with at least 4″ mulch (usually straw or hay, sometimes woodchips). Then I do nothing until spring.

As spring begins to warm up, I check for sprouts, and when the garlic begins to sprout, I remove most of the mulch, leaving 1-2″. Then I watch it grow! When the scapes begin to appear I cut them off to encourage more bulb growth, and use the scapes in broths & soups for extra garlic flavor.

Garlic is harvested when most of the tops are brown, and a “test” bulb seems to be full with papery skin. Then it’s hung to cure in the greenhouse. I store the garlic in a section of the cold closet that’s less cold & humid than the main section. It still gets pretty cold, probably 40-50 degrees F.

HIGH ELEVATION GROWING TIP: GARLIC

Remember that “every year is different.” Some years the garlic may do very well, other years might be a bust. Choose cold-hardy varieties. Some friends have been successful growing garlic in unheated hoop houses: I have not tried this.

GARLIC STORAGE

Our garlic are stored in our cold closet, in the upper section. The upper section is a bit warmer & dryer than the lower, and the garlic keeps very well for several months.