Camden Lifestyle Magazine Issue 02 "The Outdoors"

THE LAST GARDENING
CHORES OF THE YEAR
While most of the garden is getting put to bed, garlic is just getting
started. Planting garlic in the fall may seem a bit backward, it
is the last garden chores of the season. A small amount of preparation
at planting time will give you an abundant garlic harvest
without much effort. Planting garlic in the fall allows the roots
to begin growing. When winter arrives and the ground freezes,
the plants go dormant. Once the soil warms up in the spring, the
garlic will start growing again right where it left off.
Prepare Your Growing Bed:
Garlic thrives in full sun and loose soil. Choose a garden bed that has
not grown anything in the onion family in the past two years and one
that receives an average of at least six hours of sunlight each day. Remove
weeds and spread some slow-release organic fertilizer according
to the package direction.
Add about 2-inches of finished compost and work it in the top 4-6
inches of soil. Plot out your growing bed 4-6 inches in all directions.
Dig your holes about 4-inches deep. If you are using the square foot
gardening method, plot 6 cloves per square.
Divide Your Garlic Seed:
When you purchase garlic seed, you are actually getting heads of garlic.
Garlic is grown from individual cloves. Each clove will grow into a
bulb of garlic. Separate your cloves right before planting. Sort out your
largest and healthiest looking cloves for planting. If you plant the largest
cloves, you will grow larger heads of garlic for next year. Save the smaller
and damaged cloves for cooking.
Plant Your Garlic Cloves:
Plant a garlic clove into each hole, with the flat side down and the
pointy end up. Cover and firm the soil.
Mulch Your Garlic Bed:
Water the garlic bed well after planting and cover with a light layer of
mulch, such as straw or shredded leaves. Aim for about 2-3 inches of
mulch to keep the weeds down until the ground freezes.
After the ground freezes, add another layer of 2-3 inches of mulch to
insulate the soil. This helps prevent the garlic roots from being heaved
out of the ground by alternate freezing and thawing.
Once the soil warms in spring, you will see green garlic shoots growing
through the mulch. If you used an all-purpose organic fertilizer at
planting time, your garlic is off to a great start. Water the garlic bed
during dry spells when the soil feels dry an inch beneath the surface.
Feed with organic fish emulsion fertilizer if the foliage shows signs of
stress (yellow tips). Follow the directions on the bottle.
* If you planted hardneck garlic, you will have an opportunity to harvest
garlic scapes a few weeks before the garlic bulb is finished growing. These
tender, mildly garlic flavored shoots are delicious.*