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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Time to Plant Garlic - one of the better sites on the subject
  • Date: Fri, 30 May 2008 10:25:47 -0600

Time to Plant Garlic
http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/commhort/pulledarticles/september03-1.html
Virginia Vegetable, Small Fruit and Specialty Crops
September-October 2003; Volume 2, Issue 5

Tony Bratsch, Virginia Tech Dept. of Horticulture

Garlic is an important crop for many market growers in Virginia. For direct
marketers, garlic can be an important sales item to complement other early
summer crop offerings. Though it requires advance site preparation and
planning, garlic is generally an easy crop to grow, and one which lends
itself well to organic production.

Like flower bulbs, garlic is a perennial bulb and performs best when
fall-planted. It begins to root shortly after planting, makes top growth the
following spring, and eventually begins to senesce, and is harvested by early
to mid-summer. Garlic can be spring planted, but a chilling requirement must
be met for the cloves to properly grow, and plants need to reach an adequate
size before day length increases, which triggers bulb formation. To meet this
requirement, spring planted garlic should be stored under refrigeration for
at least 8 weeks prior to planting, and should be set as early in the spring
as possible. Fall-planted garlic however, will obtain its chilling in the
soil and has the advantage of gaining fall root growth and earlier maturity.
If properly planted, cold temperatures per se will not damage most garlic
varieties, but frost heaving of soils can affect newly formed roots.

Timing of garlic planting is important. In western Virginia early to
mid-October plantings have been shown to be the best target period. This
timing allows for good root growth and some advance top growth. Earlier dates
may lead to too much tender top growth by winter; a later date may not allow
adequate root development. For the Eastern Piedmont and southern regions of
the state, best planting dates should be adjusted back accordingly, but still
allow for adequate growing time prior to day-length cues for late spring bulb
formation, and to provide for the 8 weeks of cold soil exposure for bulb
chilling. November into early December may be good a good range for these
areas, and growers will need to experiment to determine what works in their
specific location.

Soil requirements for garlic include moderate organic matter levels and most
of all, good drainage. A waterlogged soil will cause cloves to rot. Prior to
planting, soil fertility should be amended to add 30-60 lbs of nitrogen/acre,
with phosphorus and potassium levels amended (depending on soil tests) at a
1:2:3 total nutrient ratio to added nitrogen. Composted organic matter should
be added when possible. Incorporate amendments well into the soil. Most
small-scale garlic growers utilize raised beds, especially if soils are heavy
or poorly drained.

When planting, separate individual cloves from the main bulb and plant them
about 4"-6" apart in the row. As a general rule, the larger the clove, the
larger the bulb will be at harvest; thus medium to large size cloves should
always be planted. Where harvest uniformity is of importance, advance sorting
of planting stock may be useful if there is significant variance in seed
clove size. On a raised bed, several rows can be planted, with each row
12-18" apart. Cloves should be set with tip up, and 1-2" below the soil
surface.

Because garlic is a poor competitor, good weed control is essential. Though
fall weed problems will be minor, spring and early summer weeds will need to
be addressed. Start by mulching the soil with straw or other organic
materials after planting. This will also help to alleviate frost heaving. In
heavier soils, remove or rake back straw once growth resumes in the spring or
excess moisture may rot developing bulbs. One to two light soluble fertilizer
sidedressings (10-20lbs N/acre) during the spring will promote vigorous and
uniform growth. During the growing season, be aware that garlic is
susceptible to the same disease and insect problems as onions, such as thrips
and various bulb rots. However garlic is relatively care free when given a
well-drained site with good air circulation, and kept on a good rotation
program with other vegetables.

Harvest garlic before tops completely die down, preferably with 4-6 green
leaves still attached. Remove excess soil, but do not wash, and lay whole
plants on screens or hang in small bunches to dry. Allow it to cure
completely in a warm well, ventilated room. Watch for rotting bulbs, remove
these and increase air circulation if needed. Curing will take about 4-6
weeks. At that time roots and tops can be trimmed, and outer dirty skins can
be removed. Store cured garlic in a cool dry place. Remember all garlic
varieties taste the same at harvest time, but after curing and some storage
time, individual variety flavors will come out.

Garlic can be broken down into two basic groups, softneck and hardneck (top
set) types. Most of the 250 million pounds grown annually in this country are
softneck cultivars, with California leading production of this type. Softneck
cultivars prefer milder climates, tend to more irregular in individual clove
sizes, and lack the strong flavors of hardneck types. They do not produce a
seed scape (flower stalk) during the bulbing period, which for hardneck
types, should be removed or bulb size is compromised.

There are hundreds of varieties of garlic. A quick search on the web will
reveal several companies that specialize in mail order seed garlic, and which
offer a wide (and sometimes confusing) selection. Interestingly, garlic
adapts to various sites and many different strains have been developed, each
with claims of unique characteristics. Thus performance can be very site
specific, and with selection over time, a grower may be able to encourage
area adaptivity of a specific strain.

In general most small-scale growers produce hardneck types. Reports from
growers in western Virginia indicate that the variety "Music" (or "Musik"), a
hard neck type, has performed reliably. For a range of garlic strains/types
to try, some worth experimenting with may include "Spanish Roja" and
"Carpathian", (both rocambole types); also "Inchelium Red" "Idaho Silverskin"
and "Persian Star", which are artichoke, silverskin and purple stripe types
respectively. Keep in mind that these recommendations are based mostly on
grower feedback, and not controlled university trials in this state.

This fall, we are implementing some initial trials to evaluate different
garlic varieties in the Blacksburg area, and also are experimenting with
planting into frost-killed cover crops. We are also interested in extended
utilization of existing plasticulture beds, with garlic as a second crop. We
will keep you posted as these experiments are harvested next summer.




  • [Livingontheland] Time to Plant Garlic - one of the better sites on the subject, Tradingpost, 05/30/2008

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